Store Review: Rainbo Bakery Outlet

I finally did it – I made it to all three bread outlets in Colorado Springs!

A couple of weeks ago I visited the Rainbo Bakery Outlet on Chelton for the first time.  The Rainbo store carries brands in the Sara Lee brand family, which includes Sara Lee, Iron Kids, Rainbo, Sunbeam, among others.  Here’s a complete list of their brands, though obviously not all of them are available at the Colorado Springs outlet location.

The store had lots of options when I was there, and a good amount of everything in stock.  I forgot to ask if their stock varies by day, but I was there on a Thursday and there were full shelves of everything. Here’s some of what they carried and the prices:

• Sara Lee Large Buns (8 ct) – $1.50
• Sara Lee Small Buns (8 ct)  – $0.75
• Sara Lee Bagels (6 ct or mini bagels) – $1.00
• Sara Lee (?) Hoagies (6 ct) – $1.25
• Sara Lee Bread Loaves – $1.25
• Rainbo/Iron Kids Bread Loaves – $0.50
• Sunmaid Raisin Bread – $1.50

I purchased a couple of loaves of Sara Lee 100% Whole Wheat Bread and some hot dog buns.  The “best by” date was only two days out, which is much shorter than I’m accustomed do at the Orowheat bread outlet.  Of course, it’s just fine at least a few days after the date, and I potentially could have found some with longer dates if I’d gone farther back on the shelf.

I also got a couple of loaves of Sunmaid Raisin Bread, which was a yummy breakfast!  Still kind of pricey for a breakfast, though, since we ate the entire loaf (plus yogurt) for breakfast in a single morning.  But, it’s still much cheaper than buying it in the regular grocery store.

I was thrilled to find these:

Not really sure why they had these old-fashioned pure sugar peppermint candies, but I do love them and couldn’t resist buying a bag.  They are broken, thus why they’re at the outlet.  It’s hard to resist candy made without high fructose corn syrup at $1.50 for a 16 oz bag!

The Rainbo outlet store doesn’t offer any discounts or special deals on certain days from what the cashier told me.  No punchcard program or free gift with minimum purchase like the Orowheat store. :(  The store was clean and well-organized, and the cashier was very friendly.

Overall, I wasn’t terribly impressed with this store, but that’s likely due to the fact that I’m not a huge fan of Sara Lee bread or bagels (I think their products are really dry).  If you like those brands, you can probably save a bit by shopping here on occasion and stocking up on bread!

Want to visit?

The Rainbo Bread Outlet is located at 3221 Chelton Circle, behind the Sonic across from the Citadel Mall.  Their phone number is (719) 633-6868, and their hours are Monday through Saturday from 8 AM to 6 PM.

Have you been to the Rainbo bakery thrift store?  What did you think?