The "great" Grand Mart Experiment in Melrose Park

Is, sadly, no more. I saw it coming, thiough; the kimchee was put on "two for one" about a month ago and never restocked.

I stopped in on Saturday to buy rice paper, hoisin and a dozen other ingedients only to find the those shelves stripped completely bare.

There wasn't even soy sauce or canned water chestnuts in the store - there were some fresh water chestnuts, however, marked down to $0.49 / pound.

The produce section was nearly bare as well, scattered here and there with wilted napa cabbage and some seriously old lemongrass. Sad.

I asked one of the guys at the fish counter what was happening and was told "remodeling" and "more American things."

"Remodeling" will take two weeks. I can hardly wait for the reopening.

Forget six boneless frozen quail for eight bucks, where's the Chef Boyardee ravioli in a can?

This particular Grand experiment is over. This Grand Mart is morphing back into Cub Foods. I don't know what's happening to the others, but I would imagine that the North and Cicero location wasn't selling a whole lot of kimchee and frozen mandoo either.

While it was never going to rival Super H-Mart, I will miss it.

Out with kimchee and Three Crab fish sauce and in with Hungry Man dinners and Velveeta Cheese Food Product, I guess....

I was there last Wednesday, and I totally got some stellar buys. I noticed some compacting of the products on the shelves, but didn't think twice about it.
DAMMIT!!!!

I should have known something was up when I noticed most of the asian foods were being moved. Dammit indeed. I loved getting mexican coke, filipino sausages, korean popsicles, and tater tots all in one store.

damn!

grace