Definitely the market. I like exploring and have gone to the "mainstream" places like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, and to the unusual, LIke Jungle Jim's, and to the ethnic places like the Mediterranean Island and the Asian place in Ann Arbor that wizardnm told me about. Peppi took us all over Chicago, from the fish markets to H Mart, it was a blast.

Hate malls and hate shopping, except the food stores!

Annie

I almost never go to malls - I do most of my shopping now in downtown Westchester. Westchester was built around 1947 to 1953 and has a 1950s style downtown area with easy parking. Other than that, I go to Culver City, Marina Del Rey, or Santa Monica. Venice isn't so good for shopping, unless you like the boardwalk and the street vendors, and I do go there occasionally but not nearly as much as when I lived there.

There's a Sprouts Market in Culver City very close to me, and I've been meaning to go there - it's fairly new. I went to Bristol Farms for the first time last year, also close to me in Westchester, but it was a bit expensive, and so I usually go to Gelson's in MDR instead. Gelson's is in a sort of mall that has a Sports Chalet and some theaters. It's very small as malls go, however.

I don't think I would go to the opening of a new mall since I don't buy as many shoes or clothes as I used to.

Lars

I cannot imagine going to ANYTHING on opening day.

That said, I'd check out the market when the crowds died down.

No contest, the supermarket. I tricked DH (not hard to do) into going to the grand opening of TJ's in Atlanta, a mere 7 hour drive.

And I will verify that our CF get-together in Chitown was capped off with grocery excursions.

On Annie's recommendation, we came home from Michigan via Jungle Jim's in Cincinnati, what a place!!

I avoid opening days as well (not that there are many of them out here in the middle of nowhere), and as a general rule I avoid THE mall (or what there is left of it).

We have so few choices for food shopping..... When they remodeled and enlarged one of the 4 Dillons stores in town (affiliated with Kroger), they included a section with all kinds of foreign foods not sold at the other 3 stores. Even though this store is out of my way, I occasionally go there for the adventure of it to see if I can find something new to try. That's where I found P.A.N. (pre-cooked white cornmeal) for Arepas. So after all that rambling, I'd go to a new supermarket over the mall - absolutely.

-Grainlady

Remember where you are posting??? The Market....hands down!!

My original answer would have been supermarket, hands down. Until you wrote it's a Bottom Dollar., Now, I do go to BD occasionally--we have several in this area--but they're nothing to write home about (only about a half step above Aldi, IMO). Certainly nothing I'd want to brave opening day crowds to visit.

So my answer? I'd pass on both. Haven't been to a mall in 5-10 years--don't do malls, I stick to strip centers where I can park near the store I want to go to, run in, get what I need and leave. Not a window-shopper or browser, and I can't afford mall prices--so malls hold no appeal to me.

I wouldn't be going to opening day at either of them. I purchase about 10% of my food in supermarkets, so wouldn't have any urgency about seeing a new one.

I go to our big mall once or twice a year if I'm looking for something specific and can't find it anywhere else but I do shop in strip center malls and specialty stores.

Two friends and I are going again this fall on a NYC food shopping bus trip. It's great because the bus drops us off at a stop and we shop in that area. Then the bus returns at a designated time and we can put our purchases in a cooler in the luggage compartment and head unencumbered to the next stop. I haven't seen the itinerary for this one yet but we always have a good time and find a couple of new items we haven't seen before.

If I was going to an Grand Opening it would be the supermarket. Though like a lot of people posted, I don't do Grand Openings, too much of a crowd. I'd wait a week so I can stroll around at my leisure.

Unless they were having some great sale or free shopping bags. I got most of my shopping bags from new stores openings. We now must have them or get charged for paper. No more plastic bags anywhere here in my area. Some don't have paper, sell expensive cloth ones, and you have to bring your own or carry out your items without one.

I had to go to a store in the one and only mall here and I couldn't remember when I was there last. It had to have been years (maybe 10?!).
Clare