Mariano's Fresh Market

I generally try to keep my money as local as possible, but I was near Mariano's at Halsted and Madison last Thursday evening around 9 and needed a few things, and would have not been able to get to any local stores in time.

I had already been impressed with the amount of bike parking they had installed, but otherwise didn't know anything about the place beyond a vague perception that they were probably on the pricey side. My initial perception after passing the sushi and expresso bars, and the deli/bakery/produce areas on the way in was that the store was very upscale, but when I got to the aisles I found the prices were pretty low, especially the house brand stuff (Roundy's) and there was kind of a suprising assortment of foreign food of various kinds.  I ended up almost enjoying shopping, which I've almost come to dread in recent years....

Anyone else shop here? What do you think? Is it a local company? Is it just a subsidiary of Wal-Mart and I'm easily fooled?

Views: 4584

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Tim on October 10, 2013 at 4:51am

This same story could be said for all "big" businesses. It's not hard to make statistics and selective data speak the way one wants them to.



Sarah D. 1-3.3 said:

I'm not too into Mariano's. Hate the fact that they bullied for TIF funding to go in at Ravenswood and Lawrence, when they quite obviously do not need it. (And: how long does it take to build a darn grocery store? That thing is taking forever.) Really dislike the fact that they say they're creating X # of local jobs but they then lay off 75% of X after the opening fades. Hate the piano at Western and Roscoe. Plus, I asked an employee on the opening week for the gluten-free section and he stared blankly at me for like 5 minutes. I left.

Waiting patiently for the Chicago Food Co-op, myself, and until then it's Whole Foods, TJs, Jewel, and Harvest Time, plus occasional trips to Fresh Farms in Niles. 

Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on October 10, 2013 at 4:54am

Hey, don't knock drunk grocery shopping until you try it. ;-) Whole Foods in Lincoln Park has a bar with a decent beer selection, and it's a fun place to blow your whole paycheck, if you so desire.

Juan 2-8 mi. said:


Roundy's is their value brand for sure. They are also good at being enablers of alcoholics as I have witnessed some shoppers walking around with a glass of wine in one hand and groceries on the other.


Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:

Is their food called "Roundy's" because it will make you round if you eat too much of it? :-)

Permalink Reply by Gopher Biker on October 10, 2013 at 5:09am

An oldie but goodie: http://www.amazon.com/How-Lie-Statistics-Darrell-Huff/dp/0393310728

When in doubt, massage the data!

Tim said:

This same story could be said for all "big" businesses. It's not hard to make statistics and selective data speak the way one wants them to.



Sarah D. 1-3.3 said:

I'm not too into Mariano's. Hate the fact that they bullied for TIF funding to go in at Ravenswood and Lawrence, when they quite obviously do not need it. (And: how long does it take to build a darn grocery store? That thing is taking forever.) Really dislike the fact that they say they're creating X # of local jobs but they then lay off 75% of X after the opening fades. Hate the piano at Western and Roscoe. Plus, I asked an employee on the opening week for the gluten-free section and he stared blankly at me for like 5 minutes. I left.

Waiting patiently for the Chicago Food Co-op, myself, and until then it's Whole Foods, TJs, Jewel, and Harvest Time, plus occasional trips to Fresh Farms in Niles. 

Permalink Reply by Sarah D. on October 10, 2013 at 6:17am

Does that make it OK?

Not for me. 

**

And an even bigger grocery chain, Whole Foods, does not engage in that hire-then-fire practice - they use existing staff to open new stores in addition to a few new hires, thus not creating straw job numbers. Not saying WFM is perfect, but in this case I find it more ethical re: workers. 

Tim said:

This same story could be said for all "big" businesses. It's not hard to make statistics and selective data speak the way one wants them to.

Permalink Reply by Tim on October 10, 2013 at 6:30am

I didn't put a judgement on it. Whole foods, as well as many other retailers in general do some questionable things as well. My main point is that it is virtually impossible to circumvent questionable business practices so it's basically purchasing products from a place that you thing is the less of two evils.   Obviously local is better for a lot of reasons,  but there are also really crappy small business owners in the world as well. 

Sarah D. 1-3.3 said:

Does that make it OK?

Not for me. 

**

And an even bigger grocery chain, Whole Foods, does not engage in that hire-then-fire practice - they use existing staff to open new stores in addition to a few new hires, thus not creating straw job numbers. Not saying WFM is perfect, but in this case I find it more ethical re: workers. 

Tim said:

This same story could be said for all "big" businesses. It's not hard to make statistics and selective data speak the way one wants them to.

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on October 10, 2013 at 10:21am

No less of an authority than Lee Diamond insists that the best produce in the City of Chicago can only be obtained at A&G International Fresh Market, 5630 W. Belmont. I've been there and it is pretty good, though not conveniently located.

Permalink Reply by Amanda L on October 10, 2013 at 10:28am

If I want good produce, I go to the Logan Square farmer's market. As far as I can tell, the produce sections in Chicago supermarkets just generally leave a lot to be desired. (I haven't been to A&G, but it's a solid 5 miles from my house.)



Kevin C said:

No less of an authority than Lee Diamond insists that the best produce in the City of Chicago can only be obtained at A&G International Fresh Market, 5630 W. Belmont. I've been there and it is pretty good, though not conveniently located.

Permalink Reply by Will on October 10, 2013 at 2:02pm

I know someone who works there, and from what she says, they don't treat their employees well. I won't be shopping there again anytime soon.

Permalink Reply by Sol on October 10, 2013 at 8:16pm
I like the produce at my local independent, Devon Market. They also have a sushi chef and reasonable prices.
Permalink Reply by Michelle Loomis on October 11, 2013 at 12:30am

Yeah I get the price point issue and I havent shopped at either whole foods or Mariano's enough to really know the price difference. I don't shop whole foods much unless I need a special ingredient for a recipe. I think what my friend was getting at is that Mariano's trys to be like whole foods but fails at it, and presents itself horribly. Whole foods has extra stockers to keep the shelves mirrored and from what I can tell they provide a decent living for their employees.  

My favourite produce usually comes from the farmers market :-)


Duppie said:

That's good that you noticed that. Did you also notice the increased cost of your groceries that invariably accompanies 'mirrored'(*) shelves.

(*) In my teenage years I worked in a high-end grocery store. Mirroring is what we called the activity of pulling goods forward, placing them label forward, and placing newer merchandise in the back. Mindless work, but it paid for my weekend nights out.

Michelle Loomis said:

I shopped at Mariano's with a friend that worked for whole foods. I probably won't be going back to Mariano's as my friend pointed out every flaw in the store from the bruised/bad produce to the poorly stocked shelves. You will never have to reach to the back of the shelf to get products at whole foods. I guess that is the type of stuff you notice when you have worked in the industry and now that it has been pointed out to me, I will notice too.

Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on October 11, 2013 at 5:08am


Not knocking the sauced up grocery shopping, I look forward to a grocery store that may have a hookah lounge one day. It's just feels weird to shop like as if it's a holiday with live music, fine wines and vittles that fill the air. Also the prices on some of their stuff is comparable to Trader Joe's, Jewels and Dominick's.

Sunday's my S.O. and I visit TJ's, Dominick's, Whole Foods, Jewels, Mariano's and the Walmart in Presidential Towers for all the sale items or product that is much less, even by 10 cents. All within walking distance with our shopping cart.

I would go to the largest Whole Foods but it is really just for the driving crowd and too far away.


Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:

Hey, don't knock drunk grocery shopping until you try it. ;-) Whole Foods in Lincoln Park has a bar with a decent beer selection, and it's a fun place to blow your whole paycheck, if you so desire.

Juan 2-8 mi. said:


Roundy's is their value brand for sure. They are also good at being enablers of alcoholics as I have witnessed some shoppers walking around with a glass of wine in one hand and groceries on the other.


Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:

Is their food called "Roundy's" because it will make you round if you eat too much of it? :-)

Permalink Reply by Duppie on October 11, 2013 at 5:19am

And the best selection of Ajyar I've ever seen.

Sol said:

I like the produce at my local independent, Devon Market. They also have a sushi chef and reasonable prices.

RSS

Groups

© 2008-2016   The Chainlink Community, L.L.C.   Powered by

Disclaimer  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service