dddane wrote:i nearly get hit by someone every other day who is pulling out of their drive through blindly passing in front of buses that are trying to get to the bus stop right there...

I'm glad you pointed that out - I drive past there daily and the kamikaze driving of the people coming out of that drive-thru never ceases to amaze me. It's like the sausage biscuits they just picked up makes them feel invincible.

dddane wrote:

tem wrote:

leek wrote:So this must be a good bit off of Damen, because I go on Damen and I didn't even know there was a McDonalds around there.

errrr ... the McDonalds is about 50ft from the intersection

i don't think it's even 50 feet. it's *at* the intersection. are you sure you're talking about Chicago Ave, leek?

Yes, I guess I just never looked that way. You are right, there is a McDonald's at the intersection and a Dominick's behind it. Who knew!

See, I always look toward downtown and the funny stuff in the window at Rotofugi, and Atomix (future of coffee) and the diner on the corner with the Atkins' special...

My mistake. I was confusing Shop & Save with a Shop'N'Save, I think.

Whoever decided to put banks and coffee kiosks in grocery stores was a genius. The ONLY reason to head into a Jewel store is to stop at TCF Bank.

How true is this. I only bank at TCF because I know I can always find one in Jewel, and it's about the only reason I go to Jewel anymore!

Growing up, I remember Dominick's always being the more expensive of the "main" grocery stores (between Jewel & Dominick's). It was often the nicer of the two as well. I agree with those who state that the service and quality of the Dominick's has definitely declined in the last few years. I also agree with those who state that Jewel has gotten very expensive! Ridiculous.

I generally shop between four stores these days -- Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Wild Oats and Sunrise Health Foods. This is mainly because my husband is on a huge organic kick and therefore, to find a decent selection of organics, I'm left with little choice but the latter three to find food.

I prefer Wild Oats for the most part, mainly because they're cheaper than Whole Foods on a lot of things, believe it or not (I'm interested to see if this will change now that WF has bought out the WO chains -- are they going to keep them as Wild Oats or change all the stores to Whole Foods?) I think the Whole Foods store is more geared towards the upscale suburbanite set whereas Wild Oats seems more geared toward the crunchy suburbanite crowd. It's a combination of things, but -- I digress.

I don't shop at TJ's a ton, but they're great when I need certain things because I generally know I'm going to get it cheaper there: i.e., cheese, or cereal, or rice milk, etc. The problem is that their organic selection is spotty and a lot of their "regular" foods range from decent to unpalatable. (I will note, however: that their Flax Seed tortilla chips are surprisingly awesome as a "dip" chip. I love pairing this with TJ's fresh, hot salsa they sell in the refrigerated case.)

I will often stop at the local Sunrise Health Foods store because a) it's on my way home, and b) yes, I'm definitely in support of local business. The main problem with this place is that it's not a destination grocery store. It's the size of any typical, small health food store and, much like TJ's, often doesn't carry certain things you might be looking for. Their produce selection is sparse, but the produce there is all organic and usually very good.

I wish there wasn't such a black hole of decent health food / grocery options in the SW suburbs. As it is, I have to drive 45 mins to do my main grocery shopping every two weeks. (I don't go every week just for that reason.) The Super Target by my house has a small amount of organic produce and product, but again, very spotty and unpredictable. It's like a treasure hunt trying to do grocery shopping locally.

I've tried going to some of the other local stores (Randy's Market, Walt's), but haven't had a whole lot of luck. There's a new Euro Fresh Market that took the place of an former Cub Foods spot I haven't been to yet. Has anyone been there? Any feedback on that place?

Sorry to digress so far off the topic of Dominick's, but I think I have a lot of general grocery store frustration to work off. Heh.

if anyone truly cares, the new dominicks on chicago @ damen opens tonight. they had some sort of pre-opening last night w/ 10% off your purchase but tonight is the official "grand opening"

dddane wrote:if anyone truly cares, the new dominicks on chicago @ damen opens tonight. they had some sort of pre-opening last night w/ 10% off your purchase but tonight is the official "grand opening"

This is good, because now I can get those "must have because I am out" items on the way home from work (hop off the bus, walk over, buy items, hop on the next bus to come along) instead of having to plan ahead, get the car, screw around on Damen/Fullerton or Western/Fullerton...

(bananas, milk, OJ, just thought of item that I want to cook dinner, etc)

GreenFish wrote:I also agree with those who state that Jewel has gotten very expensive! Ridiculous.

I ran into Jewel to pick up meat for dinner and I just about fell over at the price they try to charge for everything from pork to chicken. $4.99/lb for boneless skinless chicken breasts? Even boneless pork ribs were $8 for a small package. What a ripoff!

Sadly there's no Wild Oats anywhere near me. Hinsdale is the closest and it's not like I'm going to drive over there for regular meals. It just gets a bit too expensive when tallying up gas and the fact I go there for the trip. Trader Joe's and Whole Foods are fortunately closer and they're really reliable for produce -- Whole Foods' selection in the dead of winter is a guaranteed pick me up for all the bright colours and wonderful smells.

(I will note, however: that their Flax Seed tortilla chips are surprisingly awesome as a "dip" chip. I love pairing this with TJ's fresh, hot salsa they sell in the refrigerated case.

Absolutely agreed. I'm terribly addicted to Flax Seed tortilla chips from TJ. They taste great!

I do wish there were more options in the W/SW suburbs towards Naperville, but maybe I'm just ignorant of where to go. I've had little luck with Caputo's except for pasta-based stuff, which makes sense.

leek wrote:

dddane wrote:if anyone truly cares, the new dominicks on chicago @ damen opens tonight. they had some sort of pre-opening last night w/ 10% off your purchase but tonight is the official "grand opening"

This is good, because now I can get those "must have because I am out" items on the way home from work (hop off the bus, walk over, buy items, hop on the next bus to come along) instead of having to plan ahead, get the car, screw around on Damen/Fullerton or Western/Fullerton...

(bananas, milk, OJ, just thought of item that I want to cook dinner, etc)

Sadly, convenience is all that Chicago Ave. Dominick's is good for. You can seriously pay less for everyday items at Whole Paycheck. No kidding. No gallon of spring water @ Dominick's for less than $1.29 (as opposed to 99 cents at Whole Foods). Lucerne brand medium eggs on sale for $1.49 marked down from the regular price of $2.79 (who would pay $2.79 for Lucerne medium eggs?). You know it's bad when you're yearning for the 365 brand.

Bster wrote:Let me just say, my local Dominick's just north of Foster and Lincoln avenues up in Lincoln Square/Ravenswood is a f*cking SHITHOLE. It is the armpit of hell. It is dirty, smelly, seedy, disgusting, repulsive, etc. The floors are ALWAYS dirty. I wouldn't be surprised to see rats rooming the floors (though I've yet to see it). Do not ever buy anything there that isn't pre-packaged in a bag, can, box, etc. Stay far, far away from the meats, poultry, etc.

I loathe the building, atmosphere, and especially the employees who take "I don't give a shit" to a new level each and every God-forsaken time I begrudgingly go out of slavery to convenience. If it were not for my local Mexican supermarket's (whose name escapes me right now) limited selection of these pre-packaged goods I would never even drive by the shithole that is my Dominick's.

What a shame, growing up in the NW burbs I remember D-micks being the creme-de-la-creme of the mass supermarkets.

This post really hit a nerve.

Bster

Foster and Sheridan, too. Most unfriendly service ever, and a security guard who looks like he should be doing time. They NEVER give me the swipecard discount---the Jewel on Broadway/Berwyn does so cheerfully, sans card.

There was a list in the Trib recently of these stores being closed, but I do not recall seeing these foster locations on the list.

A little more on those "swipe" cards - or "preferred customer" cards-

The Wall Street Journal a couple years ago had a nationwide survey of supermarkets with and without such cards. They made up a standard shopping list and priced it at two supermarket chains in about six major cities. They used Dominick's here and as I recall, Cub.

In EVERY city, the standardized grocery list cost more at "card" stores than the non-card markets, even after the great "deals" that card users were offered on some items.

The conclusion was that if you were gulled into doing most of your grocery shopping at stores that offered cards, you paid more for your groceries than at a non-card operation.

Just another Jewel-Dominick's ripoff.

MikeLM wrote:In EVERY city, the standardized grocery list cost more at "card" stores than the non-card markets, even after the great "deals" that card users were offered on some items.

i'm pretty sure the reasoning behind this was the items that they were buying were only 10 or 15 cents off. if i find myself reaching for something on sale at any store (more notorious at Jewel or Dominick's), i ALWAYS check to see what the original price was. most times the sale is only between 5 and 20 cents off, which isn't worth me buying the item.

milic13 wrote:i'm pretty sure the reasoning behind this was the items that they were buying were only 10 or 15 cents off. if i find myself reaching for something on sale at any store (more notorious at Jewel or Dominick's), i ALWAYS check to see what the original price was. most times the sale is only between 5 and 20 cents off, which isn't worth me buying the item.

What I've noticed is they will 'adjust' the non-sale price to make the savings appear greater. I was recently at D-nick's to realize a half gallon of Jack Daniels was over $50 at the regular price. A couple weeks later, not on sale, it was a few dollars less. I can buy this same bottle at Sam's Club or Binny's for $33.

We have the D'icks at Nagle & Devon. They just remodeled it. Its dark in there now...what's that about? The prices are outrageous. The produce is overpriced & old. The bakery is not very good and way overpriced. The only thing I really like are the signature soups, the tuscan tomato & basil is very good, but I bet I could make my own for a lot cheaper.

I prefer Butera.

My trifecta of shopping is:

Butera for meat & essentials/Jerry's Fruit & Garden Center for produce & dairy/Binny's for wine & spirits.

Sure it takes an hour longer to hit all three, but I can get a week's worth of fresh food & and some wine for what 3 bags of groceries at D'icks would cost!

I'm right with you, Liz (the 'spouse used to work in Norwood Park, making it easier to hit the Butera) although I prefer Marketplace on Oakton to Jerry's...not exactly in your neck of the woods, though. If you avoid the produce, meats, and dairy at Dominick's it isn't a bad place to shop.

Marco wrote:

Bster wrote:Let me just say, my local Dominick's just north of Foster and Lincoln avenues up in Lincoln Square/Ravenswood is a f*cking SHITHOLE. It is the armpit of hell. It is dirty, smelly, seedy, disgusting, repulsive, etc. The floors are ALWAYS dirty. I wouldn't be surprised to see rats rooming the floors (though I've yet to see it). Do not ever buy anything there that isn't pre-packaged in a bag, can, box, etc. Stay far, far away from the meats, poultry, etc.

I loathe the building, atmosphere, and especially the employees who take "I don't give a shit" to a new level each and every God-forsaken time I begrudgingly go out of slavery to convenience. If it were not for my local Mexican supermarket's (whose name escapes me right now) limited selection of these pre-packaged goods I would never even drive by the shithole that is my Dominick's.

What a shame, growing up in the NW burbs I remember D-micks being the creme-de-la-creme of the mass supermarkets.

This post really hit a nerve.

Bster

Foster and Sheridan, too. Most unfriendly service ever, and a security guard who looks like he should be doing time. They NEVER give me the swipecard discount---the Jewel on Broadway/Berwyn does so cheerfully, sans card.

There was a list in the Trib recently of these stores being closed, but I do not recall seeing these foster locations on the list.

Count me in among the consensus of people who dislike both Foster locations! (I of course mean Lincoln/Foster, and Sheridan/Foster)

On the other hand though, the Lincolnwood location(on McCormick Rd.) is nice, and they did a nice job with the renovation of the location near Broadway/Granville. I guess that's why when I've read the Sun-Times business section before, I keep hearing about this 'lifestyle' concept they're trying to renovate all the stores into. But of course, if they have no desire to renovate their crappy stores(such as the 2 Foster locations), I wouldn't mind seeing those locations close. Don't think I'll say much further about Dominick's, except that they're a very inconsistent chain. Either very good, or really terrible, with no inbetween level.

I will say though that increasingly, I'm prefering just shopping at only Target and Whole Foods, just b/c they have a better selection of quality food, and as for the case of Target, better prices. Also am hoping to check out Strack + Van Til(sp?) along Elston eventually, due to all the yelp reviews I've heard about them.

Hi,

I was just cleaning up the kitchen while listening the news. They said Roundy's grocery chain in Milwaukee is considering buying Dominick's from Safeway. Dominick's is estimated to be worth 400 million dollars. However, Safeway purchased the chain for $2 billion dollars! How do you explain that to your board and stockholders?

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

I was just cleaning up the kitchen while listening the news. They said Roundy's grocery chain in Milwaukee is considering buying Dominick's from Safeway. Dominick's is estimated to be worth 400 million dollars. However, Safeway purchased the chain for $2 billion dollars! How do you explain that to your board and stockholders?

Regards,

It was probably that Roundy's rumor that helped drive the price up in the first place, as they've been in the picture for years. Safeway initially stepped in after sales had plummeted and the chain was in the midst of horrible labor dispute. Safeway overpaid, probably in part to keep Roundy's out. Now, they may be forced to part with the chain for much closer to its actual value, and take a bath in the process. Oh, the irony.

=R=

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

I was just cleaning up the kitchen while listening the news. They said Roundy's grocery chain in Milwaukee is considering buying Dominick's from Safeway. Dominick's is estimated to be worth 400 million dollars. However, Safeway purchased the chain for $2 billion dollars! How do you explain that to your board and stockholders?

Regards,

Safeway is having similar problems with their Randalls acquisition in Texas.

Actually, it seems that most acquisitions never seem to bring the synergies that they are supposed to obtain. Why is it that the most successful chains - i.e. Wegman's, Ukrops, Dierberg's, HEB, etc. grow their businesses organically rather than through acquisition.

jlawrence01 wrote:Do realize that the Big 3 Supermarket chains (Krogers, Safeway, Supervalu) individually buy more organic foods than Whole Foods does. They can negotiate deals as good as Whole Foods.

Also, most of the "organic" brands are owned by the large corporations that produce all of the non-organic brands and have relationships with the Big 3.

Why would any supermarket chain DISCOUNT an "organic" product? It is so obvious that people will pay RIDICULOUS margins (a minimum of 2-3x nonorganic) for the products. Why would any retailer - besides WalMart -upset the apple cart?

Talked to a couple of salesmen for an organic coop that will remain unnamed. To quote one, "we never expected that the consumers would STILL be willing to pay the prices for our product that they are paying."

My Jewel has a better (and fresher) selection of organics than our health food stores. And the organic yogurt has been on sale the last 2-3 times I went... as cheap as .60 each with the preferred card.

We also have a local chain in NWI (WiseWay) that has a dedicated organic section where I can find things like organic lemon juice, but the prices there are terrible... the prices seem to go up a dollar or more at a time... I go to WiseWay just for 1-2 items and Jewel for everything else. With the things I buy, I always seem to do well price-wise.

Have the grocery chains in your area affected the local small health food stores that used to be ubiquitious? Since Jewel and WiseWay started carrying organics, the four local health food stores in the county are now down to two, and neither one of those two are thriving. They're definitely out of the food business... and I have to say that might be a good thing because they weren't keeping up with the times for freshness, appearance, or product selection. And the internet does a better job with educating about natural foods, with pricing, and with variety and choice.

I had a rude experience today. I found myself at Dominick's this afternoon because someone had given me a $25 gift card that was only good there. I haven't been in a Dominick's for at least 2 years. I had remembered that their prices were high, but I was in no way prepared for what I saw today. I could not believe how much they were charging for most items. Even their sale prices were substantially higher than the regular prices I have been paying at my local independent grocers. Roast turkey breast was "on sale" at their deli counter for $6.99/LB. I just wanted to burn off the gift card, so I picked up what I thought was about $25 worth of food, most of it "on sale." When the cashier rang it up, it was over $45, I couldn't believe it. I'm usually pretty good at ball-park-guessing my cart's value. The price differential between Dominick's and the independents has obviously grown in the past 2 years. Why do people pay these exorbitant prices when the same items are available at other local venues for probably about half the cost?

That's exactly what I ask myself. I don't get it.

Even their clearance meat section is high priced. They mark down almost expired meat to what would be a normal price for fresh meat in any other store.

My local Dominick's recently installed mood lighting, then raised all the prices by a third. I guess they figure that in the dim light you can't see what you are actually paying. I gather the new rough wood floors in the produce department are meant to reproduce the ambience of a country market, so you can feel really good about paying $1.59 for 1 lemon.

I'm amused that in the last couple of months (maybe longer, as I avoid Dominick's like the plague) allll their sale items are now marked by very conspicious red tags on the shelves. Red, in my mind, is the color for clearance. You see it at Target, at Jewel, at myriad other stores..and I am a dedicated clearance/closeout/markdown shopper. But here, it's just for their same lousy 5 or 10 cents off an already overpriced item. They're playing mind games, I just know it.

This morning Jimthebeerguy stepped into our local Dominick's to pick up a bagel on his way to work, and this is what he saw:

That's just St. Patrick's Day bread.

No excuse for that but is that some type of "reduced for clearance" bin? A bit of variety in that photo.

Is that cheese?

kanin wrote:Is that cheese?

Not quite yet...

That's nothing. The MEAT used to look like that by Thursday at the Dom that used to be on Kimball and Belmont.

DMChicago wrote:

kanin wrote:Is that cheese?

Not quite yet...

CLASSIC!