Any great grocery suggestions in Wickerland?

Hello all! I will be moving from my beloved Lincoln Square and the comforts of Harvestime Foods to the unknown that is Bucktown/Wickerpark. Whole Foods and Trader Joe's only go so far, so does anyone know of a great small grocery in either of these neighborhoods?

The only two that I know of are Olivia's Market on Wabansia just west of Damen and The Goddess & Grocer around the corner on Damen. G&G is more of an upscale deli/specialty shop but the G&G does have a more traditional "grocery" (albeit very overpriced) feel to it.

There's also a Mexican fruitstand/grocery on Western just south of Fullerton but I've heard very mixed reviews.

There is Stanley's at North and Elston. It is sort of similar to Harvest Time, but much smaller. It can get very crowded on weekends.

Stanley’s Fruits & Vegetables
1558 N. Elston Ave., Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 276-8050

The Treasure Island on Clybourn is only 5-10 minutes from Bucktown depending on where you're located--that's where I did the bulk of my shopping when I lived in Bucktown. Olivia's Market is good but it's a tiny specialty market--I would go there only when I couldn't get to TI and needed something for dinner that night. The Goddess and the Grocer carries prepared food for the most part--it's delicious and the owner is the owner of Feast--but has some good bottled sauces and a tiny but good wine selection.

I don't think Olivia's would be all that great for day to day shopping. The store is very tiny with a pretty small and expensive selection.

That said, they have nice amish chicken breasts, allen bros. steaks, nueske bacon, etc. All at a pretty steep markup, but all good in a pinch.

Your best bets are probably the mexican markets on Western and Ashland, and Stanley's at North and Elston for vegetables.

What? No mention of Supermercado Guanajuato or Carneceria Leon? Both are just north of Blackhawk on Ashland.

Christopher Gordon wrote:What? No mention of Supermercado Guanajuato or Carneceria Leon? Both are just north of Blackhawk on Ashland.

gleam wrote:Your best bets are probably the mexican markets on Western and Ashland

eatchicago wrote:

Christopher Gordon wrote:What? No mention of Supermercado Guanajuato or Carneceria Leon? Both are just north of Blackhawk on Ashland.

gleam wrote:Your best bets are probably the mexican markets on Western and Ashland

yes...

but, they weren't mentioned by name...there are many Mexican grocers on those streets/in that area...not all of them worthwhile...the two I mention are...

cross-posting this from a Harvestime thread. It appears I have the same issue as the OP from years back:

It appears that we will be leaving Lincoln Square in the next couple of months, and moving south to Bucktown/Logan Square. Can folks more familiar with the grocery scene in these neighborhoods propose a suitable alternative to our beloved Harvestime? I'm especially interested in finding places that have similar offerings of Greek pantry staples (3l tins of good olive oil, feta, olives, dried fruits) and tortillas (can't beat 39 cents for fresh el milagro tortillas).

Thanks.

Guanajuato on Ashland is the best place I know of for Tortillas, but very focused on Mexican ingredients.

Stanley's is the standby local produce store (Elston and North)

Olivia's is still there. I don't get up there much, but its busy.

Local Foods on Elston just opened. Butcher and Larder is an anchor tenant. Not too far away on Elston is Vin which is the old Wine Discount Center re-named.

Farmers Market in Wicker Park on Sunday mornings.

And for chains, Marianos on Elston is convenient and so much better than the Jewell. Better quality, selection, and prices.

A new store is coming to Elston north of Fullerton - New Thyme? Not sure if its a Whole Foods knock off or what, but might be worth a look in a few months.

Not sure about Greek staples. I get my olive oil at Costco...

Also worth plugging but in no way full service grocery stores:
- Local Foods that now houses Butcher & Larder. Its up on Elston (1427 W Willow St, Chicago, IL 60642) and has locally grown produce as well as some dry goods. They also have a delicious restaurant/counter.
- Wixter Market for a fish market in the hood. Which is cool - Man.

Thanks everyone. I've been to Stanley's, but only stopping in. I think they had feta, so I'll look out for olives and olive oil cans.

Fresh Market Place on Western and Shakespeare is a newer Greek-owned grocery that definitely has a large section of olive oil tins. Solid Produce, deli and meat, a little more expensive in the actual grocery aisles.

Don't forget Strack and Van Til on Elston and Costco on Damen between Fullerton and Diversey. There's also a Treasure Island on Clybourn just S of Webster for your Greek staples needs and a Trader Joe's further down closer to North Ave. Probably not technically in WickerBuck, maybe Lincoln Park? But reasonably convenient (or will be again once the Cortland St. bridge opens up again)

For tortillas (and many other Mexican staples) I usually go to California Market (2110 N Milwaukee Ave). Their produce is hit or miss, but the butcher is solid and they have boxes and boxes of fresh tortillas from local producers. I usually get Atotonilco or Los Comanches, they're usually still warm, almost hot sometimes. Their prices for everything are very reasonable.

We've finally moved to the area, and I popped into Fresh Market. Overall, a good store, but it's no Harvestime or anything. They have what you need to get cooking, but not much variety or value: one Greek feta, a few tins of olive oil, no decent yogurt. But a great beer and liquor selection, a pretty good-looking meat counter, and decent prices on produce. If Harvestime is an A(+), Fresh Market is something like a B.

Here's a question: is it strange to ask them if they'll look into carrying specific items? If only they just had zdan yogurt, I think we could get by. Wonder how hard it is to source.

Harder / less pleasant to walk to, but the new Fresh Thyme Market on Elston opens today; I'm curious.

rtb178 wrote:We've finally moved to the area, and I popped into Fresh Market. Overall, a good store, but it's no Harvestime or anything. They have what you need to get cooking, but not much variety or value: one Greek feta, a few tins of olive oil, no decent yogurt. But a great beer and liquor selection, a pretty good-looking meat counter, and decent prices on produce. If Harvestime is an A(+), Fresh Market is something like a B.

Here's a question: is it strange to ask them if they'll look into carrying specific items? If only they just had zdan yogurt, I think we could get by. Wonder how hard it is to source.

I'm in Fresh Market Place nearly every other day (it helps to live 100 ft away) and I can tell you that they are the most responsive store I've ever been to. If you send them an email, they will definitely look into adding a requested item to stock and you might even see it within a few days. I can't say enough good things about the customer service there.

annak wrote:Harder / less pleasant to walk to, but the new Fresh Thyme Market on Elston opens today; I'm curious.

We stop at the one in Deerfield on our way to taking the dogs to Prairie Wolf. They have some good products (nice selection of sausages and deli products) but overall not a place I'd go to for weekly shopping. It seems a bit more curated than even Whole Foods.

gnarchief wrote:

rtb178 wrote:We've finally moved to the area, and I popped into Fresh Market. Overall, a good store, but it's no Harvestime or anything. They have what you need to get cooking, but not much variety or value: one Greek feta, a few tins of olive oil, no decent yogurt. But a great beer and liquor selection, a pretty good-looking meat counter, and decent prices on produce. If Harvestime is an A(+), Fresh Market is something like a B.

Here's a question: is it strange to ask them if they'll look into carrying specific items? If only they just had zdan yogurt, I think we could get by. Wonder how hard it is to source.

I'm in Fresh Market Place nearly every other day (it helps to live 100 ft away) and I can tell you that they are the most responsive store I've ever been to. If you send them an email, they will definitely look into adding a requested item to stock and you might even see it within a few days. I can't say enough good things about the customer service there.

This is so very heartening. I'll send them an email.