Vote now! Readers' Choice Awards Best Supermarket Delis of 2026

Do we all stare at what’s behind the supermarket deli counter glass every time we’re supposed to be buying groceries, or is it just us? There’s something about a fresh sandwich—that someone else made—or aged cheese and meat cut fresh in front of you that never comes close to what’s offered in the aisles.

We don't just want your votes. We want to hear your opinions, too! Tell us which supermarket delis nail it and what you love about them in this round of the Readers’ Choice Awards.

Voting period ends on Sept. 9, 2026. We'll announce the winners on Sept. 17.

Vote for the best supermarket delis!

Nominee #1: Albertsons & Safeway

Our experts are nominating Albertsons and Safeway because skipping the line has gotten a lot easier. You can pre-order deli items like Boar's Head meats and custom subs through the store's app and pick up without waiting at the counter.

The two chains merged in 2015 and now operate under one parent company across more than 2,000 stores nationwide, with most locations built around a full-service deli, bakery, and meat counter. That app-based pre-ordering is the real appeal for families handling a weeknight schedule or nights when you simply refuse to cook for yourself but still want something yummy.

Nominee #2: Central Market

Cheese and charcuterie lovers in Texas have a dedicated destination in Central Market, the upscale grocery banner H-E-B launched in Austin in 1994. What impressed our panel most was the range on display at the counter: across its ten Texas locations, the deli expands to pairing meats and cheeses with smoked fish and a rotating selection of caviar, and some stores will build a custom sandwich on request. The chain has embraced that reputation publicly, too, setting a Guinness World Record for the largest charcuterie board for its 30th anniversary in 2024.

Nominee #3: The Fresh Market

European-market inspiration is baked into The Fresh Market, founded in 1982 by Ray and Beverly Berry in Greensboro, North Carolina, with a boutique-style layout meant to feel more like a specialty shop than a big-box grocer. The deli reflects that same instinct, built around imported cheeses, premium meats, and a sandwich program with enough variety to feel curated rather than assembly-line. It's that boutique feel—smaller, more considered, less overwhelming—that keeps shoppers describing the experience as closer to an upscale deli counter than a typical supermarket stop.

Nominee #4: Gelson's Markets

Los Angeles shoppers have trusted Gelson's since 1951, when brothers Eugene and Bernie Gelson opened their first store in Burbank. The chain has stayed relatively small and regional by design, with 27 locations concentrated across Southern California, and that scale is part of what lets its deli counter feel more personal than a typical supermarket's. Gelson's may not carry the national name recognition of some larger chains, our panel noted, but its uniformity and specialty offerings—the kind of items shoppers say they can't find anywhere else in the area—have earned it a faithful following.

Nominee #5: H-E-B

Deli counters at H-E-B tend to run bigger and more generous than most, with thick-cut meats, a wide specialty cheese selection, and a digital order-ahead system that makes grabbing lunch fast rather than a production. The Texas-based chain has been in business since Florence Butt opened its first store in Kerrville in 1905, and it now operates more than 400 locations, largely across Texas. We’re including it in our list of nominees for its generous portioning and real speed at the counter.

Nominee #6: Harris Teeter

A rotating "Sub of the Day" deal has become something of a signature at Harris Teeter, the Southeast grocery chain formed in 1960 when Charlotte's Harris Super Markets merged with Mooresville's Teeters Food Mart. Now owned by Kroger and operating more than 260 stores across seven states, Harris Teeter has kept its deli counter approachable, with custom sandwiches, a rotating salad selection, and digital ordering that speeds up the wait. Service here is consistently described as fast and friendly—a small detail, our team pointed out, that adds up over repeat visits.

Nominee #7: Heinen's Grocery Store

Trained cheese specialists are a genuine fixture at Heinen's, the family-owned grocery chain Joe Heinen started as a Cleveland butcher shop in 1929. Now run by Joe's grandsons, Heinen's has grown to 24 stores across Northeast Ohio and the Chicago area, and it's kept its butcher-shop roots front and center with a premium sliced-meat program alongside its artisan cheese counter.

It's that bundle of a specialist on staff who actually knows the product, with meat cut with real attention, that raises the everyday deli stop into something closer to a boutique experience.

Nominee #8: Hy-Vee

Craft-level quality blends with everyday convenience at Hy-Vee, the Midwest grocery chain Charles Hyde and David Vredenburg started in a small Iowa building in 1930. Now spanning eight states and more than 285 stores, Hy-Vee has built out an expansive specialty block cheese selection alongside made-to-order sub stations, and its mobile ordering tools make picking up lunch simple even during a packed store run.

Our experts singled out that mix of craft quality and true convenience, especially in a region with no shortage of grocery competition, as the reason Hy-Vee received its nomination.

Nominee #9: Kroger

Artisanal cheese mongering has become a real specialty at Kroger thanks to its Murray's Cheese shop-in-shop program, a partnership that started in 2008 and turned into a full acquisition in 2017. Kroger, which traces back to Bernard Kroger's first Cincinnati grocery store in 1883, has rolled Murray's counters into a number of its larger-format stores, pairing expert cheese cutting with the chain's broader deli program. The experience varies by location and banner, shoppers tend to agree, but at the bigger Kroger-branded stores, the deli holds its own against dedicated specialty shops.

Nominee #10: Lowes Foods

Interactive counter service is the whole idea behind Lowes Foods, the North Carolina chain that's grown from a single 1954 store in North Wilkesboro to nearly 80 locations across the Carolinas and Georgia. A 2013 overhaul introduced concept stations like the Beef Shoppe, the Smokehouse, and Chicken Kitchen, giving the deli a build-your-own energy rather than a straight walk-up counter. Watching a sandwich or plate get built in front of you, rather than grabbing pre-made options, is the hands-on, station-based approach our panel pointed to when explaining Lowes Foods' loyal following.

Nominee #11: Publix Super Markets

Made-to-order "Pub Subs" have turned into something of a cultural moment for Publix, the employee-owned chain George W. Jenkins founded in Winter Haven, Florida, in 1930. Built with Boar's Head meats and cheese, the sandwiches are assembled at the deli counter across more than 1,400 stores in eight Southeastern states, and online ordering makes grabbing one for pickup easy.

Publix has never had a layoff in its 95-year history—a detail that speaks to the kind of company you’re supporting, and hopefully helps employees making your Pub Sub feel secure in their position behind the counter.

Nominee #12: Roche Bros. Supermarkets

Meat cut to order is the whole philosophy at Roche Bros., the family-owned chain that's served Eastern Massachusetts since 1952 under brothers Rick and Ed Roche. The deli counter pairs premium cuts like Certified Angus Beef with hormone-free chicken, and staff take visible pride in how the case is organized so shoppers can see exactly what they're getting before it's sliced.

That attention to presentation, paired with fresh daily cutting, is what our panel highlighted as the reason Roche Bros. has earned a huge following in the Boston area, both for everyday deli meat and catered sandwich trays.

Nominee #13: ShopRite

Digital order-ahead has been part of the routine at ShopRite since 1999, well before most grocery chains caught up, and it now runs through the retailer's Order. Pickup. Deliver. platform. ShopRite operates as a cooperative under Wakefern Food Corporation, with roughly 50 independently owned operators running more than 300 stores across six Northeast states. That structure keeps individual stores locally run while still supporting high-volume, budget-friendly deli counters—a combination of local ownership and dependable value that keeps ShopRite's deli business humming for weekly regulars.

Nominee #14: Sprouts Farmers Market

Value is the headline at the deli counter at Sprouts Farmers Market, the Arizona-based chain that traces its roots to a 1943 fruit stand run by the Boney family before taking its current form in 2002. With nearly 500 stores across 24 states, Sprouts has built out a made-to-order sub program that's easy to request through its mobile app, all while keeping true to the chain's broader focus on natural and minimally processed foods. Affordability paired with real care around ingredients has made the deli counter a bigger draw than shoppers might expect from a store known mostly for produce.

Nominee #15: Stew Leonard's

Fresh mozzarella stretched in-house is just one part of the show at Stew Leonard's, the Connecticut-born grocer that opened its first store in Norwalk in 1969 and grew out of the Leonard family's dairy business.

Now operating six stores across Connecticut and New York, Stew Leonard's has built a reputation for turning grocery shopping into genuine entertainment, complete with costumed staff and animatronic characters along a themed shopping path. Underneath the spectacle, though, the deli counter delivers catering-quality sliced meats that hold up on their own.

Nominee #16: Wegmans Food Markets

Cheese lovers make a point of visiting Wegmans for its in-house aging caves, modeled on European traditions and used to age wheels like Manchego right on-site. The chain traces back to 1916, when brothers John and Walter Wegman started selling produce from a cart in Rochester, New York, and it now operates 114 stores across nine states plus Washington, D.C.

Many locations pair that cheese program with a dedicated sub shop, giving the deli section a genuine specialty-food-hall feel. The cheese department and sandwich quality here consistently rank among the best in the business.

Nominee #17: Whole Foods Market

Clean-label sourcing runs through the deli counter at Whole Foods Market, which has built out a program of nitrate-free sliced meats alongside a growing roster of Certified Cheese Professionals—the chain added 40 more in 2024 alone. Founded in Austin, Texas, in 1978 and now owned by Amazon, Whole Foods operates roughly 500 stores across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., with deli offerings that lean into organic salads and responsibly sourced cured meats. That sourcing transparency reads as a genuine differentiator rather than marketing language, our panel agreed, thanks to the pairing of trained cheese staff and clean-label meats throughout the counter.

Vote for the best supermarket delis

Our Experts

BethEllen Clausen

Clausen is a freelance writer with a heavy emphasis on art and culture. She is a member of the International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association and the LA Wine Writers, and she writes for Food, Wine and Travel Magazine, the Napa Valley Wine Academy, and Costco Connection. You can read more about Clausen's experiences at her website, Organic Wine Travel.

Susan Lanier-Graham

Lanier-Graham is an award-winning food, wine, and travel writer with more than three decades of experience exploring destinations around the world. She has visited luxury resorts, boutique properties, and hidden gems across six continents, bringing a discerning eye to every stay. As publisher of Wander With Wonder, she leads an award-winning digital publication that inspires readers to discover exceptional travel experiences. Her work blends firsthand insight with a passion for storytelling, offering trusted recommendations on where to stay, dine, and explore. Susan’s expertise helps travelers confidently choose destinations that transform trips into unforgettable, experience-rich journeys.

Reviewed Editors & Experts

Reviewed editors and experts have hard-earned insight from a broad range of backgrounds, and our nomination panel includes independent researchers, subject matter experts, and editorial team members. We provide unbiased, experiential editorial coverage on products, brands, and companies across the U.S.