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10 best grocery store delis that are a cut above the rest
Best Grocery Store Deli (2024)
Stopping by the deli when you're at the grocery store is a convenient and inexpensive way to pick up fresh and delicious food. You can choose from a variety of meats and cheeses in the deli case and can often grab a sandwich or some soup.
These 10 grocery store delis — selected by an expert panel and voted as the best by readers — stand out as the best in the United States, whether you need a quick lunch or a party platter.
- H-E-B
- Wegmans Food Markets
- New Seasons Market
- Publix Super Markets
- Arbor Farms Market
- Stew Leonard's
- Gelson's Markets
- Heinen's Grocery Store
- Kowalski's Markets
- The Fresh Market
Photo courtesy of LauriPatterson // Getty Images
No. 10:
Wander into an H-E-B and just head to the deli for easy and tasty ways to assuage your hunger. There are prepared "Meal Simple" choices like rotisserie chicken salad with crackers, as well as pre-made sandwiches. You'll also find a plethora of meats and cheeses, dips, and party trays.
Photo courtesy of LauriPatterson // Getty Images
No. 9:
Wegmans' deli stocks its own brand of cheeses and meats like American-style Kobe roast beef, robust 24-month aged prosciutto, buffalo chicken, salami, and a line of sausages from Hungarian style to bangers. Their deli products can be enjoyed on their subs and sandwiches, while lavish grab-and-go charcuterie trays make entertaining easy.
Photo courtesy of New Seasons Market
No. 8:
The deli department at New Seasons Market in the Portland area offers a unique selection of fresh fare. With a focus on quality and seasonal ingredients, the grocer offers items from the deli case, hot soup, charcuterie, roasted chicken, and grab-and-go options.
Photo courtesy of Publix Super Markets
No. 7:
Publix offers fresh premium meats and cheeses from its deli case, and customers really go for the grocer's customizable cold or toasted subs created with the deli products. Shoppers also enjoy the fried chicken — available hot or cold — with more than 57 million pounds of it sold each year.
Photo courtesy of LauriPatterson // Getty Images
No. 6:
Soups and seasonal salads made from scratch every day, quality meats and cheeses, and breads courtesy of fine local bakers are what you can expect at the deli in Arbor Farms Market. Ann Arbor's original organic grocery has been at it since 1979.
Photo courtesy of Stew Leonard's
No. 5:
Visit the deli section at Stew Leonard's and find meat and cheese staples, as well as items like buffalo chicken breast, fresh feta, and sour pickles. If you don't want to construct your own sandwich, pick up a prepared grinder, sub, wrap, or lobster roll.
Photo courtesy of TommL / E+
No. 4:
The deli staff at Gelson's Markets are culinary professionals who build sandwiches to your specs, and some locations offer comfortable indoor and outdoor seating areas where you can nosh on site. Customers can also graze the globe with items like triple creme goat brie, fire-roasted Hatch chile guacamole, spicy Thai pasta salad, and more.
Photo courtesy of Dan LaGuardia Media
No. 3:
Heinen's set standards in 1933, opening Cleveland’s first supermarket across the street from their butcher shop. Still family-owned, the regional chain excels at deli department offerings, making their own deli meats on-site for over 80 years under the "Two Brothers" brand (you can still get founder Joe Heinen’s original baked ham). Shoppers also enjoy imported olives and antipasti items, salads, soups, sandwiches, and specialty cheeses.
Photo courtesy of Kowalski's Markets
No. 2:
This Minneapolis-St. Paul area grocery chain features a lavish spread of deli salads and deli meat brands that are free of antibiotics, nitrates, nitrites, hormones, and preservatives. Kowalski's deli also offers freshly made paninis, wraps, croissants, pretzel roll sandwiches, and gluten-free lettuce wraps. Stop by the soup bar to grab something warm to go with your sandwich.
Photo courtesy of The Fresh Market
No. 1:
The Fresh Market is committed to offering a vast selection of natural and organic products. And that focus carries to the deli department, where shoppers can order deli meats, see natural chickens roasting, peruse specialty cheeses, grab some ready-made sides, and order party platters with sandwiches, wraps, and meats and cheeses.
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The Experts
Carole Terwilliger Meyers
Carole Terwilliger Meyers has written articles for... Read More
Carole Terwilliger Meyers has written articles for numerous outlets, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Via, and Orbitz. She has been a featured guest on the Today Show and quoted in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. Her favorite and most frequent destinations are London, NYC, and Hawaii, but she favors destinations in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she lives and about which she writes frequently. Carole is a blogger--Travels with Carole; a website publisher--Berkeley and Beyond and Webcam Traveler; and an active freelance writer. You can follow Carole on YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Carole Terwilliger Meyers
Carole Terwilliger Meyers has written articles for numerous outlets, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Via, and Orbitz. She has been a featured guest on the Today Show and quoted in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. Her favorite and most frequent destinations are London, NYC, and Hawaii, but she favors destinations in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she lives and about which she writes frequently. Carole is a blogger--Travels with Carole; a website publisher--Berkeley and Beyond and Webcam Traveler; and an active freelance writer. You can follow Carole on YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Jamie Davis Smith
Jamie is a travel writer who has visited over 50... Read More
Jamie is a travel writer who has visited over 50 countries, many of them with her children in tow. She loves visiting everything from theme parks to ancient ruins and packs strictly carry-on-only. Jamie can be reached at [email protected].
Jamie Davis Smith
Jamie is a travel writer who has visited over 50 countries, many of them with her children in tow. She loves visiting everything from theme parks to ancient ruins and packs strictly carry-on-only. Jamie can be reached at [email protected].
Nicky Omohundro
Nicky Omohundro is the founder and editor of Read More
Nicky Omohundro is the founder and editor of LittleFamilyAdventure.com, the popular family travel & lifestyle website that inspires families to leave no child left inside. Since 2013 LFA has been providing inspiration to get families outdoors, eat well, and travel everywhere from their own backyard to around the world. Always up for a family adventure, she has traveled to 37 states and 6 countries to zip-line through a Costa Rican rainforest, see Finland’s Northern Lights, and go camping throughout the US. Nicky is the co-founder of Tourism WorX a travel consultancy group. Connect with her Twitter and Instagram.
Nicky Omohundro
Nicky Omohundro is the founder and editor of LittleFamilyAdventure.com, the popular family travel & lifestyle website that inspires families to leave no child left inside. Since 2013 LFA has been providing inspiration to get families outdoors, eat well, and travel everywhere from their own backyard to around the world. Always up for a family adventure, she has traveled to 37 states and 6 countries to zip-line through a Costa Rican rainforest, see Finland’s Northern Lights, and go camping throughout the US. Nicky is the co-founder of Tourism WorX a travel consultancy group. Connect with her Twitter and Instagram.
10Best Editors
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original,... Read More
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original, unbiased and experiential travel coverage of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world.
10Best Editors
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original, unbiased and experiential travel coverage of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world.
