Sendik's in Milwaukeeland

I looked up LTHforum before a quick weekend trip to the Milwaukee area sometime ago.

The Milwaukee Road Trip post led me to Kopps (Greenfield location) where we stopped for dinner: a nice burger and a great sundae. Yet again we didn't stop at Miro's Charcoal House Little Europe, mostly because we weren't that hungry yet and had a fair distance yet to go.

We stayed at a friends, eating at home. One dinner was at Izumi's a japanese restaurant. The sushi was decent, allowing for the fact that we sat away from the sushi bar with three small children in tow. The cuts of fish were very large, draped over a small ball of rice, but that doesn't make great sushi. I also didn't care for the fact that in the sashimi appetizer some pieces of fish were touching another kind. The miso grilled fish however was excellent.

The highlight of the trip was on our way back when we stopped at Sendik's. I had been there very briefly with my friend the previous time I was over and really liked it. This time I had my cooler with me. There's something really nice about the store - neat and quality. Hard crusty baguettes from their bakery, Nueskes The main reason I wanted to return there though was the cheese section. They have a walk in refrigerated cheese section, replete with 50lb wheels of cheese. Great selection, and importantly, well packed and stored, and good prices ($9 for capriole o'banon, $11 at the cheese stands alone). I picked up a few things.



The giant wheels of morel and leek jack there tempted me to pick up a small piece. It should have been called LEEK and morel, but was nice grated and in an omelette. The french goat cheeses were, eh, goat cheeses. Humboldt Fog (top left) is something I really like so I picked that up. I noticed Midnight Moon there (also from Cypress Grove Chevre, but I'll have to try that another time). Thanks again to LTHforum, I'd recently sampled both Cheese Stands Alone and Red Hawk; the former I found ok, the latter fantastic. I asked about Red Hawk or any cheese from Cowgirl Creamery but sendik's didn't have any.
A small note declared the Carr Valley cave-aged cardona as the second place winner at the american cheese show or something of the sort. Based on that I picked up a small wedge. I wish I had picked up more. This is a fantastic cheese. A slightly hard cheese, very slightly nutty and creamy with a loooong flavour, twice as much as the idiazabal I picked up. I enjoyed this as much as Red Hawk.If I cross the IL/WI border again I'll go there if just for that cheese. Also pictured is very flavourful Spanish quince paste.

From sendik's we also picked up some very nice Nueske's bacon (which I learnt of here) and some Usingers andouille. The andouille ended up in some of the wife's jambalaya - lunch today that reminded me to post on Sendik's.


Sendik's
18985 W. Capitol Drive
Brookfield, WI 53045
(262) 781-8200
website:http://www.sendiks.cc

store hours:
7:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. Monday - Saturday
8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Sunday

We met my parents for lunch this afternoon in Brookfield, WI. I desparately tried to convince them that we really needed to go to Sobelman's after viewing their Bloody Mary photo both on this forum and in Time Out Chicago, but, alas, Dad didn't want to drive into the "city." So we wound up at Dad's pick - Mitchell's Fish Market on the grounds of the Brookfield Mall. It was fine - friendly and efficient service, fresh oysters, OK mussels, Mom really liked her Asian Salmon Salad... However, the highlight of our trip (not that seeing my parents isn't highlight enough ,)was the stop at Sendik's after lunch. Yowsa, nice store! I mean, not as eye-popping, jaw-dropping as the Peterson/Cicero Whole Foods, but less overwhelming and WAY less expensive!
I took a few photos while unpacking:

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I love dark breads - the round loaf is their Pumpernickel.

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Mmm...Cheese.

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I see the price went up a tad since sazerac made his purchase.

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Wisconsin-grown sprouts, Yummy looking Puttanesca sauce and Heirloom tomatoes.

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Everything you see here plus a package of basil gnocchi and (2) 6-packs of New Glarus beer was had for a whopping $55.92. I don't think I can sneeze in Whole Foods without it somehow costing me $50 bucks. The total tax was $.71!

Do stop by if you ever find yourself in the area, and try to have a cooler w/ you because you WILL want cheese. Lynn

Sendik's has numerous locations around Milwaukee's north and western suburbs. While they vary in size, most of them focus on high quality groceries and perishables. Naturally they have the good taste to carry Roadhouse Bar-B-Que Sauces.

There are actually three different Sendik's ownership groups. The main family owns the stores in White Fish Bay, Waukesha, Brookfield, Wauwautosa, Grafton, and Mequon (there may be other locations belonging to this group, I forget).

There is a smaller group that owns the newish store on North Avenue just east of Grasch's (another high end grocer, with only one store) in Brookfield. This location is a converted Kroger store and is a bit more run of the mill.

Yet another owner operates the Oakland store in Milwaukee proper under the name Nehring's Sendik's. John Nehring also owns V. Richards, yet another of Milwaukee's high end/gourmet grocers.

I'm not sure who owns the Sendik's on Downer Avenue.

Sendik's would be a welcome addition to the Chicago grocery scene. probably won't happen though.

Buddy

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:Sendik's has numerous locations around Milwaukee's north and western suburbs. While they vary in size, most of them focus on high quality groceries and perishables. Naturally they have the good taste to carry Roadhouse Bar-B-Que Sauces.

There are actually three different Sendik's ownership groups. The main family owns the stores in White Fish Bay, Waukesha, Brookfield, Wauwautosa, Grafton, and Mequon (there may be other locations belonging to this group, I forget).

There is a smaller group that owns the newish store on North Avenue just east of Grasch's (another high end grocer, with only one store) in Brookfield. This location is a converted Kroger store and is a bit more run of the mill.

Yet another owner operates the Oakland store in Milwaukee proper under the name Nehring's Sendik's. John Nehring also owns V. Richards, yet another of Milwaukee's high end/gourmet grocers.

I'm not sure who owns the Sendik's on Downer Avenue.

Sendik's would be a welcome addition to the Chicago grocery scene. probably won't happen though.

Buddy

You are correct that there are numerous Sendik's clusters in Milwaukee, but you've got the breakdown a bit off:

John and Tony Sendik own: Milwaukee Downer Ave., Bayside, and Brookfield North Ave. http://www.sendiks.com

Tom Balistreri owns the nice big Sendik's on Capitol Drive in Brookfield. http://www.sendiksfinefoods.com

Nick/Patrick/Ted Balistreri own the biggest "chain" of Sendik's stores: Whitefish Bay, Wauwatosa, Mequon, Grafton, and soon Franklin and Elm Grove. http://www.sendiksmarket.com

The Nehring family owns the Shorewood Sendik's on Oakland along with Groppi Market in Bay View and V. Richard's in Brookfield. http://www.sendiksoakland.com

mkefood wrote:Nick/Patrick/Ted Balistreri own the biggest "chain" of Sendik's stores: Whitefish Bay, Wauwatosa, Mequon, Grafton, and soon Franklin and Elm Grove. http://www.sendiksmarket.com

MKE,

I'm very familiar with the Whitefish Bay Sendik's, a well run grocery with an eye toward both quality and detail. When my parents still lived in Milwaukee it was their go-to grocery. My grandmother was a regular as well, though she no longer grocery shops.

Speaking of my grandmother, she is not fond of flowers so for special occasions that call for flowers I send a fruit and canned fish basket from Sendick's. Fruit and canned fish? Yep, she loves salty cured fish, anchovies, sardines, smoked oysters, caviar, and Sendick's always puts together a lovely, and delicious, basket with delivery for a reasonable price.

Enjoy,
Gary

mkefood wrote:Nick/Patrick/Ted Balistreri own the biggest "chain" of Sendik's stores: Whitefish Bay, Wauwatosa, Mequon, Grafton, and soon Franklin and Elm Grove. http://www.sendiksmarket.com

I can't say I was impressed with the Wauwatosa Sendik's store, which struck me mainly as overpriced. In some ways, it reminded me of Trader Joe's, but even more expensive and with fewer unique items. I also stopped in at Outpost Natural Foods, which was even pricier although it at least has the excuse of being seriously organic.

The big box stores such as Pick n' Save and Sentry seem similar to Jewel and Dominick's, equally high priced, and with even less in the way of international groceries. Woodman's appears to be the main resource for reasonable prices and diversity.

Milwaukee seems to lack the kind of well-priced produce markets and independent/small chain groceries that are all over Chicagoland, such as Produce World, Fresh Farms, Garden Fresh, Harvest Fresh, Shop-and-Save, Stanley's, Jerry's, etc.

mkefood wrote:John and Tony Sendik own: Milwaukee Downer Ave., Bayside, and Brookfield North Ave. http://www.sendiks.com

An amusing story about the Sendik's stores is that when Great Grandpa Balistreri, the founder, arrived in Milwaukee from Sicily, ca. 1900, he ordered a stove and told the store in broken English to "send it." When the delivery arrived, the carter asked neighbors where to find "Mr. Sendik." The neighbors adopted the nickname.

Eventually, this branch of the family changed their surname from Balistreri (a rather notorious name) to Sendik.

Anyway, I visited the North Avenue store yesterday. It's more downmarket than the Wauwatosa Sendik's. Prices aren't cheap but they're more reasonable, and the mix of goods is more regular than fancy. Lots of Food Club products, for example. They had a better selection of ethnic/international goods, though nothing like Woodman's or my favorite Chicago stores.

It reminded me of what smaller Dominick's stores were like before they began the upgrade to "Fresh" stores.

The deli was full of Usinger's products. I didn't really look at meat.

Produce was disappointing. They had a good selection of apples (only a few locally grown, though), and Honey Crisps on sale for 99 cents/pound, but overall the produce was expensive and lackluster.

I have yet to find a good place to buy fruits and vegetables in Milwaukee. I think I will be buying them in Chicago and hauling them north.

LAZ wrote:
I have yet to find a good place to buy fruits and vegetables in Milwaukee. I think I will be buying them in Chicago and hauling them north.

I totally agree. Food shopping in general was a reguar source of frustration when I lived there. A friend told me that The Fresh Market is adding a location in Milwaukee (TFM website says Port Washington rd-coming soon). I don't remeber being really impressed by the Brookfield location, but that was a few years ago.

jvalentino wrote:

LAZ wrote:
I have yet to find a good place to buy fruits and vegetables in Milwaukee. I think I will be buying them in Chicago and hauling them north.

I totally agree. Food shopping in general was a reguar source of frustration when I lived there. A friend told me that The Fresh Market is adding a location in Milwaukee (TFM website says Port Washington rd-coming soon). I don't remeber being really impressed by the Brookfield location, but that was a few years ago.

I was not impressed by the north suburban location Cathy2 and I visited some while back and never returned. I thought it was overpriced, although it did carry a lot of upscale products I have no use for. I don't recall the produce being anything special, although it was attractively displayed.

So far the Milwaukee markets I've liked are Woodman's and Metcalfe's Sentry.

The Asian market I visited, Viet Hoa, had a good selection (except for produce) but was far dingier than any Chicagoland store I've been to, gave me doubts about their turnover and when I researched further turned out to be Milwaukee's no. 1 food-safety violator.

When the Brookfield Sendiks opened, I was excited about the cheese cooler and the fact that they had hired a specialist to stock it.
I made the mistake of bringing in my then three year old. He looked at the Cheese Master and asked where the "square cheese" was. I got such a withering look.

That being said, Very expensive. Also check out Brennans in Brookfield - far larger cheese selection.

from a few comments in the thread -
Pacific Produce is a far larger Asian store than the older Viet Hoa. Owned by the same people but much cleaner. I have started going there instead of going down to a Super H. The live fish selection is not as good, but much closer. Brennan's for produce, they are in Brookfield. Not a real fan of Fresh Market due to their prices other than the fact that they stock Moxie, but the Fox Point one is supposed to be opening in June.

Marketplace is a larger fancier version of Pic-n-save where Chairman Boob is trying to compete with Sendiks.
By the way - I avoid the Shorewoood Sendiks because of the newspaper reports of the owner (just of that location) using stolen produce to supply his store. Here is the link to the newspaper report:http://www.jsonline.com/news/waukesha/29528634.html
As well a local TV report http://www.wisn.com/news/16964987/detail.html

Apparently there is a dispute with the brookfield Sendiks as well (different owner) http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/business/127591763.html

The larger Sendiks chain (confusing isn't it having three chains in the area that look the same with different owners?) is a good place known for great service. In all my years shopping there I have had only one complaint - not carrying my favorite cheese except at Christmas time and refusing to order it for me. The cheese monger at the local Marketplace was more than happy to stock it at my request.

exvaxman wrote:Marketplace is a larger fancier version of Pic-n-save where Chairman Boob is trying to compete with Sendiks.

Thanks, exvaxman. Can you tell me where these stores are? The Pick n Save website doesn't seem to distinguish between their various stores.

Thanks for the tip about Brennan's, too. I've been wondering about that place, which is next to Kopp's, but we always seem to go buy there after they've closed for the day.

I liked Pacific Produce ... yes, much cleaner than Viet Hoa, and with better looking produce, but I admit that knowing they had the same owners gave me pause. Viet Hoa is very convenient to me but I think I'll limit my purchases there to packaged goods. Even there, I'm a bit concerned about turnover.

I'm sorry - Metro Market is the name of the upscale Pick-n-Save attempt that Chairman Boob is trying. It was late when I was posting.
http://www.metromarket.net/
I will mention that when I went to the grand opening of the one in Mequon, I asked the check out clerk how long it would be until instead of all lanes open it would be like any other pick-n-save and have severely backed up lines. She didn't even laugh - just looked at me and said that based on what she heard, two weeks. That and the one close to Woodman's on Appleton had a mention in the newspaper that their prices were being adjusted to reflect "Market realities" - I.E. Woodman's being much cheaper.

Brennan's has three locations that I am aware of - the ones in Brookfield and Oconomowoc are full fledged stores. It has been many years since I was in Monroe, but their place there was more like a stand than a full fledged store.

Instead of Viet Hoa, may I suggest Rhino foods? Wonderful people, not that far from me and usually has most of what I want (frozen however, not fresh). NEVER go there after dark - the gas station next to them is rather infamous for car jackings/shootings. However I have never had an issue during the day. 7411 West Hampton Avenue Milwaukee, WI 53218-4747

Sendik's at 2315 N. 124th St. in Brookfield has become a Piggly Wiggly. I was interested to note:

Piggly Wiggly Midwest will supply 101 Piggly Wiggly supermarkets in Wisconsin and northern Illinois, as well as nine Butera Market stores and two Euro Fresh stores in the Chicagoland area and three Lena's Food stores in the Milwaukee area.

The store at 124th and North was one of, what I consider to be, the "lesser" Sendik's. It was owned by yet another branch of the family, less focused on high end merchandise or service, and more interested in presenting a "conventional" grocery shopping experience. Changing to a Piggly Wiggly isn't such a big transformation for this particular store.

Buddy

Considering the the pigs prices are very expensive........
On another thread I did a price on a common rice package that the kid liked as an after school snack. Walmart was the cheapest, sendiks was in the middle, PnS was the only place close to the Pigs prices. But PnS is only selling their own brand now. The difference between Walmart and the Pig the last time I checked was 50 cents. The mequon sendiks was only a nickle more than Walmart. I'll pay that nickle for the service.