YourPalWill wrote:I was a die hard Cub Foods fans until Aaron Deacon introduced me to Tony's Finer Foods.

Tony's isn't as trendy, doesn't have as much gourmet (for that there is Treasure Island), nor is itr developed for squeezing every last dime out of its floor space.

What Tony's offers, that consistently keeps me coming back, are consistently low prices on good quality fresh meat, dairy and produce items. Something simple, like a 2 pound chuck roast, that would cost $10-$12 in Jewel, sells for half that price at Tony's.

Sounds to me like a place called "Pete's Fresh Market" that's in three locations on the Southwest Side (including one literally a block and a half from my house). Eggs are a buck a pound, there's a great produce selection (especially if you like to cook Mexican food. Five or six different types of peppers, papayas, prickly pear, chayote, cactus paddles, yuca, epazote, etc...) Fresh tortillas that are still warm, roast chicken for like $4, homemade salsa roja, verde, and pico de gallo. It's great. The only bad thing is their beef selection isn't so hot if you like steak, but nothing's more than $4 or so pound. Chuck is usually around $3/lb.

Word.

_____Mother Mika will be missin' the Cub Foods she shopped at her whole life (outside of that Omni store next to Hersey High School in A.H...anyone remember that?). Knowing how most of the food I consumed as a child was either from Cub or Market Day (hence the reason I've gone to the oppostie end of the gastronomic specturm, striving for culinary Paletine), I know a part of me will be sad to see it go.

LikestoEatout wrote:There is now a Woodman's in North Aurora at Orchard Road and Oak Street, Orchard is an exit on I-88. Since they have been open we have not shopped anywhere else. Their selection is great and includes a very impressive array of ethnic and organic foods.

_____Seriously though, I have shopped Woodman's for years and just by happenstance one opens up a few miles from my residence? What are the chances?! Phenomenal store with a phat liquor department. While I agree with you overall, LikestoEatout, I must say the meat and produce section are questionable since they're under that "wholesale" umbrella.

_____God knows the "manager's special" of almost too old meats is sketchy enough as it is...

Z

Binko wrote:Sounds to me like a place called "Pete's Fresh Market" that's in three locations on the Southwest Side (including one literally a block and a half from my house). Eggs are a buck a pound, there's a great produce selection (especially if you like to cook Mexican food. Five or six different types of peppers, papayas, prickly pear, chayote, cactus paddles, yuca, epazote, etc...) Fresh tortillas that are still warm, roast chicken for like $4, homemade salsa roja, verde, and pico de gallo. It's great. The only bad thing is their beef selection isn't so hot if you like steak, but nothing's more than $4 or so pound. Chuck is usually around $3/lb.

Berwyn Fruit Market, 3811 S. Harlem, is similar to this. Worth checking out if it is convenient for you.

Zin wrote:Word.

(outside of that Omni store next to Hersey High School in A.H...anyone remember that?).

I remember Omni. The Omni on Clybourn/Fullerton was my go-to spot as a starvin' student.

Zin wrote:...outside of that Omni store next to Hersey High School in A.H...anyone remember that?...

That's the one that they then turned into a half-decent Dominick's, but they killed it, and the spot has been vacant for years.

You can spot most of the ex-Omni's by their arching facade. There's one in Morton Grove that's an outpatient center, I think I've seen another one in Buffalo Grove that's a pet supply store.

JoelF wrote:

Zin wrote:...outside of that Omni store next to Hersey High School in A.H...anyone remember that?...

That's the one that they then turned into a half-decent Dominick's, but they killed it, and the spot has been vacant for years.

You can spot most of the ex-Omni's by their arching facade. There's one in Morton Grove that's an outpatient center, I think I've seen another one in Buffalo Grove that's a pet supply store.

I associate those arching facades with Kohl's Grocery store, which I believe were related to Kohl's Department stores and Kohl's Children's Museum. I will suggest Kohl's Grocery were closed and/or sold to Omni, can anyone confirm this timeline?

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:I associate those arching facades with Kohl's Grocery store, which I believe were related to Kohl's Department stores and Kohl's Children's Museum. I will suggest Kohl's Grocery were closed and/or sold to Omni, can anyone confirm this timeline?

I also remember the arching facades as being Kohl's. For instance, I think Lincolnwood produce may have once been a Kohl's. I think the one in Elmhurst (or Villa Park?)became a 'Hi-Lo' (or something like that) around 1980, then it closed about a year later.

Here is what Wikipedia says:

In 1972 the British-American Tobacco Company bought the department stores and grocery stores. The Kohl family, led by Allen and Herb Kohl, stayed on to manage the company. The family left the management in 1979, and Herb Kohl went on to become a United States Senator and owner of the Milwaukee Bucks. This firm expanded Kohl's presence from 10 to 39 stores in Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana. The grocery stores were eventually sold to A&P in 1983, operating under the name Kohl's II, but the last of them were later closed in 2003.

5:35 am: Just returned from Cub Foods in Arl Hts. No longer 24/7.Now 8-10pm. Signs everywhere saying Blowout-Everything must go!

Some of the Kohl's grocery stores in the Chicago area were sold to Dominick's. Many of these locations proved to be less than stellar with some being closed pretty quickly. The store at Addison and Central lasted until Safeway did their big store closing campaign.

Omni was a division of Dominick's. The intent was to compete with Cub when Cub was more low-priced and warehousy. Once Cub changed, Dominick's converted their few Omni stores to regular but large Dominick's stores.

As I recall, the Omni was something like a Meijer; I remember buying a lampshade there once on a shopping trip. It was a haul for me, but I liked it (not that I remember it well)

I just got back from the Cub near me. The "blowout" is interesting... 10% off of most groceries, 20% off of general merchandise, the "40% off" is for greeting cards and the like.

People are buying like there's no tomorrow, even though 10% off of list is higher than the usual sale prices for many things. Now, a few things were really on sale, especially "Cub" branded items such as frozen peas. There were enough bargains that I did manage to buy a fair amount of stuff, usually 3-6 of each, where it was clear that they were going to run out soon.

But I'd wait another ten days to see the really good savings on staples such as olive oil. spices, cookies, etc. After that, things may start going to the Big Lots type places the same way that many Osco-branded items did from the stand-alone stores.

Cathy2 wrote:

JoelF wrote:

Zin wrote:...outside of that Omni store next to Hersey High School in A.H...anyone remember that?...

That's the one that they then turned into a half-decent Dominick's, but they killed it, and the spot has been vacant for years.

You can spot most of the ex-Omni's by their arching facade. There's one in Morton Grove that's an outpatient center, I think I've seen another one in Buffalo Grove that's a pet supply store.

I associate those arching facades with Kohl's Grocery store, which I believe were related to Kohl's Department stores and Kohl's Children's Museum. I will suggest Kohl's Grocery were closed and/or sold to Omni, can anyone confirm this timeline?

Regards,

For several years I worked for Delores Kohl at Kohl Children's Museum. [Grounds for dismissal would be saying Kohl's instead of Kohl and using black ink to sign letters. Alas...] Yes, you are correct Kohl Grocery Store was founded by Delores' father. There was some question whether the department store was founded by her father as well, but she always denied that connection. It's hard to believe that there would be another major store with the name Kohl though.

Back on topic...I was at Cub Foods yesterday and they are selling everything with a 10% discount.
veloute

Wasn't there a chain called Auchaen (sp) prior to Omni? I recall one of these down on Harlem around 75th or so...had good pastries if I remember correctly.

Cheers,
Brian

So how come Dominick's is doing so badly? I do prefer it to Jewel, but I've found both to pretty much be equal in terms of price and quality.

However I rarely go into any of the large chains anymore. Several years ago I discovered Marketplace On Oakton (in Skokie), which I just love and is where I pick up all my meat and veggies. I used to drive by on my way home from work, but I still go there even though it's now out of my way (I changed jobs last year). I only have to visit Dominick's every few months for bathroom, and cleaning supplies.

Cameron.

Cameron wrote:So how come Dominick's is doing so badly? I do prefer it to Jewel, but I've found both to pretty much be equal in terms of price and quality.

However I rarely go into any of the large chains anymore. Several years ago I discovered Marketplace On Oakton (in Skokie), which I just love and is where I pick up all my meat and veggies. I used to drive by on my way home from work, but I still go there even though it's now out of my way (I changed jobs last year). I only have to visit Dominick's every few months for bathroom, and cleaning supplies.

Cameron.

I'm the same way ... the only real reason I go to Jewel/Dominick's is for the plastic bag recycling bins. I can get several years' supply of cleaning supplies in one trip to Sam's Club, so it's Marketplace on Oakton for most of my food (other than the Farmers' Market). Although, having tried H-Mart for the first time last weekend, I might occasionally have to go a little further afield.

Cameron wrote:So how come Dominick's is doing so badly? I do prefer it to Jewel, but I've found both to pretty much be equal in terms of price and quality.

Several things.

1) Dominicks has a much higher labor cost and therefore, has a lot fewer employees available to customers.

2) Customers in this market DO NOT like the Safeway store brands. I hear that all the time from my co-workers.

3) A lot of the stores are not generating "critical mass". Head into the Round Lake Beach store or the Fox River Grove store at 7 am on a Saturday and you'll see the pink sticker (discounted as nearly out of date) on as much as 50% of the meat and dairy. That means that they are NOT turning their inventory.

It has been ages since we have paid more than 0.50-0.75 on half galloms of refrigerated juice or more than 0.25 on ind. size yogurts due to this.

And this occurs on longer dated products like processed meats and even BUTTER!

That is my 0.02 worth.

BrianD wrote:Wasn't there a chain called Auchaen (sp) prior to Omni? I recall one of these down on Harlem around 75th or so...had good pastries if I remember correctly.

Cheers,
Brian

Yep - that's Auchan which was right by Haunted Trails down in Bridgeview. After they left that space it indeed became an Omni.

pmcaleer wrote:

BrianD wrote:Wasn't there a chain called Auchaen (sp) prior to Omni? I recall one of these down on Harlem around 75th or so...had good pastries if I remember correctly.

Cheers,
Brian

Yep - that's Auchan which was right by Haunted Trails down in Bridgeview. After they left that space it indeed became an Omni.

Is this the same Auchan that is a French/European hypermarket? I didn't realize they had a presence here.

Are there any Cub Foods still open in the Northwest suburbs? They just closed the Crystal Lake store (at which time I filled up a couple of carts).

i suppose this has nothing to do with cub foods...but figured maybe someone here would know.

the cub foods on elston is now gone....across the street from it (there, that's the connection to this thread!) in between target and the autozone they're building some new dept store... no signs saying what it is, though... does anyone know?

gp60004 wrote:Looks like most of em will be turned into Strack and VanTils and a few Garden Fresh stores.

http://www.progressivegrocer.com/progre ... 1003190182

It's indeed turning into a Strack & Van Tils. A sign is up at the Elston location but there is no indication of when it will open.

G Wiv wrote:

grant wrote:eanwhile Cub carries a few things i can't find elsewhere so i was sad when i heard this.

Grant,

I'll miss Cub for one reason and one reason only, turkey thighs. Cub is, soon to be was, the only store in the Chicagoland area that always, as in 95% of the time, carried bone-in skin-on turkey thighs.
...

Suggestions for a reliable source of turkey things appreciated.

Gary and grant,

I saw a nice big tray of bone-in, skin-on turkey thighs in the butcher's case at the brand new Whole Foods at Peterson and Cicero (for the low, low Whole Foods price of $2.99/lb.)

Best,
Michael

JoelF wrote:You can spot most of the ex-Omni's by their arching facade. There's one in Morton Grove that's an outpatient center

Actually, what you're thinking of, on Dempster, used to be an Eagle Store (then maybe a Dominick's or something before it became a medical facility?). The Omni was on Oakton and Waukegan, where Super H is today.

eatchicago wrote:I saw a nice big tray of bone-in, skin-on turkey thighs in the butcher's case at the brand new Whole Foods at Peterson and Cicero (for the low, low Whole Foods price of $2.99/lb.)

Michael,

Thanks for the Whole Foods turkey thigh heads up. (As if I needed another excuse to visit the new Cicero/Peterson WF )

Enjoy,
Gary

Vanished Grocery Stores and Supermarkets = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysaalb3 ... e=youtu.be

If you want the "feel" of a Cub Foods store, Winco Foods stores are very much based on Cub Foods. Their store lay-out is almost identical.

The stores may look the same BUT there are two critical differences. Winco Foods is a discounter who usually is priced similar to ALDI. Also, since the company is employee owned, they have a very happy and satisfied workforce.

Winco Foods is located in most Western states as well as Oklahoma and Texas.