Meridian, Idaho, is home to the largest Albertsons grocery store. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

Trust your Idaho friends when they say you must see the Albertsons.

You know it’s big when four aisles are dedicated to pet supplies.

In fact, this grocery store in Meridian (near Boise) is the largest Albertsons in the world at nearly 110,000 square feet.

Shopping hungry could be a problem when visiting the bakery. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

It’s impressive and overwhelming at the same time. I couldn’t imagine this being my every day store to shop at. Though, I probably would get enough steps in to have it count as my exercise for the day, assuming I wasn’t eating and drinking while shopping.

This store that opened in 2019 still has the feel of being new. It is clean, welcoming and has everything. I didn’t walk up and down every aisle, didn’t even come close, but I was wowed with what I saw.

For the carnivores out there, plenty of options are available. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

Why build it in Idaho? Well, founder Joe Albertson built his first store in Boise in July 1939. That one was 10,000 square feet. Albertsons headquarters are still in Boise.

According to Statista, Albertsons in 2022 had 219 stores less than 30,000 square feet, 779 stores between 30,000 and 50,000 square feet, and 1,273 stores more than 50,000 square feet.

It’s one thing to find a coffee shop inside a grocery store, but this Albertsons has a full bar with advertised happy hour specials. In fact, according to my friend, it’s not unusual to see people imbibing as they push their cart around as they shop.

Speaking of booze, there is a temperature-controlled wine cellar with bottles topping $1,000. A sommelier can help with purchase suggestions.

The cheese assortments are sure to overwhelm, or instead maybe complement the wine choices.

I think the popcorn station might be more dangerous for me if this were my regular store. I’ve never seen such a thing at a grocery store.

A bar inside a grocery store–yes, in Idaho. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

If you need something to cook with, no worries—appliances like air fryers and instant pots are for sale.

With so much freshly prepared food available, cooking is not a necessity. The fresh salads were tantalizing. Another option was the fresh salad bar that had enough fixings to create a tower of edibles.

Or build your own burger or order some other hot food item like freshly baked pizzas.

The butcher counter, oyster bar and lobster tank are other options.

The most color, of course, came in the vegetable section. As a vegetarian I could have happily camped out there.