Denver King Soopers Rates as Second-Worst in Country

Three weeks ago, a disgruntled customer called a Denver King Soopers the "worst grocery store in America."

Turns out, that customer was pretty close. It's actually the second worst grocery store in America, according to a new analysis of 3,000 grocery stores across 100 cities released on Wednesday, April 30.

The King Soopers at 18605 Green Valley Ranch Boulevard ranked second on the list of the fifty worst grocery stores nationwide, beaten out by a Safeway in Washington, D.C., that nabbed the dishonor of ranking first. But Denver earned its own first-place finish: the Mile High City has the most low-ranking grocery stores of any city.

Six of the fifty worst grocery stores are located in Denver, including the Safeway at 757 East 20th Avenue (seventh place), the King Soopers at 1331 Speer Boulevard (thirteenth), the King Soopers at 2810 Quebec Street (38th), the Walmart at 5141 Chambers Road (fortieth), and the Safeway at 9160 West Colfax Avenue (48th).

Three other Colorado grocery stores also made the bottom fifty, all located in Aurora: the Walmart at 10400 East Colfax Avenue (fifteenth place), the Walmart at 14000 East Exposition Avenue (28th), and the King Soopers at 15109 East Colfax Avenue (34th). The fifteenth-place Walmart closed in June.

"Denver has a particularly downer shopping experience," the report concluded. "Denver, CO, Aurora, CO, and Irving, TX, have the lowest average rated grocery stores in the U.S."

This is a dismal performance even for Colorado. Last year, only five grocery stores in the state cracked the fifty worst list, topping out at third place. By comparison, Colorado has nine this year, including the second-worst.

Rankings are based on Google reviews of grocery stores in the nation's most populated cities; this study looked at stores in Denver, Colorado Springs and Aurora, the state's three largest cities.

Colorado's worst-rated grocery store, the King Soopers on Green Valley Ranch Boulevard, has an average review score of 3.4 stars on Google and 1.8 stars on Yelp. The store's negative reviews largely complain of rude employees, locked-away merchandise, poorly stocked shelves, dirty conditions and overbearing security officers.

"This store has deteriorated into an absolute embarrassment," one review posted two months ago reads. "It feels unsafe and dystopian at this point. I will never be back."

Another adds: "This store is a blight on the community."

Thirteen Colorado grocery stores landed on the report's list for worst customer service (eleven in Denver, one in Aurora and one in Colorado Springs). Four more ranked for worst food quality (one in Denver, one in Aurora and two in Colorado Springs).

Only one store in the state cracked the top fifty best grocery stores: the Denver Central Market at 2669 Larimer Street, which ranked fourteenth best in the country. Last year, no Colorado stores made the nice list.