New grocer in Arlington Heights (Roundys calls it Mariano's)

http://www.arlingtoncardinal.com/2010/0 ... sh-market/

The CEO of Roundys,Bob Mariano was CEO of Dominicks when they used to be a great store.

Thanks for this news ... wonder what they are going to do that Valli's Produce doesn't already do?

Looks like they're going to go head to head with Valli, Caputo's, et al. I think I'd rather have a Pick 'n Save.

Also I wish they'd not added "Fresh Market" -- there are so many Fresh this and Fresh that around here, it's hard to keep track.

LAZ wrote:Looks like they're going to go head to head with Valli, Caputo's, et al. I think I'd rather have a Pick 'n Save.

Also I wish they'd not added "Fresh Market" -- there are so many Fresh this and Fresh that around here, it's hard to keep track.

I've said for years, that's how you know a grocery store will have a wide range of ethnic food! If it has Fresh or Produce in the name, it will be a multi-cultural venue for sure. Think of Garden Fresh, Fresh Farms, Harvest Fresh, Euro Fresh, Valli Produce, Produce World. It's the secret grocery code.

Cynthia wrote:

LAZ wrote:Also I wish they'd not added "Fresh Market" -- there are so many Fresh this and Fresh that around here, it's hard to keep track.

I've said for years, that's how you know a grocery store will have a wide range of ethnic food! If it has Fresh or Produce in the name, it will be a multi-cultural venue for sure. Think of Garden Fresh, Fresh Farms, Harvest Fresh, Euro Fresh, Valli Produce, Produce World. It's the secret grocery code.

Market Fresh appears to be the exception.

LAZ wrote:

Cynthia wrote:

LAZ wrote:Also I wish they'd not added "Fresh Market" -- there are so many Fresh this and Fresh that around here, it's hard to keep track.

I've said for years, that's how you know a grocery store will have a wide range of ethnic food! If it has Fresh or Produce in the name, it will be a multi-cultural venue for sure. Think of Garden Fresh, Fresh Farms, Harvest Fresh, Euro Fresh, Valli Produce, Produce World. It's the secret grocery code.

Market Fresh appears to be the exception.

There is to be both a sushi bar and an Italian café, which sounds vaguely multi-cultural to me. And there is a statement that the store is geared to fully immerse itself in the community, and that end of AH is a very polyglot community indeed. But I guess we'll see how truly immersed in the community it really is when it opens.

LAZ wrote:Also I wish they'd not added "Fresh Market" -- there are so many Fresh this and Fresh that around here, it's hard to keep track.

Cynthia wrote:I've said for years, that's how you know a grocery store will have a wide range of ethnic food! If it has Fresh or Produce in the name, it will be a multi-cultural venue for sure. Think of Garden Fresh, Fresh Farms, Harvest Fresh, Euro Fresh, Valli Produce, Produce World. It's the secret grocery code.

LAZ wrote:Market Fresh appears to be the exception.

Cynthia wrote:There is to be both a sushi bar and an Italian café, which sounds vaguely multi-cultural to me. And there is a statement that the store is geared to fully immerse itself in the community, and that end of AH is a very polyglot community indeed. But I guess we'll see how truly immersed in the community it really is when it opens.

Oops. When I mentioned the exception, I did not mean this new Mariano's Fresh Market, I meant The Fresh Market, which is a chain of upscale, but not notably multi-ethnic stores.

Not to be confused with Market Fresh Foods; Pete's Fresh Market; A & G Fresh Market; City Fresh Market; Angelo Caputo's Fresh Markets....

LAZ wrote:

LAZ wrote:Also I wish they'd not added "Fresh Market" -- there are so many Fresh this and Fresh that around here, it's hard to keep track.

Cynthia wrote:I've said for years, that's how you know a grocery store will have a wide range of ethnic food! If it has Fresh or Produce in the name, it will be a multi-cultural venue for sure. Think of Garden Fresh, Fresh Farms, Harvest Fresh, Euro Fresh, Valli Produce, Produce World. It's the secret grocery code.

LAZ wrote:Market Fresh appears to be the exception.

Cynthia wrote:There is to be both a sushi bar and an Italian café, which sounds vaguely multi-cultural to me. And there is a statement that the store is geared to fully immerse itself in the community, and that end of AH is a very polyglot community indeed. But I guess we'll see how truly immersed in the community it really is when it opens.

Oops. When I mentioned the exception, I did not mean this new Mariano's Fresh Market, I meant The Fresh Market, which is a chain of upscale, but not notably multi-ethnic stores.

Not to be confused with Market Fresh Foods; Pete's Fresh Market; A & G Fresh Market; City Fresh Market; Angelo Caputo's Fresh Markets....

LOL. I'm not familiar with The Fresh Market (or City Fresh or Pete's Fresh). I guess everyone has picked up on the "fresh" buzzword. I guess this blows my key way of identifying the specific type of grocery store to which the term seemed to so universally apply.

ANyone been to the new Mariano's store in Arlington Heights? I saw a segment on the tv news and it looked like a big store with a lot of good stuff. ANyone brave the opening day crowd? --Joy

We went there tonight. Pretty impressive. Take an above-average-size Jewel/Dominick's, with cheese, meat and fish departments about on a Whole Foods level, a number of cafe-like areas (gelato, pizza, entrees) and nice prices on a fair number of things (which may be teaser rates to get people in the door).

The deli was overwhelmed: we had about 20 minutes of wait, and about 20 minutes of service (a lot of time to take wrappers off sausage, cheese, etc.).
We picked up a smoked blue cheese called "Moody Blue". I picked up Maitake mushrooms $13.99/lb (although they gave it to me for less than that 'cuz they couldn't find the item number) and Chanterelles at $34.99 (which I didn't buy this time). Jamon Serrano was $14.99/lb, I think.

Produce included a lot of exotic fruits (mangosteen at $4 per, rambutan, two colors of tamarillo), a nice fresh organic herb section.
We signed up for their frequent shopper card (2% rebate if you buy me than $400 by the end of September), but I don't know how frequently we'll go, as it's twice as far as Jewel and Garden Fresh.

Nice store, but not destination shopping.

I too visited a couple of days ago. It was mobbed so I chose not to spend too much time in there. From my brief observations, I would say Mariano's is closer in feel to Whole Foods than to Jewel or Harvest Fresh etc.
Things I liked:
- Prepared foods that were reasonably priced such as a fillet of roasted salmon with two sides for $6.00, or a freshly made Pizza Margherita for $5.99
- They use Amish chicken (hormone-free) for their rotisserie chicken
- A huge variety of freshly-baked breads. I tried a Cinnamon and Walnut (you can buy this by the pound) and their Ciabatta and both were pretty good

I was not overly impressed by their produce department. They do indeed carry unusual items such as mangosteens and passion fruit, but the prices for these were outrageous. More common items such as parsley and green onions looked wilted and tired.

On the whole, they will be a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

Jyoti

jygach wrote:- A huge variety of freshly-baked breads. I tried a Cinnamon and Walnut (you can buy this by the pound) and their Ciabatta and both were pretty good

We picked up an Asiago loaf for tonight's dinner.
I noticed, though, that they tend more toward "crusty" than "soft" breads: no brioche, challa, etc.
They also have, in the same case that has donuts and cupcakes, Kaufmann's bagels at 68c per.

Mariano's Fresh Market
802 E. Northwest Highway
Arlington Heights
http://marianosfreshmarket.com
847-253-5439
6 a.m.-10 p.m. daily

I was there today. Bustling, but surprisingly manageable for a Grand Opening weekend. Good, cheerful customer service.

Roasted Amish chicken was on sale for $6, so a good buy for lunch with friends. Salad bar and olive bar were amazingly priced -- $4.99/pound. Stocked up on blue-cheese stuffed olives. Not as astonishing a range of salads or variety of olives as, say, a Whole Foods, but at half the price, I was happy, at least for my daily olive fix.

Leaving town Wednesday, so didn't get a lot of other stuff, but enjoyed browsing. Organic stuff well priced. Most prices, however, in keeping with what things cost most places -- since I suspect they do want to make some money. Nice, bright, fun place. I did like that they had tables and chairs near sections selling ready-made food. Really impressive meat section -- bargains, but also a lot of high-end, high-priced Angus meats. Good cheese selection. Samples of Roundy's brand-name products suggest that they are good quality.

Not an "oh my gosh you have to go" place like Super-H Mart, but a really nice, better than it needs to be store with lots of interesting options. Sensational if you live nearby, and a great option if you were driving through. However, I don't think I'd consider it a destination store, unless I lived somewhere that simply didn't have a decent grocery store. But it's only about four miles from where I live, so I'll be back.

I live nearby also so I'll be shopping here often. I stopped in with my family today to pick up some goods for our trip to Arlington Racetrack. Due to my 5 year old's impatience, we didn't get to peruse the store like we wished to. But it is large, clean and has a lot to offer. We picked up an 8 piece of fried chicken for $6.49 and some fruit salad. The fried chicken had a nice crispy skin with a well seasoned batter. Better than you'll get at KFC or Brown's. I was impressed with our quick visit and can't wait to go back to explore the entire store more thoroughly.

I stopped in for the first time this morning. One potentially nice touch is an espresso bar in the store; sometimes I'd love to have a quick one before shopping. But I didn't try the coffee today. Products seemed just fine compared to Jewel or Dominick's and more or less on that level. (It's not like, say, Sunset Foods in terms of having offbeat or boutique type items.) Premade sushi didn't look gross, exactly, but it was not appetizing, especially compared to the premade stuff at Mitsuwa down the road. I will shop at Marion's when on my way past, but that's about it.

Still mobbed today. I was impressed by the many more employees (friendly and competent as a bonus) than I've seen in any type of merchandise store in the last few years. I chatted a few up and everyone said it was a great store and company to work for . Meat ordering and checkout went very smoothly in spite of the crush. Prices were excellent and the 8 piece fried chicken for $4.99 was just inhaled by the family. I'll see how the domestic lamb chops ($8.99) and steaks (I upgraded to Black Angus as standard choice appeared marbling deficient) cook up on the charcoal tonight. Like most here we shop at numerous other food purveyors and I have concerns of the effect this store may have on other favorites in the area but... it seems like a nice addition to the rotation.

Looks like they're opening a Chicago store late this summer. It's going in at Western and Roscoe (where Dominick's used to be).

Attrill wrote:Looks like they're opening a Chicago store late this summer. It's going in at Western and Roscoe (where Dominick's used to be).

As I've posted before, while it's certainly a nicer shopping experience, it's effectively a Roundy's/Dominick's/Jewel with a Whole Foods presentation. Nothing wrong with that, but you've seen it all before.

spinynorman99 wrote:As I've posted before, while it's certainly a nicer shopping experience, it's effectively a Roundy's/Dominick's/Jewel with a Whole Foods presentation. Nothing wrong with that, but you've seen it all before.

I haven't seen any Roundy's-labeled Roundy's. However, I have to say that the produce is of much greater selection, higher quality and better price than the local Jewel in Mt Prospect. Produce presentation and quality are better than the MtP Garden Fresh, prices not too different. Deli selection and price beats the snot out of Jewel, and again comparable to Garden Fresh in price (selection better at Mariano's). Meat/fish display case prices aren't anything to write home about, but quality is high and some nice selection (fresh sausages, both savory and breakfast are particularly good -- and when they're out, they say, "give us 5 minutes, we'll make some more").

It's not my weekly shopping, but I'll go there about one time in six.

My just delivered local paper indicates that a new Mariano's is planned for 5353-63 N. Elston Ave. Sounds awesome to me.
They don't project a date.

The one in Vernon Hills on Milwaukee opens next month.

This Craigslist job ad has the opening of the Western&Roscoe location in August, and Lakeshore East (in the loop) in September.

Mariano's Vernon Hills store opens tomorrow, June 14.

Mariano's Fresh Market
1720 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Vernon Hills, IL
http://www.marianosfreshmarket.com/

Mariano's breaks ground on former CHA site in Bronzeville

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/ ... ronzeville