REGISTRATION FOR THE ALLENTOWN YOUTH SOCCER CLUB AZZURI 03 AND 04 TEAMS

Click on the image below to register to try out for the Allentown Azzuri 2003 and 2004 for the upcoming Fall 2016 season.

Lafayette Scorecard Through the Winter

LAFAYETTE 1ST SEMESTER SCORECARD

LAFAYETTE FALL RECORDS - 2012 - 2015

Lafayette Records

Maybe my Favorite Scene of All Time from Probably my Favorite Movie

27 years later, I still get chills every time I watch this scene. RIP Robin Williams - I wish you saw in yourself what the rest of us saw in you.

Bottom Dollar Had the Goods, Not the Know How

Yes, they made you put a quarter in to get a shopping cart, but after that Bottom Dollar really didn't seem to have the discount food store thing down.
Less than 2 years ago the chain of grocery stores came into the Lehigh Valley with great fanfare. As of a couple days ago, they are all closed.

I'm not surprised.

Bottom Dollar was owned by the Delhaize Group. Headquartered in Belgium, their main contribution to the US Grocery market is Food Lion. It's been a long time since I was in a Food Lion and to my knowledge we don't have any in my area so I don't know how we'll they are run.

My guess is pretty well - because Bottom Dollar did a lot of things right, they just weren't designed to save much money.

• To many name brands, most of which were basically competitively priced with the products at any number of other grocery stores. There was no reason to go there to get name brands, and they didn't have the volume to offer the loss leaders like Giant/Weis could. For every name brand I could save money on at BD I could find two better deals at one of the traditional chains. 
• Poor use of shelf space to promote their store brands (which WERE low priced, even compared to other generic offerings). 
• Lots of staff - and yes that's a negative if you're trying to save money. You go to Aldi - you're going to wait. 
• Very poor use of floor space: The aisles were clean, the store brightly lit and the shopping experience was generally positive - but a discount store needs to use every inch effectively. Heck in an industry with razor thin margins like grocery stores - EVERYBODY needs to be efficient with their space, Bottom Dollar wasn't. 

It just seems like Delhaize didn't have the core competency to make the chain work. I take no joy in that - there was a lot to like about the store and I was a regular patron. 

Not pretty - but profitable

It's a positive that BD was sold to Aldi - because THEY have the formula. Very few name brands, incredibly efficient use of space, little concern about aesthetics - you are there to save money, and that's what they'll do. You can't get everything at Aldi - but you couldn't at BD either. Unless you're there on one hell of a good day - you'll have to go elsewhere for your veggies and meats. 

But Bottom Dollar fared little, if any,better when it came to the meat counter or produce aisle - so there's no loss. 

Most conversations about discount grocery chains quickly revolve around Trader Joe's. The closest one to me is a food 35 miles away and I have never had the pleasure of shopping in one. If they're half as good as the people touting them claim they are - I hope they find their way to Bethlehem soon.