People's Market Evanston

There's an huge market in Evanston called People's Market with an interesting logo. Anyone shop there? What's good to buy/eat there?

I was just in a Wild Oats in Phoenix. I'd heard of this chain, so when I saw one I had to stop in. It was very Whole Foods-like, with a good selection of fresh produce at astronmical prices, large meat and fish counters and a pretty substantial selection of prepared foods ready to take home and reheat. If I lived in Phoenix, I would probably do lots of my shopping there (until I was able to find the mom & pop stores...if they exist).

If you shop at the one on Chicago Ave. in Evanston, be very careful to check expiration dates and inspect what you're buying.

AGuylian wrote:There's an huge market in Evanston called People's Market with an interesting logo. Anyone shop there? What's good to buy/eat there?

People's Market was originally an experiment as a new concept for the Wild Oats chain - #2 behind Whole Foods in that arena. The People's Market concept didn't really take, so they've basically switched it over to a Wild Oats, although they've kept some of the People's Market signage.

That said, I shop there fairly frequently, especially for bulk foods. Prices are a little better than Whole Foods generally, IMHO. Makes a good destination for specialty and organic items, and it's easy to get basics across the street at Jewel.

Can anyone confirm what I heard about Oak St. Market getting a raw deal from Whole Foods?There was a store called Fresh Fields near Evanston Chicken Shack.They were similiar to Whole Foods.Apparently Whole Foods offered to buy out Oak St. Market under the idea that OSM would suffer from WF and FF competition.OSM got less money than they should and WF was supposedly buying out FF at the same time so the only competition would have been from WF .Someone told this to me but I cannot verify it.Just curious.

I used to work across the street from the Evanston Peoples Market and carried more than a few lunches out of the place. They always had a knack for making all of their take out selections look delicious but taste totally bland at best.

hattyn wrote:Can anyone confirm what I heard about Oak St. Market getting a raw deal from Whole Foods?There was a store called Fresh Fields near Evanston Chicken Shack.They were similiar to Whole Foods.Apparently Whole Foods offered to buy out Oak St. Market under the idea that OSM would suffer from WF and FF competition.OSM got less money than they should and WF was supposedly buying out FF at the same time so the only competition would have been from WF .Someone told this to me but I cannot verify it.Just curious.

I remember something vaguely similar. IIRC Whole Foods bought out Oak St. Market, and shortly after the deal was consummated announced they were buying out Fresh Fields (Oak St. Mkt. was a 1-store local; Fresh Fields was, I believe, a semi-national player with 20 or 30 stores). I have no idea about the quality of the deal Oak Street Market's principals got from Whole Foods, but I know I vastly preferred the former to the latter. I suspect that the Whole Foods Evanston monopoly for that kind of store played a big role in Wild Oats' decision to try a very non-Whole Foods concept here in a former car dealership building.

I can confirm that WF bought out Fresh Fields about 7 - 10 years ago. There used to be a Fresh Fields on Elston just north of Fullerton next to where Circuit City is now. I drove by there yesterday and after being empty since the "merger" the former FF place is now slated to be a Staples Office Supplies.

hattyn wrote:And is Staples owned by Office Max or Office Depot?The name seems familiar.

No. It's a competitor to both. A very large chain which, until now, has had no brick and morther presence in the Chicago area. They do not serve any food, unless you count school paste.

Staples was **supposed** to merge with OfficeMax but the deal fell through due to antitrust issues. I believe that occurred in the 2000-01 timeframe.

not that i necessarily have anything against WF, but i've found people's market to be a less pretentious version (or at least the clientele seem less pretentious). i've not bought a lot at PM, but what i have purchased (produce, packaged goods) has been really good.

I shop there when I'm in Evanston ( the store on Chicago Ave.).
It usually carries items that I can't find in other stores, like Sport Tea.

Their bulk items are generally always cheaper than Whole Foods

Good afternoon (and finally an opportunity for me to contribute!),
We have been shopping at People's Market for about four months now and I can't say enough good things about our experience there. I first went there this summer during an emergency foray for lump charcoal and was quite taken aback by the scope and size of the market - it just doesn't look that big from the front. We started grocery shopping there in the late fall and just really enjoy everything there. Their produce is not as extensive as we'd like but has most of the staples in organic and in regular varieties. I particularly like their meats as they are all natural and hormone free. The NY Strip steaks in particular have been a real treat. Very tender, evenly cut (I just hate when I get a Jewel two-pack and one of the steaks is 2 inches thick while the other one is a thin pan fryer!!) well-marbled and a really nice beefy flavor that almost makes me believe that some dry aging has gone on there. An Xmas Diesel turkey at $2.99 a pound (naturally grown, hormone free) was good but not to me noticeably different from an 89 cent Jewel pteradactyl in flavor or tenderness, though I had a few glasses of wine so was otherwise distracted. Very good selection of cheeses and lunchmeats. Weak point imo is their seafood and lack of a true butcher case, though we did have some very nice PEI mussells in the fall for $2.99 a pound. Nice selection of breads, including regular sandwich loaf type as well as artisinal breads. Their bulk stuff is pretty reasonably priced, especially the granola/cereal section - I am snacking on some vanilla cherry w/dried cherries as I type. A big selection of shade grown and organic/"Fair Trade" coffees and a small but eclectic wine selection and a 'make your own six pack' beer cooler (nice for the summers).

Overall, if you are into the organic, socially conscious approach to groceries and such (we are gradually moving in that direction) then it's definitely a place to check out. In comparison to Whole Foods, I'd say that People's Market is slightly cheaper on most items, definitely not as crowded, and my experience is that the staff have been friendlier than my experiences at Whole Foods. Also, Wild Oats is now being delivered by Peapod - with the upcoming subzero weather, we intend to test drive that one this weekend. Hope this is not info overload and has been helpful.

If I'm in Evanston, and the Whole Foods is swamped (which it is a lot of the time), I will go to People's Market for a less hectic shopping experience. I second the notion mentioned by Bob S. that you should check for freshness when you shop there, as there seems to be less turnover than Whole Foods.

....I shop there at least once a week. Very convenient to my Main St. Metra/El stop, big parking lot, and you can really get in and out in a hurry if need be. Excellent bulk selection, particularly for bakers (if you need half a cup of rye flour, by God, you can buy half a cup of rye flour). Good prices on their not-from-concentrate OJ in half-gallons ($2.79, cheaper on sale), and a nice meat case. It's the only place I'll buy ground pork. Good mid-price wine selection, too, and a cheese case twice the size of Treasure Island's. I don't buy pre-made stuff, so that's no issue to me.

I'm glad that they are there. After what WF did to my Oak Street Market, I wouldn't shop there if you had a bazooka to my head. Screw 'em and their valet parking. Booooo!

So far, no one has posted an address or location for People's Market. I'd like to give it a visit next time I'm in Evanston.

stevez wrote:So far, no one has posted an address or location for People's Market. I'd like to give it a visit next time I'm in Evanston.

1111 Chicago Ave., Evanston, Illinois, 60202
Hours: Monday-Friday 8am-10pm, Saturday 8am-9pm, Sunday 9am-9pm
Phone: 847-475-9492
Fax: 847-475-9497


http://www.wildoats.com/u/store125/

-ed

Here you go:

Evanston People's Market
1111 Chicago Ave.
Evanston, IL 60202
US
847-475-9492

And here is all the info you can possibly use about PM/Wild Oats:


http://www.wildoats.com/u/home/

Oh yeah. Now that you mention the address, I know exactly where this store is. I think it used to be a Jewel long ago.

hattyn wrote:It is across the street from Jewel.

It's across the street from the NEW Jewel they built to replace the one that is now People's Market.

stevez wrote:

hattyn wrote:It is across the street from Jewel.

It's across the street from the NEW Jewel they built to replace the one that is now People's Market.

That's a new Jewel?! I actually thought it looked pretty grungy and dilapidated.

People's market used to be a car dealership. Was it a Jewel before that? That Jewel has been a Jewel since at least 1997. They renovated it a few years ago.

leek wrote:People's market used to be a car dealership. Was it a Jewel before that? That Jewel has been a Jewel since at least 1997. They renovated it a few years ago.

Yes the "new" Jewel was built sometime in the early 80's IIRC. It might have even been sometime in the 70's. That period of time is kinda foggy for me (and many other people who lived through it).

Just noticed that the signs for People's Market, which has been mentioned here occasionally, have changed to Wild Oats (which had always been the corporate parent). The preview party is Wednesday evening at the store, with entertainment, lots of samples, cooking demos, and Chef Jean Marie Brownson.

FYI

Wild Oats
1111 Chicago Ave.
Evanston