I always did my major stock-up shopping at Dominick’s. They seemed to have a good balance between low prices and a large selection. Plus they were convenient. And I really liked the option to “pre-store” coupons on your Fresh Value Card or whatever they called it.
Alas, that ship has sailed. What are your recommendations to replace it? I never liked the Jewel for some reason. Whole Foods seems way overpriced, Aldi seems too grungy. Any suggestions? What are your plans?
Quo Vadis?
I work second shift and the only grocery open between work and home after midnight was Dominick’s. There’s a Jewel near work that’s open til midnight, so I’ll have to make do with that one until the old Dominick’s gets sorted. I’ve heard it’s sold, just not to who, and of course no idea if the new one will be a 24-hour or not. I sure hope so. I’ve heard good things about Mariano’s, which I’ve heard for sure is going to be in the next-closest Dominick’s to me. I can deal with them.
Whole Foods, for the basics from their 365 brand, is actually really reasonable. I would love it if my old Dominick’s turned into a WF, even though I know for sure it’ll close early and I really will have to change how I shop. I’ll have to change my work schedule, or figure out an entirely different time on days off to do it. Makes me want to curl up in a corner.
I can’t remember the last time I set foot in Jewel or Dominick’s. The vast bulk of our groceries come from Costco and Fresh Farms. We supplement with various neighborhood and specialty shops, and have just started checking out Door to Door Organics. If you’re near one, Mariano’s is worth checking out. Depends what your grocery shopping habits are.
IIRC you are in Edgewater/Andersonville like I am. The Dominick’s at Sheridan and Foster is officially going to become a Mariano’s. Rumors (in Crain’s) are flying that the one at Broadway and Ardmore is going to become a Whole Foods but I’m not convinced that is true. There is a Jewel at Clark and Catalpa that is a 24 hour store so at least for now I will be utilizing that location as I also work later hours than most people do sometimes.
And Mariano’s is great, way better than Dominick’s in terms of quality and selection and great prices.
And have another look at Aldi—at least as a supplementary supplier. They’ve stepped up their game in the last three years or so. They’re carrying several brand names now, and this time of year seem like a German specialty grocer, with all sorts of wonderful things you won’t even find at Treasure Island.
I’m looking forward to checking out the Sheridan store when it’s a Mariano’s. I’ve heard the rumors about the Broadway store becoming a WF, too, and would be great for me (except for the hours) as the organic brands I buy from other stores are actually cheaper at WF, but like you, I’m not convinced and I’m trying not to get my hopes up. Since they’re opening that Englewood store, though, now I don’t know if the Edgewater demographics aren’t right for WF.
Work is just off Broadway in Uptown, and home is just off Sheridan in RoPa, so the Jewel at Berwyn is the only convenient spot for me, as I used to just grab the Broadway bus to Dominick’s after work and then either walk home or grab the next bus if my load was heavy. Now I have to either shop on a day off (when I usually get all errands done on work days so I don’t have to leave the house), a big change for me, or get to work early enough to leave by 11pm so I can hit the Jewel before it closes.
None of it’s ideal for me, but whatyagonnado? I’ll try to remember about that Clark St Jewel. If nothing else, I can grab an iGo car for cheap after midnight once I get home, it’s like $3 an hour!
There is one that’s close to me, I’ve never been in it because their hours don’t mesh with mine. Though now that I may have to change all that, I’ll check it out. I’m off work the next couple days and might have a little time to pop in. I love specialty and imported European stuff!
I’ve never been a big fan of either Dominick’s or Jewel. They’re only worth shopping at for sale items, otherwise, I find the produce selection (in particular) wanting and overpriced.
My everyday supermarket of choice is Pete’s Fresh Market, but they’re mostly on the south side of the city (although there’s one in Oak Brook Terrace now.) Cermak Produce/Fresh Market is quite similar and I like them a lot, too. Tony’s Finer Foods, Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Markets, all those are in the same general ballpark. I like all of them.
When I want to go a little bit more upscale, Treasure Island, Mariano’s, Brookhaven, and, of course, Whole Foods. But for every day shopping, one of the first four mentioned.
I don’t live in the Chicago area anymore, but we have Aldi’s here and my wife does most of her shopping there. It used to turn me off but really the stuff she gets is fine and some of it is really good - German chocolates and cheeses and other unusual stuff. It’s not Whole Foods, but it’s a lot less expensive and certainly beats buying your groceries at Wal*Mart.
Mariano’s, Fresh Farms, A&G, Harvesttime on Lawrence, Supermercado Morelia. The Mexican ace on Devon e of Clark is also good and they carry Sun Xien tofu.
Honestly the only thing I will miss from Dominick’s is the Safeway Dulce de Leche ice cream. That stuff was dangerously tasty.
Dominick’s was my place to go after Aldi, to get the stuff on my list Aldi didn’t have.
Also Refreshe soda, which was the most consistently cheap generic soda I found.
Maybe I’ll go to Maijer now.
I mainly went to Dominicks for produce or because I needed something fairly quick and it was a couple blocks away. Did the bulk of my shopping at Aldi’s (though their produce is frequently terrible). Also his Dominick’s for the stuff Aldi’s didn’t carry.
We have a Jewel not-too-far from us so I guess that’s where to now. My wife had already been using them, liking them better than Dominick’s. There’s a Tony’s right by there as well but the one time I went in there, I wasn’t wowed. Nothing was bad, but the stock items were pricey and I didn’t need the fancy items.
Hmm…I wonder if the Tony’s are different everywhere. The one I generally go to, in Bridgeview, is cheaper than Jewel’s and Dominick’s for most things and nothing in there would qualify as “fancy,” either. It’s a pretty middle-of-the-road market with a good selection of ethnic foods (Mexican and Polish, mostly.)
Aldi’s for me is good for certain staples, especially baking goods. But as a general grocery store, there’s just not enough stuff there, and the produce leaves much to be desired especially in terms of selection. I live literally a 2 minute walk from one and I’m lucky if I get there once a month, because it has very little that I need, and I can find a lot of the stuff cheaper elsewhere (once again, except for certain staples. Their prices on nuts are especially good.)
It seems like most of you are meh. I LOVE my Dominick’s. I’m going to miss it terribly. My pharmacist is moving to the closest Jewel,so I will follow him (20 years with the same guy doing my prescriptions) but I won’t shop for more than a few odds and ends at Jewel. It reminds me of a Walmart, or what K-Mart would look like if K-Mart did food. There produce is okay,but their bakery and deli are just passable.
Caputo’s will get the majority of my business with occasional stops at local Mexican markets and Ultra Foods. I check the online sales frequently and if I see any outstanding deals at Jewel I may stop in. A co-op store has been on the drawing board in my town and I’d be really excited to see it become a reality.
My favorite was Valli Produce. Also liked Caputos and Butera.
I’m going to miss my Dominick’s terribly. It’s a block from a Jewel but that location has always been so difficult to get in and out of and was understaffed, overcrowded, and the aisles are really narrow and laid out (for lack of a better word) stupid. It has gotten a LITTLE bit better lately as they’ve put on more people and done some revamping so, as it will be the lesser of two (or more) evils, I’ll probably end up there. I’m not happy about it. We have a Mariano’s but I don’t like it at all. The Aldi and Meijer nearest me are too far away, the Caputo’s is a zoo. I love my Eurofresh, but only for certain things, and going to the butcher for meat is too expensive. So it looks like I’m stuck with Jewel.
Just took my first trip to the new Edgewater Mariano’s and was very satisfied. It will be my regular store until the Whole Foods opens next year. When that happens, I’ll be able to walk to the grocery store again. In the meantime, there’s a fairly straight forward bus that gets me to Mariano’s. I still have to sacrifice some time on a day off to do it, but it will work.
Anyone else have a new experience at a Mariano’s?
I was hoping for a Mariano’s but I found out we’re getting a Pete’s Fresh Market which looks pretty nice as well.
From what I’ve heard people are generally very happy with the expansion of Mariano’s
I love my Pete’s (I live less than two blocks from one–yeah, I have an Aldi, a Target, and a Pete’s Market all within a three minutes’ walk from my house.) That said, Mariano’s–at least from the ones I’ve seen and the Pete’s I’ve seen–are a bit fancier and have a better, more upscale selection of items. It depends on what you’re looking for. I wouldn’t be surprised if some Pete’s are fancier than others, though. I’ve been to a couple and they seem to vary by location. Curious what the Oak Brook one is like.