It’s in Oakbrook Terrace actually (it’s not too far from my folks).
It’s nice. Very clean, good selection, nice produce, friendly staff. maybe a bit more expensive than Dominic’s was but that’s to be expected.
Yeah, Oakbrook Terrace. That’s the one I meant. Just off Roosevelt. All those Western Suburbs blur into one for me. 
Yeah, around here, Pete’s is/was definitely cheaper than Jewel or Dominicks. You might find certain sale items cheaper at Jewel or Dominicks, but, for everyday items like fruits, vegetables, and poultry, Pete’s is significantly cheaper.
I have a couple of Mariano’s around me - I don’t really like them.
But I have found a new grocery store that I’m loving - Ultra Foods. I can’t say enough nice thi9ngs about them! I go to the one in Prospect Heights - it is pretty close to me and the prices are awesome. I don’t know where any other locations are, though.
There’s an Ultra by me and when stuff goes on sale it can be insanely cheap.
Plus it’s the only place I can find un-smocked ham hocks for making Fläsklägg med rotmos 
I’m a grocery store junkie. I regularly patronize six or eight and enjoy recreational grocery shopping. That said, Jewel and the former Dominick’s are not among these numbers.
Need something close to home? Butera.
Cottage cheese, jalapeno cheddar brats, avocados? Mariano’s (Elston, Harwood Heights or Cumberland (former flagship Dominick’s)).
Mexican goods and cheap meat? Tony’s Finer Foods (Greenwood in Niles is my store, Elston is closer but I’d rather eat a live scorpion).
Fancy cheese or fine meats, Christmas Eve giftcards? Whole Foods, Sauganash.
Nuts or white cheddar in black shrinkwrap? Aldi (Foster & Pulaski or Lawrence & Harlem).
Polish soups, stews or salads, smoked sausage? Rich’s Market (Foster & Harlem).
Seafood, Asian goods? Super HMart or Assi Market in Niles.
The gold standard, best store ever? Fresh Farms, Niles. Can’t wait to get there tomorrow.
Those photos are remarkably uniform!
I’m guessing it’s not a dish that gets a whole lot of dressing up, but boy-oh-boy is it tasty and comforting on a chilly evening!
The Pete’s in Oakbrook Terrace is much like the Dominick’s it replaced, overpriced and under-qualitied because Oakbrook Terrace people have begun to think they live in Oak Brook. Or Oak Brook people are the only ones who can afford to shop there and equate expensive with good. No competition for my Caputo’s in Addison.
I haven’t been to the Elmhurst Mariano’s yet, but the Elmhurst Dominick’s is becoming a Whole Foods, so I’ll continue to not shop there. Even the big Mexican groceries can’t match Caputo’s produce, though it’s nowhere to shop for non-ethnic (lots of ethnicities) staples. That’s what Aldi is for. And wicked imported pumpernickel this time of year. Not much German stuff at Caputo’s.
I keep forgetting about that jar of red cabbage in my cupboard. I know what I’m having for breakfast!
Whenever I’m in Chicago to visit the family, I goto Caputo’s.
Caputo’s is a great store, the problem is they’re few and far between.
I have one right down the street from me but it’s always insanely crowded, the aisles are way too narrow, and they usually don’t have the packaged goods I’m looking for. The last time I went there, it took over an hour for me to go in, purchase 3 pounds of Krakus Ham from their deli, and get out the door. Are all the Caputo’s like this or is the Palatine one an anomoly?
We had a new store open in Mt. Prospect last Wednesday. We went to the grand opening for the $50 bag of free food they were giving away (never, ever again - I keep being reminded why I HATE CROWDS) and did a little shopping - it’s called Fresh Thyme Farmer’s Market. This is the first brand new store (no other locations) in this area to open so it was kind of a big deal. Their website says there are a bunch more opening later this year/into 2015 in and around Chicagoland. It was really small, and really expensive. Lots of produce, decent meat department, I couldn’t tell about the bakery (too many people standing around), and a TON of organic stuff. Oh, and a small liquor department but with some expensive wines. But a gallon of Dean’s Milk was $5 - and that I can get at Eurofresh down the street for $2.99. We won’t be back. It appears to be almost a differently named and smaller Whole Foods.
In other news, we may get a Piggly Wiggly close by in one of the defunct Dominick’s stores! It is only a rumor right now, but if it does come to pass, well, yay!!
It is worth noting that Caputo’s can refer to one of a couple different outfits.
There’s a Caputo’s Cheese Market in Melrose Park which is an arm of the Wiscon Corporation, ‘A Cheese Management Corporation.’
There’s also Joseph Caputo & Sons with stores in Des Plaines, Algonquin and Palatine. I hear that they are closing the (absurdly small) DP store and reopening a little bit east at the old Dominick’s on Oakton and Lee which should offer quite a large space. I’m looking forward to this opening since it is fairly convenient to my evening commute.
And then there’s Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Market with stores in Addison, Bloomingdale, Elmwood Park, Hanover Park, Naperville, Plainfield and Carol Stream (coming soon?). Unfortunately, none of these locations are within my shopping radius.
It looks like it could be true - I may be getting a Piggly Wiggly! Right down the street!
I was wondering, does anyone else do any shopping at Meijer? We don’t have one real close but my sister in law swears by it. I’ve gone a couple times but it only because something was on sale in their ad flyer (it wasn’t even food, actually) - I was wondering how they stack up price wise? I don’t think it’d be worth my while to make a a ten mile trip one way for what’s comparable to stores that are closer unless there’s something really great about it that I’m missing.
I used to shop at the Bolingbrook Meijers back when I lived in South Naperville and it was on my commuting route. It was a full service grocery and the pricing seemed a little better than Jewel or Dominicks. They also had a nice ethnic food aisle with a lot of Polish stuff but I don’t know if that’s still the case.
I wouldn’t make a special trip to one but if you had one in your radius there’s no reason to not make it your usual grocery destination. Of course, you don’t so I wouldn’t worry about it.
I’m still waiting for the new Mariano’s near me to open (Clybourn and Webster), but for now, still marking time at the Jewel.
Never shopped at Dominick’s so their closing does not affect me. I shop mainly at Jewel with occasional trips to Walmart for canned/dry goods. An Angelo Caputo’s is on my way home, but I can’t stand the store. Their produce borders on out-of-date, the store smells like bad cheese, and the parking lot is horrific. I buy my meat at a local store in St. Charles. I used to be a Trader Joe’s junkie but got tired of it. Two Meijer’s within 8 miles of each other and I hate that store too, although their produce is the best and they are the only store that carries a few items I like, so that’s a stop I’ll do only on my way to work at 7am.
I raved - RAVED - about Mariano’s when it opened near me (Western and Belmont) as it really was phenomenal at the time. I’m sorry to say it’s slipped dramatically in the last few months. Prices have risen and service has fallen, and they suddenly have half bare shelves - not in the “too many customers want our awesome stuff” sense, but the “we don’t get a delivery until Tuesday” sense. I fear either a bad manager has taken over, or Mariano’s is great at Grand Openings.
Not a Chicagoan but I happened to be an assistant on an investment team that lent Dominick’s some money in the early 90s. Dominick and family had bought back the company when the parent began to want to cut corners. They were running a tight ship and the stores we visited were spotless. Sadly, Dominick died a few years later and the children decided to seek a new owner.
Growing up it was Piggly Wiggly. Then Jewel, when my sister got her first job there. We then moved and shopped at Dominick’s, and now that’s down, it’s Costco.
The Strack and Van Til is just a little north and worth checking out. I walked around the store this afternoon and it seems it is better than I remembered.
I can get behind this sentiment, particularly in the produce department. How do you run out of cilantro?!? I wouldn’t have said anything except the cashier asked whether I’d found everything alright. I mentioned that they were out of cilantro and she just sort of shrugged and apologized.
And last time I wanted a couple serrano peppers, they were shriveled and somehow simultaneously dried out and mushy. Zucchini is sort of hit or miss. However, avocados are pretty consistently good.
This tofu is also at Fresh Farms.
It was mushrooms for me. White button mushrooms. Oh, but I could (and did) get meitake, shitaake, enoki, dried morels, etc. But I didn’t want flavor, darn it, I wanted the texture of pain old boring white mushrooms for my sherried chicken!
Marianos is also my go to place for fresh flowers. But lately it’s been barren in there. And the antipathy is grating. It’s a far cry from the first month when the store opened and three employees and a manager eagerly asked me what this “naan” thing was that I was looking for and then had it on the shelf three days later.