Fresh Market Place, in Bucktown/Logan Square

I didn't see a dedicated thread and the last posts were from 4 years ago, and thought this store could use some LTH love.

We've had challenges with food stores not having everything we like, being crazy busy, having challenging parking, or horrible traffic around the store.

While I popped in a few times a couple years ago, we've been going more frequently and constantly finding things we use and not the easiest to find.

Almost all of our cart is produce, with a few items from the center of stores. The produce department is very good, but my guess is the amount of shoppers and the footprint keep it from being great. But to be honest, not sure there is really any better produce department in the neighborhoods I shop in. I was spoiled when we lived in Lake Forest and had Sunset Foods and Heinen's (but I haven't been in a few years so that may have changed).

Some recent finds at FMP that aren't the easiest to find are Silver Hills bread (our current favorite is the Big 16), Oatley milk, and Publican Bakery baguettes (nice to not need to always make a special trip for a great baguette). Lots of great stuff here, and if you aren't making a special coffee run, they have a nice coffee selection, including my favorite roaster, Metropolis.

Found a carton that had Atotonilco corn tortillas that were still warm. There were also some Atotonilco corn tortillas next to it in a different package. I asked a guy who seemed to be the manager and he explained they get the fresh ones daily and they have no preservatives and not meant to sit on the selves for days, which was the other package. Curious to try them.

I complimented the manager on the selection and he was very friendly and thankful for the compliment. He mentioned that they would special order anything we couldn't find, which someone else mentioned here. I saw a different manager there a few weeks ago that was also really friendly and spoke very kindly to his employees, which was nice to see. I prefer to spend my money with a non-corporate owner who seem to care about their customers and employees.

Overall it's a pleasant shopping experience, as opposed the other stores in our rotation.

Fresh Market Place
2134 N Western Ave
Chicago, IL 60647

I live right behind FMP and it is honestly my favorite part about where I live. Their produce is always top quality and they do a great job maximizing their smaller footprint with a surprisingly deep variety. Their Asian section is half of one aisle but manages to beat Jewel's with ease.

When they hired Ben, the butcher, things really picked up in the butcher section. It's wild to be able to pop in and have a huge selection of Slagel Farms for a reasonable price. I also appreciate that they continue to offer more economy selections as well to accommodate everyone.

All of the employees are so nice and a culture like that starts from the top. The managers are always checking in with customers (by name when they can) and they will get you anything that you need.

I cannot say enough good things about FMP.