Dill Pickle Food Co-Op

I went to this gem today. It is clean, bright and while small it is mighty in it's offerings.

I purchased organic swiss chard, organic butter from WI,organic lemons & limes, organic almond milk, organic ginger root, 2 different types of organic sweet potatoes, a ginger smoother from the Ginger people, Ginger Ale from my beloved hand-crafted Goose Island Brewerey, & Bleinheim Ginger Ale.

There were in the bulk section an array of organic legumes & nuts. In the freezer section there was chicken, fish, and meat. In the dairy section yogurts, cottage cheese & milk by my favorite, Traders point Creamery. There was also at least one other purveyor of milk but I can't remember.

I will be back. Great place in an under served community. I hope they make it.

You do not have to be a member to purchase goods there.

PS If there is already a thread on the Dill Pickle moderators, please feel free to move this. I did a search & came up empty.

Dill Pickle Co-Op (website)
2746 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 252-2667
7am-10pm M-F
8am-10pm Weekends

Dill Pickle Food Co-Op
3039 W Fullerton
Chicago, IL
73-252-2667
Monday - Sat: Noon -8pm
Sunday: 10am - 6pm

pairs4life wrote: In the dairy section yogurts, cottage cheese & milk by my favorite, Traders point Creamery. There was also at least one other purveyor of milk but I can't remember.

Castle Rock, which is at least as good as Traders Point, and significantly cheaper.

I like the Dill Pickle. Good dairy selection, comprehensive set of bulk spices, and plenty of interesting canned/ bottled goods. I was disappointed in the produce though - carrots and beets seemed to have been stored poorly, as they were limp/ mushy to the touch.

Kennyz wrote:

pairs4life wrote: In the dairy section yogurts, cottage cheese & milk by my favorite, Traders point Creamery. There was also at least one other purveyor of milk but I can't remember.

Castle Rock, which is at least as good as Traders Point, and significantly cheaper.

I like the Dill Pickle. Good dairy selection, comprehensive set of bulk spices, and plenty of interesting canned/ bottled goods. I was disappointed in the produce though - carrots and beets seemed to have been stored poorly, as they were limp/ mushy to the touch.

I'm not normally a beet or carrot person so I didn't look.

Is Castle Rock's milk as "biblically sweet" ( you know those references in old poems & throughout the bible to milk being sweet-- I'd never experienced that until Traders Point) as Traders Point?

Spring salad mix, sweet potatoes, & rainbow swiss chard were all lovely. Rainbow Swiss Chard & sweet potatoes are being used for the 1st LTH Vegetarian Small Household Dinner Exchange tomorrow.

Thanks for the reminder-- I had heard about this place, but didn't realize they had actually opened. Sounds like they are still working up membership incentives. I can't wait to check it out; did they have bulk foods (grains, legumes, etc?).

My real question, what is up with the store hours? A grocery store that opens at noon???

Jen

I checked it out too. Their shelves weren't fully stocked as of last Friday, so I can't comment on everything. Nice space. I think I will have to go back and really pour over their stock to justify buying anything there. They are very expensive, which is not surprising. That said, I will pay more for a specialty cheese, pastured eggs (which they have), or a locally produced item that catches my eye. I did like the bulk foods, teas & spices and also the fresh bakery items. For a small food co-op (and I've lived in Madison and Austin, so I know from food co-ops!) they have a good variety of products.

I thought they were pretty well stocked. Lot's of organic beans, oats, grains, teas, coffees, & herbs/spices in bulk.

Price wise, they aren't Trader Joe's, Stanley's, or Aldi's, but for the products I think they line up w/ Whole Foods/ regular grocery stores for comparable items. They have an "essential basket" item (I maybe wrong on what they actually call it) but it alerts one to essentials, like non-soy milk or canned organic legumes & bagged grains that they have at a "discounted" price.

As for the hours, they probably better reflect the neighborhood's shopping habits. I could certainly see them changing in the spring/summer for more hours on the weekends. I used to ask why Whole Foods wasn't open earlier than 8 am but I'm sure their market research & trends told them they weren't missing much with early bird shopping versus the cost of being open.

The biggest thing I saw missing was the soy/meat substitute offerings (they did have seitan) but no Quorn or Boca, etc. mock meats. Plus the meat, poultry, seafood offerings were all frozen, not fresh. Again, as there is demand I'm sure they will get those items.

I liked seeing packaged Farmers' Market vendors( and ltd. fresh) like River Valley's fresh shiitake mushrooms & packaged pickled onion relish as well asTomato Mountain's pasta sauces. I also liked seeing local Goose Island sodas in stock.

I will be neary and was going to check out the Dill Pickle. Any recent experience? I'm interesting in the bulk section, is it more than spices? And overall recent info..

Marmish wrote:I will be neary and was going to check out the Dill Pickle. Any recent experience? I'm interesting in the bulk section, is it more than spices? And overall recent info..

Yeah, they have a pretty decent bulk foods section...especially for the size of the store. Coffee, tea, spices, rices, oats, groats, peas, beans, nuts. I tend to stock up on fresh bread and produce while I'm there too...and Mint Creek Farm pastured eggs (if they're in stock). Staff is always very friendly and knowledgeable.

Prices are high, but I try to stick to fresh stuff, a few canned items, and bulk foods and that keeps the cost low. The prices on specialty stuff like organic snack foods, meat-free packaged foods, and even ice cream will take your breath away (unless you are a regular shopper at Whole Paycheck). At least you're handing your money over to a co-op, so it's either going back into the store, or back to the members.

Thanks for the info

Are any LTHers members, either at Dill Pickle or another such co-op? I'm curious about the benefits of joining, as opposed simply going to shop. For example, how often are there member discounts and how good are they? And are there profits and are they ever distributed to the members or are they simply reinvested?

the OP's listing of the dill pickle's hours are out of date. 2015 summer hours: 9am- 10pm, 7 days/ week

responding to BR's post: (i don't believe we've turned a profit yet)
BENEFITS OF OWNERSHIP

Democratic Governance - As an owner, you vote for the Board of Directors and changes to the co-op's bylaws. The co-op is accountable to you, the owner.
Active Involvement - Co-op owners are welcome to get directly involved as committee members, board members or help out in-store as Hands-On Owners.
Owner Discounts - The co-op extends a 10% discount to owners one day each month of their choosing. Special owner sales are offered weekly and monthly across the store. Dividends in the form of patronage rebates are distributed to owners when the co-op runs a financial surplus.
Boosting the Local Economy - By becoming an owner of the co-op, you're supporting a business that follows sustainable business practices and purchases from other local businesses and farms.

After five diligent years of expansion planning, site selection, store design, fundraising and financing, we're kicking off construction of the Dill Pickle's new home on Milwaukee Ave! Join us bright and early to celebrate this milestone with community leaders and enjoy coffee/tea & pastries from the co-op!

https://www.facebook.com/events/1473560519368752/

2746 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago, IL 60647

Only went to the old location a couple of times, since we moved back to the city. We were REALLY looking forward to the new location. I thought it may come close to being the most complete grocery for us. Stopped today after the Logan Square Farmers Market (which we love), and was really disappointed.

The produce section in the old location was almost non-existant, but most of what they had was good and they had an extremely small storefront. Really hoped for a large produce department, but the new one is not very large, which I do not understand. In my mind, most folks interested in a food co-op are into cooking and healthy, non-processed ingredients, which seems to point to a good sized produce section.

The layout of the entire store doesn't seem efficient, a lot of wasted space. Product selection seems poor, in my opinion. Maybe 5 dried legumes, no Italian (only Texas) arborio rice, and many other similar situations. But the quart size bottle juice selection was very large with at least three facings of each SKU. When you don't have enough foot print for food items, do you really need an aisle for cosmetics in a small grocery store?

Are the merchandizers there cooks? Have they been in retail previously?

I really hesitate to say this since I do not look hard at prices, especially when it is a small local business that I want to support, but the prices on packaged items are really high. Since we were just at the farmers market I didn't really look at produce prices. I thought they might be inflated to give a percentage off to members, but that doesn't seem to be the case on regular shopping, discounts are only for a quarterly bonus day.

There doesn't seem to be much incentive to become a member for $250 to $500. Mainly a quarterly bonus day?

I really try to refrain from negatives posts, but just really disappointed and feel the efforts the folks involved put in could have produced a better result.

Still have yet to find a decent grocery. Was really spoiled by Heinen's and Sunset Foods in the northern burbs. Even the north suburban Mariano's were great (and I wasn't really a fan) compared to the horrendous Chicago and Damen Mariano's. Pete's at Western and Lake is OK, but doesn't have a lot of our staples. The Whole Foods on Kingsbury may be the best option, but the traffic in that area is a deterrent.

since the new location has been open exactly 3 days and is 6 times the size of the old space, why not give them a little time to get settled and well-stocked before writing such a negative post?

Just a general observation from a disinterested bystander: I don't see why early positive reviews of any place deserve more credence than early negative reviews. I can see an argument made that either you're ready to open for business or you're not.

Katie wrote:I can see an argument made that either you're ready to open for business or you're not.

Exactly! If you're taking people's money, then you've opened yourself up to both praise and criticism. I would say the negative, but articulate, review of a recently opened place does them a greater service than further rote praise that just joins the chorus. The fact the business just opened makes the criticism less fatal because of the built-in excuse. Now, at least they are on notice of potential inefficiencies.

Katie wrote:Just a general observation from a disinterested bystander: I don't see why early positive reviews of any place deserve more credence than early negative reviews. I can see an argument made that either you're ready to open for business or you're not.

They were ready for business. Shelves were full, shelf tags in place (product selection was made), small produce section in place, and poor (IMO) use of space (lots of dead space in a small footprint) already in place. I did not comment on items I wanted that were out of stock, which I understand happens on opening weekend. But one of those items was Amy's Vegan pizza's which for some reason are hard to find around here (except at Whole Foods) and all of the Amy's pizza's with cheese were on the shelf, so do you understand your market?

Either you are ready to compete or why are you in business? I really want to support them, but hard to make a case for it. I would think my family is a target audience. We eat a healthy plant based diet and buy organic and local whenever we can. We spend a lot on groceries.

What is your business plan, what are you trying to be, who is your customer? This was a $3.5M investment.

It seems every week a restaurant goes under in this city and the owners blame others. They have a big financial commitment here just hope it works out.

i am a member/owner and i just came from a shopping trip to the DP, and was happy to see phil, the meat guy, is now stocking smoked meats and other good things from Paulina Market....including HOT DOUG'S HOT DOGS- there are 4 varieties there today. phil says we're the only store to carry PM's meats and i believe doug's dogs are at the ball park only.... thought people here would be interested. 4 big fat sausages/pack for $10. and there is a parking lot through the alley underneath the building for those who are driving.... i might as well mention also, that the DP carries flour from Lonesome Stone in wisconsin in the bulk bins. this is the flour that middle brow bungalow uses to make their fantastic breads and pizza (that also has king arthur 00 flour..).

Dill Pickle Co-Op (website)
2746 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 252-2667

Thanks, Joan. There was an existing thread so I merged yours into it and updated the address information, etc.

I started shopping here after you mentioned it to me a few months ago. I think it's excellent, with a lot more selection than I expected. It's very well curated, too. Given how scarce conventional grocery shopping is in Logan Square, this is a great, somewhat hidden resource.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Thanks, Joan. There was an existing thread so I merged yours into it and updated the address information, etc.

I started shopping here after you mentioned it to me a few months ago. I think it's excellent, with a lot more selection than I expected. It's very well curated, too. Given how scarce conventional grocery shopping is in Logan Square, this is a great, somewhat hidden resource.

=R=

i'm glad you like the store. just FYI, i searched for a thread with the title 'dill pickle food' with both the current search feature as well as the old and couldn't find it....

justjoan wrote:i'm glad you like the store. just FYI, i searched for a thread with the title 'dill pickle food' with both the current search feature as well as the old and couldn't find it....

I thought I remembered an older thread, so I searched only on "pickle" in Shopping & Cooking, Topic titles only, and it came up for me. Sometimes it's more effective to just search on one keyword, if can you think of one.

Anyway, thanks again, for the post. As Ava posted in her OP, this place is a gem.

=R=

justjoan wrote:I'm glad you like the store. just FYI, i searched for a thread with the title 'dill pickle food' with both the current search feature as well as the old and couldn't find it....

The 'current' search is via google. I find it throws out too much information and not always what I am looking food.

'Old' is really a poor word choice made by nobody here presently, it is the site's internal indexing. It works like a dream for me. For this situation, I would have limited the search to 'Shopping and Cooking' forum, keywords: Dill Pickle and begin by topic title only, then more general.

In all cases, if you can recall a unique word used, then the internal index really does well. I really wish it was rephrased from 'old' to 'site index.'

I find the google search is not worthy, because it is too general.

Regards,
Cathy2

for those who don't live too far from the dill pickle, i'm happy to share that they're doing a fantastic job of social distancing. After they let the first 15 people in to shop, it's one in /one out. And the first hour from 10 to 11 is for seniors and disabled every single day. They've also stocked up on some great bread from Montelimar(used to be la farine). don't know if I'm spelling that right but the bread is very good. There's a Honey oat porridge that's delicious particularly when toasted twice so it gets a little bit crunchy and a nice sourdough loaf which makes good toast. They also continue to have bread from hewn in Evanston. They are well-stocked with produce and fruit every day as well as all the usual things. I had several friends telling me at the beginning of the pandemic that the large grocery stores had no vegetables. I was able to say that the dill pickle had full shelves. i'm a member of the co-op and I'm happy to encourage others to come and shop in a pretty safe environment.

the DP co-op is the only place i feel comfortable shopping right now. it's 15 people in at a time. just FYI, today, as almost every day, they have locally milled flour: all purpose, pastry, and bread. the staff has prepackaged it, as there is no bulk bin shopping right not. it's good stuff- i bake with the bread flour and the AP all the time. no yeast right now, though- i havent seen it here since the pandemic hit.