Southern Grocery Stores Shoppers Wish Were Everywhere There’s something special about grocery shopping in the South. From warm greetings to homegrown produce, some Southern grocery stores have built loyal followings that stretch well beyond their ZIP codes. These local chains do more than offer weekly deals—they deliver an experience that feels personal, familiar, and worth repeating. A recent feature spotlighted some of the top Southern grocery stores shoppers wish were available nationwide , and it’s not hard to see why. 🛒 More Than Just a Grocery Run These stores don’t just sell food—they offer something rarer: community charm paired with convenience . Many feature regional favorites, locally sourced ingredients, and a hospitality-first approach that turns a simple errand into a weekly ritual. Shoppers praise everything from the fresh produce and niche pantry finds to the way employees remember their names. For many, these grocers feel less like stores and more like neighbors....
Prepared food, dietary supplements, candy, alcoholic beverages, and tobacco are not included in the exemption during this period.
The following are examples of items that do qualify as food or food ingredients if the seller does not prepare them:
- Baby food
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Beverage powders (other than dietary supplements)
- Biscuit mix
- Bottled water (carbonated, flavored, sweetened or unsweetened)
- Bouillon cubes
- Bread
- Butter
- Cake mixes
- Cakes
- Canned foods
- Cereal
- Cheese
- Chip dip
- Chips (potato, corn, etc.)
- Chocolate (unsweetened)
- Cocoa (powdered)
- Coffee
- Condiments (e.g., ketchup, mustard,
- mayonnaise)
- Cookies
- Cooking oil
- Dairy products
- Eggs
- Fish and meats
- Flavoring extracts
- Flour
- Food colorings
- Frostings
- Frozen meals
- Fruit (fresh or unsweetened dried)
- Fruit juices
- Gelatin
- Granola and breakfast bars containing flour
- Gravies and sauces (mixes or extracts)
- Herbs and spices
- Honey
- Ice (e.g., cubes, crushed)
- Ice cream
- Jams and jellies
- Luncheon meats
- Margarine
- Marinated raw meats
- Meat extracts
- Meat tenderizers
- Nuts (unsweetened or salted)
- Olives
- Pasta
- Pastries
- Peanut butter
- Pepper
- Pickles
- Pies
- Popcorn
- Popsicles
- Poultry
- Pretzels
- Pumpkins
- Raisins
- Raw eggs, fish, & meats requiring cooking
- Relishes
- Salad dressing and mixes
- Salad oil
- Salt (granular)
- Seasonings • sherbet
- Shortening
- Soft drinks
- Sugar and sugar substitutes
- Sweeteners
- Tea (bags, leaves, bottled)
- Trail mix
- Vegetable juices
- Vegetables (fresh, frozen, dried, etc.)
- Vinegar
- Yeast
- Yogurt