Mariano’s Fresh Market replacing Klein Tools in Skokie

Mariano’s Fresh Market, the fast-growing premium grocery chain, is planning to open a new home on the northwest corner of Touhy Avenue and McCormick Boulevard in Skokie, village officials confirmed Wednesday.

http://skokie.suntimes.com/18995518-781/marianos-fresh-market-replacing-klein-tools-in-skokie.html

According to a press release from SkokiEnews, "The approximately nine-acre redevelopment site also will include a restaurant on the corner, likely from a national chain, a bank and additional retail." I really, really hope some independent business makes a claim for the restaurant. All we need are more chains in that area.

I just wonder if they are doing this Skokie store INSTEAD of the one that was rumored for Glenview, corner of Waukegan and Golf Rd. Or if they are going to have both stores. Either way, it will be a long wait.

--J

Joy wrote:I just wonder if they are doing this Skokie store INSTEAD of the one that was rumored for Glenview, corner of Waukegan and Golf Rd. Or if they are going to have both stores. Either way, it will be a long wait.

--J

I'm pretty sure it's "in addition to" because they're not especially close (the Mariano's on Elston is appreciably closer to the Klein Tools site than the Glenview location) and because they were negotiating for a Skokie location well before settling on Klein Tools. In addition they took the Skokie location with no incentives, so they really want it, and Glenview's still pitching incentives at their site (if it was either/or they would've held out for the incentives).

And Mariano's is just printing money for Roundy's, it's by far their most successful operation. Their stock has been taking a big hit and the only positive note the analysts can focus on is the success of Mariano's.

I'm curious to see how the Dominick's at Pratt & McCormick will manage after Mariano's opens. The north side of Touhy running west from McCormick will look totally different with Mariano's. XSport Fitness is already under construction next door where Mariano's is going in. Just to the west, the Touhy Marketplace space is forthcoming and will be anchored by a Super Walmart.

Nooooooooo
Not a Super WalMart! There's already a non-super Walmart at Touhy & Lehigh!

Dave148 wrote:I'm curious to see how the Dominick's at Pratt & McCormick will manage after Mariano's opens.

I wonder the same thing. That store is often pretty empty. The Jewel and Howard and Kedzie may also suffer, especially if Mariano's has a decent Kosher section.

Hi- This location is way more convenient for me than the Glenview location. I might actually go there every once and a while, although I will probably continue to do the majority of my shopping at Dominick's, Jewel and the farmer's market, because they are more convenient for me.

Does anybody know what is going to happen to Klein Tools. Are they relocating or going out of business?

Does anyone know when the Superwalmart is due to open? When I have gone down Touhy, I have not seen anything that looks like a Walmart being built. I personally think the Walmart is going to hurt Dominick's more than Mariano's is. I don't think the Mariano's is going to hurt Jewel that much. That Jewel specifically caters to orthodox Jewish people, and there are a ton of those people in the W. Rogers Park neighborhood, which is right across the street. That Jewel probably has the largest kosher department of any of the Jewel stores, and it even has a kosher Chinese take out department. Thanks, Nancy

NFriday wrote:Does anybody know what is going to happen to Klein Tools. Are they relocating or going out of business?

Does anyone know when the Superwalmart is due to open?

Klein tools is moving to Mansfield, TX - http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/12/15/ ... e-roselle/

You can read the rest of the develpment details here - http://skokie.patch.com/articles/border ... -walgreens

A recent article in the Northbrook Star reported that Mariano's is considering locations in Glenview and possibly Northbrook in addition to the Skokie site. We recently discovered the Arlington Heights store and are excited about getting one in NB. Their produce and seafood are typically above the quality and freshness at Whole Foods but at a lower price.

I think that Dominick's is definitely going to be hurt by BOTH Walmart and Mariano's. However, it's impossible to get all your groceries at Walmart. Mariano's is really the direct competition to Dominick's so I do believe it is more of a threat. I occasionally shop at Mariano's and with good quality products at everyday reasonable prices I don't see that Dominick's making it.

When my mother was still alive, I used to shop at that Dominick's with my parents every Sunday afternoon and while the Jewel and Cermak by me is packed every Sunday afternoon, that Dominick's was always dead. It's been a few years but I imagine there has been no change.

Don't forget folks that it was "chairman boob" of roundy's fame who ran Dominick's into the ground, just as he is doing with all parts of Roundy except the Mariano's which are named after him.

What I find rather amusing is that a local grocery to me opened up as a Jewel when they were expanding and it was wonderful. They sold it to Roundy's when they retrenched, and it is to be avoided like the plague now that it is a "pick-n-save". Sort of like the difference between Neiman-Marcus and Walmart.

Roundy's is stripping the cash from all other properties to keep Mariano's going. That is the only part of the company that is "growing". According to some reports, several of the Mariano's are actually losing money, so look for the service to drop and prices going up after they get more entrenched.

exvaxman wrote:Don't forget folks that it was "chairman boob" of roundy's fame who ran Dominick's into the ground, just as he is doing with all parts of Roundy except the Mariano's which are named after him.

What I find rather amusing is that a local grocery to me opened up as a Jewel when they were expanding and it was wonderful. They sold it to Roundy's when they retrenched, and it is to be avoided like the plague now that it is a "pick-n-save". Sort of like the difference between Neiman-Marcus and Walmart.

Roundy's is stripping the cash from all other properties to keep Mariano's going. That is the only part of the company that is "growing". According to some reports, several of the Mariano's are actually losing money, so look for the service to drop and prices going up after they get more entrenched.

The only animosity I recall re: Mariano was that he spearheaded the sale for the family taking a local chain out of local hands. However, that writing was on the wall when the old man died and the kids wanted to sell. The "Fresh Stores"concept actually enhanced the company's value and the original buyers made a nice profit when Safeway bought the chain. As for Mariano's "stripping the cash", the grocery business is suffering across the board, the debt Roundy's is incurring to roll out Mariano's isn't stripping cash because there isn't enough to strip. Either the Mariano's gamble will pay off or it won't but it's an agressive move that appears to be paying off for now (and I'm curious to see where you read that some of the Mariano's stores are losing money).

Some figures on sales have been "leaked" on a couple of the finance boards.
I specifically remember one saying that only two were posting profits, but that was several months ago. Every once in a while the figures show up, like the fact that they are paying above average lease per sq. ft.

Their Chicago sales are about 10% of the chain. The ill will brought down by the current management would have had them losing share elsewhere even without the far higher competitive environment.

(Just edited to correct some erroneous information. See this link for better info about the new Mariano’s project in Glenview)

As far as not being able to get all your groceries at Wal-Mart, I would agree that the Wal-Mart that many people are used to -- the one on Touhy in the Fresh Farms shopping center – you would not be able to get all your groceries. They have a small limited grocery section. When that Wal-Mart store went into that location, Wal-Mart had not yet started its massive national push into grocery business. There was already a largish grocery store in that shopping center (where Fresh Farms is now. I can’t think of the name. Shop Rite or something like that?) so there was a stipulation that Wal-Mart would not be a grocery store and would not compete with the existing store.

But it is difficult to characterize all Wal-Marts one way or another. You probably could get all your groceries at the Wal-Mart on Golf Road near Golf Mill. They have a full grocery store inside with everything from several aisles of frozen food to fresh produce, a little deli, a bakery, etc. They have self-checkout lanes which apparently some Wal-Marts do not. They carry a greater selection of brands – but not everything.
And you absolutely could get anything you wanted at the Super Wal-Mart in Waukegan Illinois. Wow, that Wal-Mart seems bigger than the giant Meir’s in Schaumburg! It is one of those stores that is so big that if you have forgotten to grab an item, you will not walk back to get it – too far! ha ha

There is still the vacant and abandoned old Dominicks on Waukegan and Wilmette Ave in Glenview next to Glenview Liquors. There was some recent fence scaffolding surrounding the place but no action. I heard another grocery store was going in there but no one knew the name.

Isn't that on Waukegan just north of Glenview Rd.? I'm not sure where, or even if, Wilmette Ave. intersects with Waukegan.

Yep, sorry it is Glenview Road. There is a realty office for sale on the NE corner, a kitchen design shop and Glenview Liquors on the NW corner, an antique store on the SW corner and a Caribou, Oberweiss ice cream place and other small stores on the SE corner. The former Dominicks is next to Glenview Liquors and has been out of business for a long, long time. The person at Glenview Liquor says that business is down based on the fencing and difficult parking access due to the scaffolding. (We try our best to keep their sales up )

The former Dominick's on Waukegan in Glenview is becoming a Heinen's.

Joy wrote:A neighbor who has been reliable in the past says that Mariano’s will not go in at the Waukegan Road off of Golf Road location in Glenview. That project has been scrapped. Whether this person knows what they are talking about this time, I don’t know. The idea is that the Village of Golf – tiny very wealthy village tucked in right behind that location – raised a big fuss about the noise, traffic and reduction in property values. This should be classified as “rumor” but who knows?

As far as not being able to get all your groceries at Wal-Mart, I would agree that the Wal-Mart that many people are used to -- the one on Touhy in the Fresh Farms shopping center – you would not be able to get all your groceries. They have a small limited grocery section. When that Wal-Mart store went into that location, Wal-Mart had not yet started its massive national push into grocery business. There was already a largish grocery store in that shopping center (where Fresh Farms is now. I can’t think of the name. Shop Rite or something like that?) so there was a stipulation that Wal-Mart would not be a grocery store and would not compete with the existing store.

But it is difficult to characterize all Wal-Marts one way or another. You probably could get all your groceries at the Wal-Mart on Golf Road near Golf Mill. They have a full grocery store inside with everything from several aisles of frozen food to fresh produce, a little deli, a bakery, etc. They have self-checkout lanes which apparently some Wal-Marts do not. They carry a greater selection of brands – but not everything.
And you absolutely could get anything you wanted at the Super Wal-Mart in Waukegan Illinois. Wow, that Wal-Mart seems bigger than the giant Meir’s in Schaumburg! It is one of those stores that is so big that if you have forgotten to grab an item, you will not walk back to get it – too far! ha ha

For me it's difficult. The nearest Walmart is at North Ave and Kostner and that one has the produce and a limited selection of goods. I have been to Super Walmarts but I never seen anything there that compells me to do all my grocery shopping. I like ethnic markets and foods and Walmart is going to have a huge selection on the type of things I can get at fresh farms or Caputo's and it isn't worth the hassle for me.

The Walmart on Touhy in Skokie grand opening is August 13th.

Hi- That means that I will have a Walmart only four miles from me, and not six miles. I don't know if I will be tempted to go in there more though. I know a lot of people like to do price matching at Walmart, but it is too much bother for me. I hate to think what the traffic is going to be like on that section of Touhy when Walmart opens. It was awful when they were constructing that Walmart store. I will probably go to that Mariano's store when it finally opens up though. I would much rather shop for groceries in Mariano's than Walmart. Does anybody have any idea when the Cermak Fresh Market is opening up at the former Dominick's store in Lincolnwood?

Opening April 21.

Sneak peek: A lot in store at Skokie's new Mariano's

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/s ... story.html

Anyone been to a Jollibee? That looks interesting.

bw77 wrote:Anyone been to a Jollibee? That looks interesting.

Jollibee is the national restaurant of the Philippines. They have 31 US locations. generally in Filipino markets in LA and Las Vegas. Their biggest selling product is fried chicken and hamburgers.

Watch these videos and you will get a good idea of what they offer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OwDoF7RgzQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2tTQ1n6G7Q


Here is the menu:

http://www.jollibee.com.ph/menu-price-list/

Currently US$1.00 = 44 Philippine pesos.

I hope that helps.


=============================

As for the Klein Tool move, it was to take advantage of lower labor costs, reduced state taxes and lower workers compensation costs regardless of what the local press says.

Hi- Has anybody been to the new Mariano's at McCormick and Touhy yet? Do they have any grand opening specials? I have go drive right past there either today or tomorrow, and so I will try to stop in.

Got some beautiful pork chops at $2/lb, and a large hunk of top sirloin for $5.99/lb. For dinner tonight we had a whole farmed rainbow trout, which was about $7. Also got lots of samples. The bar in the liquor section had a nice selection of beers on tap, including GABF award-winning Gatecrasher English-style IPA, from Temperance, about a mile or so away in Evanston. The store was jammed, but the jazz trio playing near the front door was a nice touch. Don't know if those deals will extend beyond opening day.

I was there yesterday. The Kosher section is pretty huge (and was VERY busy). Lots of samples, a hundred young fresh faces eager to help you find things, and lots of the Mariano's perks we've come to love, including a popcorn station, a wine bar, a huge and beautiful produce section, and a big airy seating area for the ready-to-eat foods. Samples were being given out every six feet, which didn't help the traffic flow any. The three-piece jazz combo was indeed a nice touch.

I saw lots of little specials -- a buck off here and there -- but nothing really huge (not to say they weren't there, I just wasn't into elbowing through the crowds to look for them). There were a couple of missteps: shelf tag for whole chickens was $1.19/lb and labeled as $1.99 (they honored the lower price quickly and cheerfully), things like that. But certainly nothing out of the ordinary for a first day. I found everything I was looking for, treated myself to some beautiful plants from the floral area, and thoroughly enjoyed my visit.

I took a quick cruise through the new store this morning. It's the usual Mariano's layout. Piano player up front was chiming away. Tons of staff milling about. Lots of sampling opportunities.

For the benefit of the Kosher LTH brethren:
The L-shaped Kosher section is directly across from the regular meat department.
It consists of a hot bar, seafood counter, meat counter, sushi counter, deli counter and a bakery.
I didn't pay much attention to the prices as I don't keep Kosher. I did notice they had fresh salmon for $7/lb. I don't know if it was on sale. No special signage. As a data point - they had Scottish salmon on special for $7/lb in the regular seafood department.
There's a fair amount of shelf space across from the fresh section devoted to Kosher products. I didn't have time to analyze what was on the shelves. Very easy to get a minyan.

bw77 wrote:Anyone been to a Jollibee? That looks interesting.

I went to Filipino grocery store in Las Vegas last night as my wife and I are basically planning an extended trip to Manila and the Philippines in 2016 or 2017.

Our first stop was Chowking, which is a Filipino-Chinese fast food restaurant. We decided to keep it very simple. We ordered pancit and a steamed pork bun. It was very disappointing. The pancit was not very fresh and really lacked much flavor. The pork bun was a frozen product and was pretty decent BUT the pork filling in the bun was pretty sickeningly sweet. It is NOT something that I would want to order again.

Jollibee is the Filipino fast food restaurant and is known for three items - fried chicken, hamburgers, and spaghetti. The fried chicken was pretty decent. It is very crispy but I am not sure that it is any better than most fried chicken. The sides were mashed potatoes and corn. The potatoes were instant and the "gravylicious" was pretty standard and the corn was nothing special. It looked like something out of KFC BUT the chicken was a lot better. One warning about the spaghetti is that the "meat sauce" is a tomato sauce with something resembling sliced hot dogs. I have no great experience with Filipino cooking but my friends tell me that using hot dogs in spaghetti is common.

The third restaurant was the Red Ribbon Bakery. This has to be some of the best baked products that I have had in a long time. The butter mamon was one of the moistest cake that I ever had. The mango bars and chocolate brownies were also excellent. It was hard to find an ingredient on the wrappers of these products that was not familiar.

Seafood City itself was an experience by itself. I have not seen a grocery with so much fresh fish. The meat also looks very good but it is not butchered in a traditional American way as it is more deared toward Filipino cooking.


http://www.redribbonbakeshop.com.ph/pro ... mamon.html

Seafood City Supermarket
3890 S. Maryland Parkway
Las Vegas, Nevada 89119
Contact: (702) 851-0021
Hours: 8am to 12 midnight daily
http://seafoodcity.com/html/lasVegas.html#lasvegas