Trader Joe's in Andersonville?

Hey folks...anyone heard anything on this topic? A business-owner in Andersonville told him that he had heard that a Trader Joe's might be moving into the Thybony paint store location.

I've also heard that a Whole Foods might be moving into a site on Broadway at Foster.

Anyone else heard anything? Sure would be a nice addition....


s

I do not know about TJ's, but there is a big sign in front of a huge hole in the ground on Broadway, indicating Whole Foods would be open, in the fall/winter.

Where on B'way would that be? I live a block from Foster and Broadway and don't recall seeing a huge hole--or a big sign for that matter--advertising a new Whole Foods.

FWIW, I just visited the corporate site and found this list of "stores in development":

Chicago
Whole Foods Market
Cicero & Peterson
Chicago, IL
40,000 sq. ft.
Opening date to be announced.

Chicago (Lincoln Park)
Whole Foods Market
1500 N. Kingsbury St.
Chicago, IL
80,000 sq. ft.
Relocation. Opening date to be announced.

Chicago
Whole Foods Market
Waveland & Halsted
Chicago, IL
40,000 sq. ft.
Opening date to be announced.

Chicago
Whole Foods Market
W. Roosevelt Rd & Canal
Chicago, IL
55,000 sq. ft.
Opening date to be announced.

Naperville
Whole Foods Market
75th St & Rte 59
Naperville, IL
60,000 sq. ft.
Opening date to be announced.

Northbrook
Whole Foods Market
Willow Rd & Hwy 43
Northbrook, IL
60,000 sq. ft.
Opening date to be announced.

Nothing on Broadway....

I may be able to shed some light on the Trader Joe's rumor. My info is sixth- or seventh-hand hearsay, so take it for what it's worth. The large Piser property (the undertakers on B'way between Foster and Berwyn) was purchased by a developer who met frequently with the neighborhood about their plans. One of the significant rumors at the time was that Trader Joe's was likely to be the anchor tenant in that development.

Long story short: the developer pulled out because of some highlyh unreasonable demands (my view) by a small group that was able to impose their views on the Lakewood Balmoral Residents Council. The developer is now simply looking to sell and get out. Given the tenor of the group's demands (re zoning, access, building height, hours of operation, etc. etc.), it seems quite unlikely that whoever buys the property will be able to work out a large single tenant like that. Too bad.

sabersix wrote:I do not know about TJ's, but there is a big sign in front of a huge hole in the ground on Broadway, indicating Whole Foods would be open, in the fall/winter.

Sabersix, are you confusing it with the big hole on the west side of Halsted at Waveland? A Whole Foods has been under construction there for the last year or so...it's to be the ground-floor anchor of a multi-use building across from the Brown Elephant and just north of the Police Station at Addison & Halsted.

This article from Monday's Trib http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... 4486.story talks about last Father's Day's fire that destroyed the Lakeview Dominick's. Apparently Trader Joe's and Whole Foods have both been rumored to be moving in there, and the article loosely dispels those rumors while mentioning the WF on Halsted. Presumably if there were another TJ or WF under development on the north side, it might have mentioned it.

Editor, you are so correct. I gots to stop drinking so much beer when I go to the Cub's games.

rumors abound about a trader joe's and a whole foods (or another "high end" market) in uptown and edgewater. rumored spots for one or both, in addition to those already noted, include (1) a parking lot on lawrence, SE of the aragon ballroom, (2) bryn mawr between sheridan and broadway, and (3) broadway and, iirc, granville. not sure if any will happen, but the last spot is the most substantiated i've heard.

i'm waiting for the tj's to built in oak park!

Did anyone else notice that Chicago Mag's Dish newsletter seemed to pick up on the previously unreported news in this thread that WF is moving their Lincoln Park shop? Today's edition contained the following:

Foodie Heaven on the River
Within the next two years, Whole Foods (1000 W. North Ave.; 312-587-0648) plans to move two blocks south into an 80,000-square-foot space at Kingsbury and Weed streets. “We outgrew this store space probably five years ago,” says Rich Howley, the store team leader. “What we are trying to do at this new location is to capture all of the ethnic flavors that make up the city of Chicago.” Some pretty ambitious ideas are being floated, but Howley is keeping them under wraps so as not to give competitors any ideas. What about parking? (Please tell us there’s going to be parking, Rich.) “We’ll have a parking lot and then some,” says Howley. “Almost 500 spaces.”


I checked the press release from when WF's opened their flagship store in Austin in March 2005, and it's 80,000. So if this report is to be believed, the new digs should be amazing. Here's the release describing that store:
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/company ... 22-05.html

foo d wrote:rumors abound about a trader joe's and a whole foods (or another "high end" market) in uptown and edgewater. rumored spots for one or both, in addition to those already noted, include (1) a parking lot on lawrence, SE of the aragon ballroom, (2) bryn mawr between sheridan and broadway, and (3) broadway and, iirc, granville. not sure if any will happen, but the last spot is the most substantiated i've heard.

I live right by Granville and Broadway, and was overjoyed to hear that TJ's was going to be in the 106 unit condo building on the corner.

Sunday Jul 24, 2005 by Heather Blaha

Just a few blocks from Sheridan Road and the dog parks and walkways along Lake Michigan, the businesses near the Granville L extend all the way to Broadway Street, where change is visibly underway. With a new construction on the corner of Granville and Broadway, locals will soon see new condos and enjoy the organics and deals of Trader Joe's. Along Broadway you'll find Granville Gallery (an old picture framing store with dozens of beach scene paintings in the front windows), mega-mall-size antique stores and Hancock Fabrics, a great resource if antique shopping inspires you to create something original from scratch. Many storefronts are abandoned or for rent, keeping people guessing about what might pop up next or what may be living its final days. (http://centerstage.net/lifestyle/articl ... ville.html)

BUT, a more recent realtor's blog states the following:

According to Koenig and Strey GMAC, the real estate agency for The Granville, the 12-story mixed-use building at Granville and Broadway, construction on the project "should be starting within the next few months in order to stay on stay on schedule." That doesn't sound very promising. Condos in The Granville are supposed to be ready for delivery in 2007 but I'm not betting on it. Also, and probably more importantly, rumors that the main commercial tenant will be Trader Joe's are sadly untrue. The person I spoke with at Koenig told me they were working with Staples, the same company that recently took over former grocery space at Clark and Wilson. I can't think of a more depressing choice for the project than Staples. It's a busy intersection next to the red line, for chrissakes. Staples? How about a Dick's Sporting Goods across the street? 23 January 2006 (http://firstcity.typepad.com/my_weblog/ ... lle_u.html)

I need TJ's food more than I need office supplies, but we have Dominick's 2 blks south and an Osco right on the corner, so I'm not exactly surprised.

SIGH...

asami

Given that we've got Bornhofen Butcher, the organic produce store, a flagship Jewel, a pretty well-stocked Domenick's, and a bunch of ethnic groceries in the short stretch between Granville and Berwyn, I don't see much value to either a Whole Foods or a Trader Joe's around there. On the other hand, I'm also baffled that a Staples is doing so well in a location (Clark & Wilson) that couldn't support four successive groceries and that had virtually no competition within walking distance -- that would've seemed an ideal location for Trader Joe's.

The level of mismanagement of all of the grocery stores in that location from Butera on was mind boggling. They all acted as though they had a monopoly on groceries. While that was true for some people without cars, most of the purchasing power was in the hands of people with alternatives.

Early in one incarnation I waited close to 15 minutes at the service desk to get a price correction because the register did not have the sale price. The manager was right in front of me talking to a clerk while I steamed. Eventually he deigned to speak to me and correct their error. The only other time I was in that incarnation the produce was almost entirely over the hill.

Okay this is sort of morphing a bit off topic but in response to the last post

The only other time I was in that incarnation the produce was almost entirely over the hill.

What exactly is the deal with the grocery stores in this town and the level of appalling produce? I've been to many other cities in many other parts of the country and I swear, Chicago has the worst produce in general grocery stores that I have ever seen. Now, I think when you hit the suburbs, the quality increases but northside grocery stores just suck. I've often found myself wishing very hard that we had half of the produce they have in Atlanta (sisters reside there) -- i mean...every store down there is brimming with green healthy stuff. Ours looks likes someone left it out to rot and then they still want your money for it.

Granted, you can spend the umpteen more dollars per pound and go to a more gourmet level store (Whole Foods, Fox n Obel, etc.) but I don't always have the jack for that. I was at my neighborhood Jewel today and the onions were a disgrace. The ONIONS! I mean....onions aren't exactly a quick to rot kind of thing.

Now back to our regularly scheduled spot........Rumor mongering on the subject of higher end grocery stores...

Ciao...

shannon

"Given that we've got Bornhofen Butcher, the organic produce store, a flagship Jewel, a pretty well-stocked Domenick's, and a bunch of ethnic groceries in the short stretch between Granville and Berwyn, I don't see much value to either a Whole Foods or a Trader Joe's around there. On the other hand, I'm also baffled that a Staples is doing so well in a location (Clark & Wilson) that couldn't support four successive groceries and that had virtually no competition within walking distance -- that would've seemed an ideal location for Trader Joe's."

To what Jewel do you refer? I live in Andersonville and the Jewel on Clark near Bryn Mawr is awful so I assume you're referring to a different Jewel? I would love to have both Trader Joe's and Whole Foods move into the neighborhood.

Rudy wrote:"Given that we've got Bornhofen Butcher, the organic produce store, a flagship Jewel, a pretty well-stocked Domenick's, and a bunch of ethnic groceries in the short stretch between Granville and Berwyn, I don't see much value to either a Whole Foods or a Trader Joe's around there. On the other hand, I'm also baffled that a Staples is doing so well in a location (Clark & Wilson) that couldn't support four successive groceries and that had virtually no competition within walking distance -- that would've seemed an ideal location for Trader Joe's."

To what Jewel do you refer? I live in Andersonville and the Jewel on Clark near Bryn Mawr is awful so I assume you're referring to a different Jewel?

Yes, I mean the Jewel at Berwyn and Broadway, the southern anchor of the stretch of Broadway I described. I've used the Jewel on Clark as kind of a convenience store, but I don't go there otherwise. Edgewater Produce across the street's a better option.

(edited to improve my grammar a little)

Thanks for the info on the other Jewel. The one on Ashland and Bryn Mawr is so bad that I prefer the Dominick's on Ridge north of Howard. I've heard that Edgewater Produce sells great tamales. Has anyone ever tried them?

Wow, that Jewel on Clark & Bryn Mawr must be bad to send you to the Dominick's on Ridge. It's the closest supermarket to my home, but avoid it like the plague due to poor pricing, poorer fresh food as in Meat and Produce. The stuff they try and sell is a travesty. It used to be a really good store before Safeway got their hands on it. I agree that the Jewel on Broadway near Berwyn is a good place, as is the one on Lincoln, just south of Montrose and on Howard in Evanston.

That being said, a Trader Joe's in Andersonville on my evening commute route would be welcome.

Funny. I, mean, Jewel produce pretty much always sucks, but I'd perused these updates prior to my regular Monday staples-grabbing meandering over to my Jewel(Clark/Division) and once I got there was just blown away by the putrescent, leaky, moldy tomatoes and avocados. Maybe they hadn't gotten around to replacing them, yet, but why would you EVER leave something that ridiculously past-it's-prime on display?

In my post of May 27 I was specifically referring to the Jewel at Berwyn and Broadway. I don't feel as horrible about the produce up at the one on Clark near Bryn Mawr but in general that store doesn't carry much of anything at all. I've been heading over to the big Dominick's near Granville more and more frequently and spending the bucks to have a cab take me home with a large load every two weeks or so and then doing quick trips for special items or produce at better purveyors.

I think, however, that most of the produce problems are all over the north side. There's not a single regular grocery store where I can feel good about any produce I buy. Thank god the farmer's markets are back!!!

earthlydesire wrote:In my post of May 27 I was specifically referring to the Jewel at Berwyn and Broadway. I don't feel as horrible about the produce up at the one on Clark near Bryn Mawr but in general that store doesn't carry much of anything at all.

If I can bring you down on that one, earthlydesire, the strawberries at the Bryn Mawr/Clark Jewel were so moldy on Saturday they looked more like diamonds (or sapphires, there was a very slight blue tinge to it) than fruit. The sad little limes there were 59c each -- across the street at Edgewater Produce, the lines were 20/$1 and both the limes and the strawberries looked a little happier.

Bob -- I know exactly what you mean. Truth is I haven't really examined the food over at the Bryn Mawr Jewel for a long time. I just don't get in that part of the hood unless I want bagels from the bagel joint that's across the street.

I've often found myself at Edgewater Produce to pick up cilantro or serranos when they've been AWOL from the Jewel. Maybe I'll just go there for awhile...

Your strawberry story is exactly what happened to me at the Jewel on Berwyn -- horrible horrible berries. I opened up a jewel case to smell them and there was NOTHING. Like it was February.

My theory on Supermarkets: Do not go to large stores. (I know - real deep). The Dominicks on Clyborn is huge and gets no turnover on produce and thus things get nasty and old. I have in the past gone to the Dominicks on North in River Forest and that was wonderful. Samething with Jewel. Constant turnover of meat and produce is the key I think.