This morning I needed a few things from the grocery store, some breakfast items and game day snacks. And so I took the nearby option and headed down to our local Montclair Food Lion... excuse me, our Bloom. Many months in the making, it seems like the switch from Food Lion to Bloom is nearly complete. There is still some obvious construction to finish, and unpacking to do. The Bloom sign out front is a temporary banner hung over the outline of the now removed Food Lion lights. And a crew was in the parking lot building the new shopping cart returns.

The shopping cart is the first thing you'll notice as different at Bloom. It has a cup holder and a hook (for hanging a purse?), and a helpful map to find your way around. Inside there's a nice new feel, most noticable in the flooring and checkout lines. There is a senter section in which the aisles are all turned perpendicular to the rest of the front-to-back aligned aisles. You'll definitely need to create a new zig-zag pattern for your shopping walk.

The wine section caught my eye for its size and variety. But it's on the other side of the store from the beer section, and that feels like a disconnect to me. The beer section is likewise larger and has more variety than Food Lion offered. And there's an interesting option to 'build your own six-pack' from a variety of available singles. That seems like it could come in handy sometimes. But the beer prices were an eye-opener. A 12-pack of Corona was listed for $14.99 and that was labled as a 'limited time' sale. I found that an insult to my intelligence.

At the checkout, there is a nice register display oriented to the customer, so you can watch your items tally up close. When I asked if there was some kind of Bloom card I would want, the woman told me that they would not have a discount card and that all items on special would ring up at their special price.

I'll leave it to the more discriminating shopper to comment on other items like meat and produce and how they compare with local options. I expect we'll still shop at Bloom most often when convenience calls for a quick trip. The new store will make for a nice shopping experience. But I'm now very skeptical of their understanding of the word 'Sale'.