Article about Mariano's vs Whole Foods value

Here is something interesting.
I am looking forward to a new Marianos that is being built near me. It seems that this article is somewhat biased because it relies on only one recipe for comparison and not every day staples. It will be interesting to see the fallout from the new Mariano's and the impact it will have on Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Jewel and Dominicks and a new Fresh Market that are all in a nearby area.

https://timeoutchicago.com/shopping-sty ... hole-foods

Typical non-informative article. We do find ourselves going to Mariano's more frequently than the other large groceries. I think they have a great model. While I haven't purchased any meat or fish yet they appear to have an excellent selection and everything looks beautiful. I also like the fact that they'll grill meat to order (not so important for me, but my kids who live on their own now would appreciate the convenience) if you want. For the average consumer that isn't militantly vegan or organic-minded it's definitely going to give Whole Foods some competition.

Hi- That was not a fair comparison, because Mariano's did not have two of the ingredients that WF had, and they did not factor that in when they said that Mariano's was way cheaper. They also only purchased organic onions and cilantro at WF, and conventional produce at Mariano's. I have never been to a Mariano's so I do not know if they even carry organic versions of these. I know that WF only carries organic cilantro. I think they also carry conventional onions.

Has anybody heard when the Mariano's in Glenview is opening? None of the ones currently open are anywhere near convenient for me. THanks, Nancy

NFriday wrote:Hi- That was not a fair comparison, because Mariano's did not have two of the ingredients that WF had, and they did not factor that in when they said that Mariano's was way cheaper.

It was a perfectly "fair" comparison and the blurb makes this exact point: "Mariano’s was a landslide winner in terms of total price—$9.49 cheaper, to be exact—but what use were the savings if I’d have to go to a second grocery store to buy harissa and rosewater, the two main ingredients in the recipe besides sea bass?"

I don't think this is the type of thing article that is meant to be dissected for adherence to scientific principles. It's just a silly little exercise meant to compare the two stores.

NFriday wrote:Has anybody heard when the Mariano's in Glenview is opening? None of the ones currently open are anywhere near convenient for me. THanks, Nancy

If it's still planned for Sanders and Willow, it's going to be a long time. No sign of a building there yet, just a lot of earthmoving.

JoelF wrote:

NFriday wrote:Has anybody heard when the Mariano's in Glenview is opening? None of the ones currently open are anywhere near convenient for me. THanks, Nancy

If it's still planned for Sanders and Willow, it's going to be a long time. No sign of a building there yet, just a lot of earthmoving.

It's planned for the old Avon site at Waukegan and Golf. And still a ways off:

http://glenview.suntimes.com/news/17614 ... pment.html

spinynorman99 wrote:

JoelF wrote:

NFriday wrote:Has anybody heard when the Mariano's in Glenview is opening? None of the ones currently open are anywhere near convenient for me. THanks, Nancy

If it's still planned for Sanders and Willow, it's going to be a long time. No sign of a building there yet, just a lot of earthmoving.

It's planned for the old Avon site at Waukegan and Golf. And still a ways off:

http://glenview.suntimes.com/news/17614 ... pment.html

Hmm... Willow and Sanders is close to my house, Waukegan and Golf is further than the next closest one, at Kensington and Northwest Highway in Arlington Heights. That's a shame (And off topic sorry)

I live approximately equidistant from the Sauganash Whole Foods and the Elston Mariano's. Although I do the bulk of my shopping at Fresh Farms, both of those other two grocieries are closer to my house, so I find myself there for last minute purchases often enough. In my own independant research, I've found that Mariano's has a better selection of staples, while Whole Foods has more higher end and exotic ingredients. I find the meat departments to be roughly the same price wise, but the edge in quality (which is my main measure) goes to WF. In the fish department, I don't think I would purchase anything from Mariano's, but I do buy fish at WF when I can't get to Dirk's or some other seafood specialist.

I don't buy much fish, but I have to agree with SteveZ, Mariano's isn't cheaper or better than Jewel or Assi Plaza or H-Mart.
Meat is a funny thing at Mariano's: Their prepackaged stuff is often a pretty good buy -- at least on par for price with the big chains, sometime better looking, but the meat counter items are often rather pricey. That being said, we have regularly been buying their thick-cut bacon and their house-made breakfast sausages, and they're terrific.

Hi- I think that Mariana's would do good to open up a store in Winnetka or Glencoe, because all there is in Winnetka is Grand Foods, which is ok, but is kind of small and not very cheap, and they also have a store in Glencoe owned by the same people. I am sure that Grand Foods does not want Mariana's opening up there though. That would dry up their business.

I've heard that Mariana's has some unadvertised specials every week, but you don't know about them until you visit the store. They also double coupons on Wednesday, but they only double five coupons, and you have to have a $25 minimum purchase, before they will double them.

I was wondering about this myself. We passed the one on Elston, and Mr. Pie asked if it was like a Whole Foods. I thought it might be like a mix of WF and Trader Joes? I'm staying away because I know I'll spend most of my money at the bakery.

Pie Lady wrote:I was wondering about this myself. We passed the one on Elston, and Mr. Pie asked if it was like a Whole Foods. I thought it might be like a mix of WF and Trader Joes? I'm staying away because I know I'll spend most of my money at the bakery.

No. It's more like a nicer, better-executed Dominick's or Jewel.

Like Byerly's? (Does anyone remember this?)

Pie Lady wrote:Like Byerly's? (Does anyone remember this?)

Definitely that aesthetic, but of course, smaller.

Pie Lady wrote:Like Byerly's? (Does anyone remember this?)

Byerly's (/Lund's) is clearly an influence (they have a live pianist playing at certain times). It's Roundy's stab at providing an upscale experience without the high price. Bob Mariano, the CEO of Roundy's rolled out the Mariano's concept as an evolution of the old "Fresh Store" concept he rolled out when he ran Dominick's ("ran" as in "ran into the ground" because he engineered the sale to Safeway). Once you get past the Whole Foods-y areas, it's indistinguishable from Dominick's/Jewel, although they do have a broader range of international foods - nowhere near as much as Fresh Farms - but more than a typical grocery. A lot of what they do is more form over substance, for example, their cakes look pretty impressive compared to the other chains, but it's essentially the same basic cakes with a greater array of fondants/presentations. They have lots of special order cakes, some of which are excellent. Overall it conveys an impression of higher quality than what it actually offers, but I do like it overall. As I said above, given the choices we've been stuck with, shopping here is a no-brainer. And if nothing else, it will force everyone else to up their game.

I do hope they have regular brand names there. The downside of shopping at Aldi, Whole Foods and Trader Joes is when you want something specific like Coca cola or Kelloggs cornflakes. Some times only a certain brand name will do.

We've had lunch in the Mariano's on Benton Place (that enclave off of E. Randolph, head north from the Blue Cross building). The options are almost FoodLife-like in their variety and plenitude. (And pretty good to eat.) The seating area clearly not an afterthought, but a well-planned space. You don't feel like you're trying to have lunch in the middle of a supermarket. I was impressed.

As for the store itself, I agree with Steve that it is like a "better" Dominick's/Jewel. But things like the sit-and-eat area in this particular Mariano's elevate it a bit beyond that.

toria wrote:I do hope they have regular brand names there. The downside of shopping at Aldi, Whole Foods and Trader Joes is when you want something specific like Coca cola or Kelloggs cornflakes. Some times only a certain brand name will do.

Yes. They have all the main brand names, but at least in the store near me, there are plenty of Roundy-branded items as well...almost too many because they take up space that could be usde for a broader selection of different items (SKUs). You can find the basics, but the bench isn't very deep, so to speak.

stevez wrote:

toria wrote:I do hope they have regular brand names there. The downside of shopping at Aldi, Whole Foods and Trader Joes is when you want something specific like Coca cola or Kelloggs cornflakes. Some times only a certain brand name will do.

Yes. They have all the main brand names, but at least in the store near me, there are plenty of Roundy-branded items as well...almost too many because they take up space that could be usde for a broader selection of different items (SKUs). You can find the basics, but the bench isn't very deep, so to speak.

I don't know that they have any broader range of house brands than their competitors. On some items they even outshine the others, for example, all their house-brand OTC drugs are $4. The one are I noted obvious deficiencies was in salsas, their selection was clearly shallower. But it's essentially a decent-sized Dominicks/Jewel with Whole Foods-esque produce, meats, bakery and food stations tacked on.

spinynorman99 wrote:
I don't know that they have any broader range of house brands than their competitors.

They don't necessarily have a broader range, but they do have less shelf space than a large mega mart or even Fresh Farms, for example. So all their generic house brand stuff takes up valuable space that could be used for a broader range of items. I'm sure in a bigger store, it wouldn't be as much of an issue.

Hi,

When I saw this article online, I wasn't too impressed by their issue over having to go to another store for some specialty items. It reminded me of this thread: Things they have at Trader Joe's but not at Whole Foods.

Regards,

stevez wrote:

Pie Lady wrote:I was wondering about this myself. We passed the one on Elston, and Mr. Pie asked if it was like a Whole Foods. I thought it might be like a mix of WF and Trader Joes? I'm staying away because I know I'll spend most of my money at the bakery.

No. It's more like a nicer, better-executed Dominick's or Jewel.

Agreed.

pairs4life wrote:

stevez wrote:

Pie Lady wrote:I was wondering about this myself. We passed the one on Elston, and Mr. Pie asked if it was like a Whole Foods. I thought it might be like a mix of WF and Trader Joes? I'm staying away because I know I'll spend most of my money at the bakery.

No. It's more like a nicer, better-executed Dominick's or Jewel.

Agreed.

Nonetheless, the store, at least the one I go to @ Roscoe & Western (please forgive the ampersand) is not a great store by any means. There are so many thing they could easily do better--like not putting out stale pretzels and training their deli staff in the identification of meats (yes, I've had to return things).

I find even the vapid piano playing annoying (it's a player piano sometimes hiding in front of a human being).

bean wrote:
I find even the vapid piano playing annoying (it's a player piano sometimes hiding in front of a human being).

The one on Elston doesn't even bother with the charade. There is no person at the player piano during the week, but on weekends they do have a real human playing the piano and, at least last Saturday, he was excellent.

stevez wrote:The one on Elston doesn't even bother with the charade. There is no person at the player piano during the week, but on weekends they do have a real human playing the piano and, at least last Saturday, he was excellent.

The first few times I went during maybe opening month, they had a second guy playing flute and saxophone. They were great. It was very entertaining, I stopped to watch for a minute.
I'm usually there weekday evenings and understandably haven't seen the piano man in a while.

Shopped at Mariano's for the first time yesterday, on Elston. Although it is 20 minutes from my house, I think I will shop there fairly frequently. It is much better than my local Dominick's, which is not a good one, and more pleasant than the huge Jewel I might go to instead, and of course, lots cheaper than Whole Foods, where I have been shopping a lot.

Mariano's on Elston had a bigger selection of most things than any of the places I normally shop -- in many cases, a better selection of things I rarely buy, but in a couple of cases, of things I would like to buy but don't always find elsewhere. Hard to say if this is just quirky items or a seriously larger selection, but I think the latter. One item I expected to be able to get but could not find (and the place is so big, it may have been there and I just didn't find it) - a jar of pizza sauce -- not an item I look for often (can't remember the last time I bought one). They had some of the items I might go to an ethnic store to get, and had not marked them up outrageously.

Mariano's fruits and veggies were on average probably a notch less fresh than Whole Foods, but way less expensive -- though a careful examination of organic vs. conventional might explain some of the difference, I probably bought less organic at Mariano's, although they had lots. Beer and wine seemed to be about the same price. I am not a person who manages to remember prices well, but overall, everything else seemed less costly.

I didn't check out the cheese dept. or bakery, and have only a quick impression of meats, which seemed decent -- will know more after I eat the meat I bought.

Shopping at Whole Foods forces me to go to two stores, because some things they don't have and some things I refuse to pay their price for (paper products, etc., for one). Also, the prices are outrageous.

A piano player seems incidental -- yes, the piano was being played, but that will neither draw me nor drive me away.

Quite possibly the novelty of a new place to shop is a big factor. It feels like I might discover something new, which is possibly a delusion, but a pleasant one. Does this mean that my life has become pathetically boring, if I need a new grocery store to add variety? Have I succumbed to the force of advertising, so I think a new shopping experience will alter my life? I guess this is the wrong board to examine these issues. Or maybe the food really is a bit better at Mariano's.

I enjoy having Mariano's in the neighborhood (Elston) but twice since they recently opened, I had to stop at a second store afterwards for produce they should have had: cilantro and shallots. Don't like.

-ramon

Ramon wrote:I enjoy having Mariano's in the neighborhood (Elston) but twice since they recently opened, I had to stop at a second store afterwards for produce they should have had: cilantro and shallots. Don't like.

-ramon

I notice shallots are hard to find, period.

Pie Lady wrote:

Ramon wrote:I enjoy having Mariano's in the neighborhood (Elston) but twice since they recently opened, I had to stop at a second store afterwards for produce they should have had: cilantro and shallots. Don't like.

-ramon

I notice shallots are hard to find, period.

Always on hand at Lincolnwood Produce.

I'm surprised a store wouldn't have shallots on hand. Cilantro too.
On the other hand, I had to stop at no less than four stores to find a Napa cabbage the other day! (Edgewater Produce won.)