Treasure Island

I just got back to Chicago this month and learned that Treasure Island will take over the space that the Hyde Park CoOp will vacate on January 20th.

I've never been to the other Treasure Islands in the area. What's the good and the bad? Their website is impressive, but what's it really like?

I'm rather a fan. My experience is mostly with the Clybourn store, but it's a nice store with an eclectic selection, and pretty reasonable prices. Decent deli, well presented and varied produce selection, and a very good butcher with prime beef and duck and other goodies.

Other nice little things: a huge variety of lentils, reasonably priced callebaut chocolate, frozen veal stock, Traders Point Creamery milk, and most of the things you'd expect to find in any other grocery store.

The focus is on American and European goods, so Central/South American, African, and Asian ingredients aren't very well represented.

That said, I like the place a lot, and I think you will, too.

Ditto with the Streeterville (680 N. Lakeshore) store - it's actually my regular grocery store and I frequent it nearly every day. The prices of the produce (especially fruit) seems to vary quite a bit from week to week, so I try to keep an eye out for specials. One strange thing I've noticed is that certain items (tomatoes, garlic, peppers, a few other random items) are actually cheaper at Fox & Obel than at my local TI.

I'm absolutely addicted to TI's Chicken Salsa which they sell in the deli section. I don't know exactly what's in it. But, it's creamy and a little spicy and chickeny in this wonderfully melded sort of way.

If I was stranded on a tropical island with an unlimited supply of this stuff (and maybe some of those pretzel crackers) as my only rations, I probably wouldn't bother starting an SOS fire.

It's a good store. A bit expensive. But, very focused on customer service.

YourPalWill wrote:I'm absolutely addicted to TI's Chicken Salsa which they sell in the deli section. I don't know exactly what's in it. But, it's creamy and a little spicy and chickeny in this wonderfully melded sort of way.

If I was stranded on a tropical island with an unlimited supply of this stuff (and maybe some of those pretzel crackers) as my only rations, I probably wouldn't bother starting an SOS fire.

It's a good store. A bit expensive. But, very focused on customer service.

Treasure Island's regular old chicken salad is spectacular in a simple way. Just chicken, mayo, and very finely chopped onion and celery. Perfect mayo to chicken ratio and no funky chicken bits. In the summertime I very often have a scoop of their chicken salad on a bed of spinach and some sliced green grapes as a light dinner.

Hmm...perhaps 'll be bringing chicken salad for lunch this week!

I LOVE TREASURE ISLAND.

I've always contemplated writing a post about Treasure Island along the lines of MikeG's paean to Strack Van & Til. There's something about it that reminds me of the grocery stores that I used to go to with my mother. It's upscale, but not in a snooty way. It has a breadth of product and a refusal to compromise certain unpopular practices (it's vegetable weighing). The service is top notch and it's not depressing like Jewel or Dominicks. I love the fact that most of the stores have some natural light. And what other mainstream grocery carries Ball jars in January!

That being said, I shop there only when I know that I need something. I don't love their meat, fish or produce departments, which make up the bulk of my purchasing. However, when I do, I love to meander through the store picking up the odd thing that I need, didn't remember and can't get at Whole Foods.

Two service stories that I love. I popped in for something on a day that I needed butcher twine because I had forgotton to bring it to my kitchen space. I asked the butcher who informed me that they didn't carry it, but asked why I needed it. After I answered, he held up a finger, disappeared and returned with the amount to do the job. Same thing happened when I asked for razor blades used to slash the top of my breads. Manager asked why (a more relevant question with razor blades) and gave me a few from his own stash. Treasure Island is a wonderful addition to Hyde Park.

Going to Treasure Island is still a treat for me. Before there was Whole Foods, before there was Trader Joe’s, there was Treasure Island for cheeses, German chocolates, Scottish marmalades, and other goodies. I was a little girl when the first store opened on Broadway in the early 1960s, and it was a great place for a kid. They had a little whale-shaped movie theater for kids to sit in and watch cartoons while their mothers shopped. My brothers and I would happily walk into the whale’s mouth to watch some scratchy old cartoon and think we were on some special outing. (I don’t remember much supervision. I wonder how readily people would drop off their kids at the front of the store like that now?)

My mother liked T.I. a good deal, and it beat the competition of the day—a small IGA around the corner from us and a Kroger further south on Broadway. My mother was an excellent cook and was thrilled to find European foods on the shelves. I no longer live in Lakeview or work at DePaul, so I don’t get to the Broadway or Clybourn stores much anymore. As a matter of fact, I used to live in Hyde Park too but don’t get there very often either, but I think T.I. will be a great addition to the neighborhood. I wish T.I. would move to one of the empty grocery store spaces near me in West Rogers Park, such as the empty Dominick’s store on Ridge south of Pratt or the empty OSCO at Asbury and Oakton in Evanston.

Treasure Island Foods plans to open its first new location since 2009 in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood next summer, part of the company’s efforts to evolve and grow in a fiercely competitive industry.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... story.html

Dave148 wrote:

Treasure Island Foods plans to open its first new location since 2009 in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood next summer, part of the company’s efforts to evolve and grow in a fiercely competitive industry.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... story.html

Coming full circle? When my wife and I first moved to Uptown in the mid-80's the TI at Broadway north of Foster was our best option, but the quality slid appreciably and they eventually closed.

The article mentions that the "Gold Coast location" has undergone an extensive remodel. Do they mean the one at Clark and Elm? (Which is kind of Gold Coast, I guess, if you extend the commonly understood boundaries.) Or do they mean the one on Wells? (Which is also kind of Gold Coast, I guess, if you extend the commonly understood boundaries.)

I wish articles like this weren't so averse to providing actual locations. Clearly, they're afraid that if they do, they'll break down the barrier between news and promotion, but I think they're worrying excessively.

riddlemay wrote:The article mentions that the "Gold Coast location" has undergone an extensive remodel. Do they mean the one at Clark and Elm? (Which is kind of Gold Coast, I guess, if you extend the commonly understood boundaries.) Or do they mean the one on Wells? (Which is also kind of Gold Coast, I guess, if you extend the commonly understood boundaries.)

I wish articles like this weren't so averse to providing actual locations. Clearly, they're afraid that if they do, they'll break down the barrier between news and promotion, but I think they're worrying excessively.

They probably mean the one in the Gold Coast at 680 LSD. I thought it was pretty clear.

stevez wrote:

riddlemay wrote:The article mentions that the "Gold Coast location" has undergone an extensive remodel. Do they mean the one at Clark and Elm? (Which is kind of Gold Coast, I guess, if you extend the commonly understood boundaries.) Or do they mean the one on Wells? (Which is also kind of Gold Coast, I guess, if you extend the commonly understood boundaries.)

I wish articles like this weren't so averse to providing actual locations. Clearly, they're afraid that if they do, they'll break down the barrier between news and promotion, but I think they're worrying excessively.

They probably mean the one in the Gold Coast at 680 LSD. I thought it was pretty clear.

That's not even one that I considered! (I don't think of that address as Gold Coast. I think of it as Streeterville.) Which, if that's the one, pretty much doubles down on the whole lack of clarity thing, IMO.

riddlemay wrote:The article mentions that the "Gold Coast location" has undergone an extensive remodel. Do they mean the one at Clark and Elm? (Which is kind of Gold Coast, I guess, if you extend the commonly understood boundaries.) Or do they mean the one on Wells? (Which is also kind of Gold Coast, I guess, if you extend the commonly understood boundaries.)

I wish articles like this weren't so averse to providing actual locations. Clearly, they're afraid that if they do, they'll break down the barrier between news and promotion, but I think they're worrying excessively.

What are the commonly understood boundaries of Gold Coast? Cuz Clark and Elm fits pretty clearly in my understanding of Gold Coast.

And also Wikipedia's :

it is roughly bounded by North Avenue, Lake Shore Drive, Oak Street, and Clark Street.

ziggy wrote:What are the commonly understood boundaries of Gold Coast? Cuz Clark and Elm fits pretty clearly in my understanding of Gold Coast.

I'm inclined to agree with you--Clark and Elm (of all the possible TI locations) most nearly fits the definition of Gold Coast.

But the fact that Steve thought it must refer to the 680 LSD location is ipso facto proof of ambiguity! An address in the article would have been helpful. But I suppose that would have compromised the Tribune's vaunted "journalistic ethics."

riddlemay wrote:But the fact that Steve thought it must refer to the 680 LSD location is ipso facto proof of ambiguity! An address in the article would have been helpful

No. It's not ipso anything. I based my comment on the fact that the LSD location has been under construction for quite some time. I saw it with my own eyes and didn't assume anything.

Treasure Island closing next month. https://www.chicagomaroon.com/article/2 ... ing-month/

I am surprised. I thought they were doing okay. I'll have to check out the Wilmette store to see if there are any deals. Thanks, Nancy

NFriday wrote:It is only their Hyde Park store that is closing.

Not correct. Read further down. I also heard it on the news.

Hi,

All stores closing with 50% off sales commencing on Monday and full store closures on October 12th.

Regards,
Cathy2

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

All stores closing with 50% off sales commencing on Monday and full store closures on October 12th.

Regards,
Cathy2

I guess I am not sleeping in on Monday.

Wow!

I was just there.

More here = https://chicago.suntimes.com/business/t ... -kamberos/

Always a shame when a local icon is forced to close.

I read somewhere that they were done in by Amazon taking over Whole Foods and all of the delivery services and meal services such as Blue Apron.

May want to rethink getting up early to get to Treasure Island when it opens tomorrow at 7:00. I was at the Wilmette store today and while they confirmed they are closing on October 12, they are not opening tomorrow with the whole store on sale for 50% off. They kindly informed that they thought everything would be on sale for 10% to 40% off this week, with most items 25% to 30% off. Next week, as the sale winds down, there would be more reductions. That made sense as they are well stocked with wine, liquors, some whiskey and assorted vodkas and I actually did not expect them to open in the morning with 50% off those items.
I noted that cheese and dairy products are very sparsely stocked which also makes sense because they have known for at least a week they were going to close and would not want to be deep on perishables.

The store was very busy with people, many of whom came to say goodbye and wish the employees well. We will miss our little neighborhood grocery. I have been shopping there since I moved to Wilmette and they were called The Magazi.
Just checked and saw that The Magazi Inc. has the trade name Treasure Island.

{a royal impersonation }
♪ Another one bites the dust.
Another one bites the dust, hey hey.
Another one bites the dust.
Another one bites the dust, oooh, oooh ahh. ♪

At Treasure Island grocery stores, 'everything must go' as they prepare to close soon
https://trib.in/2IsiEMF

NFriday wrote:I read somewhere that they were done in by Amazon taking over Whole Foods and all of the delivery services and meal services such as Blue Apron.

It's not that simple. The chain has been dying a slow death for years. The things that made TI stand out in the past (25-35 years ago) have become the norm in mainstream supermarkets. Mariano's has probably done more damage than Amazon or Blue Apron.

I frequently did my Thanksgiving shopping at Treasure Island as they carried HoKa turkeys and all the little things that go into the feast. I was looking forward to them opening at Montrose and Clarendon which is closer to my home. Not sure what will go into that location now.

The GP wrote:I frequently did my Thanksgiving shopping at Treasure Island as they carried HoKa turkeys and all the little things that go into the feast. I was looking forward to them opening at Montrose and Clarendon which is closer to my home. Not sure what will go into that location now.

Gene's in Lincoln Square (not that far) sells HoKa before Thanksgiving.