I believe that they weigh in at: 90,000 for Willow and Sanders, 80,000 for Lawrence Ave., and 70,000 for the newest one on old skokie in Northbrook.

Marmish wrote:Update on the potential Mariano's at North Ave and Harlem
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/o ... story.html

Alderman: Plans for Mariano's grocery store fall apart

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

In response to spineynorman's comments about Mariano's parent company-
Roundy's-

...from a two year old Motley Fool analysis of the companies Financial performance-
"These stores have been a huge hit.
Mariano said that, as of the most recent quarter, the 11 Chicago stores are averaging more than $1 million per week in sales.
That's well above the company's stated goal of $750,000.
Realizing that it might have captured lightning in a bottle, management plans to invest aggressively
and open five new stores per year until it hits 30 in the greater Chicago area."

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/08/19/marianos-fresh-market-doesnt-justify-buying-roundy.aspx

Hombre de Acero wrote:In response to spineynorman's comments about Mariano's parent company-
Roundy's-

...from a two year old Motley Fool analysis of the companies Financial performance-
"These stores have been a huge hit.
Mariano said that, as of the most recent quarter, the 11 Chicago stores are averaging more than $1 million per week in sales.
That's well above the company's stated goal of $750,000.
Realizing that it might have captured lightning in a bottle, management plans to invest aggressively
and open five new stores per year until it hits 30 in the greater Chicago area."

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/08/19/marianos-fresh-market-doesnt-justify-buying-roundy.aspx

In what way are you responding? I'm confused.

I was very pleased to see today that the Mariano's on Milwaukee Avenue in Vernon Hills (seems like Libertyville) now has Todd's BBQ. Looking forward to a dinner of St. Louis ribs by the bone for him and brisket by the pound for me.

Recently, I took a scouting trip to the new(ish) Northbrook store and thought it was a mixed bag. I spent a couple hours going through the aisles and ended up buying a bunch of items that I might stop in for regularly.

There's a relatively large selection of items but the specialness and quality of the offerings doesn't necessarily run parallel to the quantity of choices. For example, breads baked in-house were of typical grocery store quality. Produce was not in great condition. Fresh meat is pre-cut and I didn't see anything in the case that was prime or aged. There's nothing super premium here. There was a decent variety of fresh, house-made sausages but in light of a couple disastrous experiences I posted about upthread, I decided against buying any. Maybe next time.

Some highlights included a pretty respectable selection of domestic whiskey (better than some suburban liquor stores I've been to, actually), some tasty bulk items (including some chocolates - buy the peanuts and the almonds, skip the raisins), and some very nice natural-casing veal wieners that are made by Green Ridge Farms, which appears to be located in Elk Grove Village. As for some harder-to-find items that I typically like to keep an eye out for: I was successful finding some (e.g. Cabot Horseradish Cheese Spread) and unsuccessful with others (e.g. Guiltless Gourmet bean dips).

Regarding the prepared foods, I wasn't overly impressed. I don't usually buy them but this was a research trip. The BBQ at Todd's is respectable but forgettable. In a pinch, fine. But under no circumstances would I consider it destination bbq. However, I will say that the person manning this stall knew his stuff. I also got a pre-made deli sandwich from the case adjacent to the kiosks near the front of the store. Unfortunately, some of the meat on that sandwich still had the inedible plastic casing on it -- it had been sliced with the casing still on it. Not good.

Service was nice but largely clueless. Our cashier didn't know what a leek was and then proceeded to weigh of the few of them in our cart individually . A couple other folks in the store had no idea where stuff was when we asked about it. And, there was the aforementioned, still-packaged deli meat on the pre-made sandwich, which really speaks to employee training -- or a lack thereof.

Lastly, and I'm sure I'm in the minority on this, but I absolutely hated the schmaltzy live piano music. It had me wishing for silence like I'd never wished for it before. Like nails on a chalkboard. But hey, that's just me.

=R=

Hi Ronnie- I am a big fan of Guiltless Gourmet spicy black bean baked tortilla chips, and I used to be able to get them at Whole Foods, and none of the Whole Foods that I visit carry them anymore. The company was bought out by Manischewitz a few years ago, and shortly after that happened they stopped distributing any Guiltless Gourmet products to the Chicago area. For a while they were selling the chips at the Fruitful Yield store in Highland Park, but as far as I know they quit selling them there too. Manischewitz is apparently based in NJ, and the New York City region is the only region right now where you can buy any of Guiltless Gourmet's products in a store. When you look on the Guiltless Gourmet website, they encourage people to buy their products on line. Amazon sells all of their products. There is at least one other website you can order their products from too. The problem is that then you have to buy a whole case of whatever you want to buy. I don't need a whole case of chips. The website does not list any retail stores selling any of their products, and from what I understand people have posted on their Facebook page asking where they sell their stuff, and they have not heard anything back. They don't even return phone calls when you call their customer service line.

BTW- I happen to love jazz, and so I enjoy the piano playing at Mariano's. They only play on Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the day, and so if you are bothered by it you can avoid the store while the music is being played. A friend of mine is a jazz drummer, and he told me that apparently the pianists get paid well. A friend of his does occasional gigs there, and he says they pay better than Gibson's does. Hope this helps, Nancy

NFriday wrote:A friend of his does occasional gigs there, and he says they pay better than Gibson's does. Hope this helps, Nancy

I'm sure the tips at Gibson's more than make up the difference.

NFriday wrote:Hi Ronnie- I am a big fan of Guiltless Gourmet spicy black bean baked tortilla chips, and I used to be able to get them at Whole Foods, and none of the Whole Foods that I visit carry them anymore. The company was bought out by Manischewitz a few years ago, and shortly after that happened they stopped distributing any Guiltless Gourmet products to the Chicago area. For a while they were selling the chips at the Fruitful Yield store in Highland Park, but as far as I know they quit selling them there too. Manischewitz is apparently based in NJ, and the New York City region is the only region right now where you can buy any of Guiltless Gourmet's products in a store. When you look on the Guiltless Gourmet website, they encourage people to buy their products on line. Amazon sells all of their products. There is at least one other website you can order their products from too. The problem is that then you have to buy a whole case of whatever you want to buy. I don't need a whole case of chips. The website does not list any retail stores selling any of their products, and from what I understand people have posted on their Facebook page asking where they sell their stuff, and they have not heard anything back. They don't even return phone calls when you call their customer service line.

BTW- I happen to love jazz, and so I enjoy the piano playing at Mariano's. They only play on Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the day, and so if you are bothered by it you can avoid the store while the music is being played. A friend of mine is a jazz drummer, and he told me that apparently the pianists get paid well. A friend of his does occasional gigs there, and he says they pay better than Gibson's does. Hope this helps, Nancy

Thanks Nancy, for the info about Guiltless Gourmet.

Fwiw, I love jazz, too. What was being played when I was there was definitely not jazz. It was something decidedly cheezier. But regardless, the music isn't a deal-breaker for me either way.

In the end, there's no single store that's good enough to be my only store (for me, Fresh Farms in Niles on Touhy comes closest). So, I really would have been shocked if Mariano's, with its Dominicks DNA, would have filled that bill. But there were some things I liked there and I'll return for them when the need or desire arises.

=R=

Ronnie mentioned the chocolate-covered peanuts in the bulk section. These are Sweet Baboo's favorite things, and now I can never let slip that I stopped by a Mariano's if I didn't bring home a bag of chocolate-covered peanuts. What's great about them is how thick the chocolate coating is.

This reminds me that my Pop was a big fan of chocolate-covered malted milk balls, and either Jewel or Dominick's used to sell ones in bulk that, like Mariano's c-c peanuts, had a much thicker chocolate coating than packaged malted milk balls. It hadn't occurred to me to check to see if Mariano's had those, but if anyone knows if Mariano's or Jewel or anyone else has good thick-coated malted milk balls, I'd appreciate the info.

After running an errand in Lake Zurich this morning, I stopped at the Mariano's on Half Day (Route 22). Tuesday AM is a great time to shop there; not crowded, easy to move around. That location has a Todd's BBQ; I very much enjoyed a free sample of pulled pork with Texas and Carolina sauces. Also enjoyed samples of rosemary olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

At the Vernon Hills Mariano's last week, I asked if they had any tri-tip, and a young man restocking the meat section quickly said, I can cut some for you. Do you want the fat cap on or off? he asked. Tri-tip has a fat cap? Not that I'd ever seen before. I hesitated, thinking of my own selfish desires, but then said, better off; Himself is anti-fat ( ). Young man said, I can cut it off and tie it back on so you can roast it on and remove it before serving. Great, and no extra charge; service as good as you'd get at Sunset.

Excellent malt balls (dark or milk chocolate) at Foodstuffs. Not cheap, of course. I get them in Glencoe, but assume they are available at any of the four locations.

Thanks, Jonah. I hadn't heard of Foodstuffs. I'll scout out malted milk balls at the Lake Forest location.

Of course, Sweet Baboo will say, you drove to Lake Forest and didn't stop at Mariano's for my chocolate-covered peanuts?

ronnie_suburban wrote:Yada, yada, yada, Marianos...

=R=

Hi Ron, I agree with everything you've written for the most part, except about the bbq. But you prolly do your own brisket at home, so I can see your stance. In a nutshell, for me, Mariano's is:

"Real Deal" smoked brisket for $13 /#, and sometimes, it's frickin 9 bucks / # !!!
$5.00 smoked half chickens are a steal.
$10.00 slabs of smoked spares on the weekends are decent. Really decent, but not great.
Their "All Butter"Chocolate Chip cookies should be illegal. They have regular choc chip cookes in the same area, but if the box says, "All Butter," just do yourself a favor, and don't buy them. You'll just eat them until it hurts.

Nothing else has really compelled me, but I can get real deal bbq 7 days /week on the way home, OR for lunch, and at an extremely reasonable price? Todd's bbq, imo, might belong on the GN resource list. I don't think the pulled pork has ever been good any time that I've tried it, but the brisket and 1/2 chix are fantastic for the price. I don't really even think of Marianos as a grocery store, it's just Todd's bbq with a whole bunch of knick knacks around it. I do my grocery shopping at a host of other joints because I have a decent selection of stores in my area.

The "New City" Mariano's (Clybourn and Halsted) will have its grand opening on October 27th.

Stopped by the New City Mariano's (1500 N. Clybourn) grand opening last night. The place is huge, 83,000 square feet spread out over two floors. The ground floor has a cheese/charcuterie shop, patisserie, juice bar, bulk spices, salad bar, olive bar, hot bar, soup bar and food stands (BBQ, sushi, oyster bar, vegetarian/vegan, pizza/sandwiches). The wine bar is also on the ground level which appeared to also have several beers on tap. Groceries are found on the second floor. Currently the only way I saw to get your cart between floors is via a bank of 3 elevators. The main entrance to the parking garage is located on the south side of the complex off a new road they built between Ogden and Halsted (I think it is called Schiller or something like that, it doesn't show up on Google Maps yet). There is a smaller entrance off Halsted that looks like it would be more difficult to get to if your going southbound on Halsted. You get 90 minutes free parking with validation, which is done at the customer service kiosk in Mariano's. There are kiosks in the parking garage elevator lobbies to pay for parking, I wasn't sure validation alone was all you needed to exit so I ran the ticket though one of the payment kiosks just to be sure.

Wow. Another reason I am glad I do not live in the city.

Coogles wrote:Stopped by the New City Mariano's (1500 N. Clybourn) grand opening last night. You get 90 minutes free parking with validation, which is done at the customer service kiosk in Mariano's. There are kiosks in the parking garage elevator lobbies to pay for parking, I wasn't sure validation alone was all you needed to exit so I ran the ticket though one of the payment kiosks just to be sure.

Coogles, how would you rate the parking garage itself, aside from the validation issues? One of those city garages that are a relative pleasure (one-way traffic, wide-enough lanes, wide-enough spaces, clarity on where you're supposed to drive as you look for a space and as you leave the structure), or one of those city garages that are a relative nightmare (pillars that are crushed fenders waiting to happen, cramped two-way traffic, ungenerous spaces, in and out traffic pattern that is the equivalent of an M.C. Escher drawing)?

Your answer will probably determine whether I ever go here!

lougord99 wrote:Wow. Another reason I am glad I do not live in the city.

Ha - I was just starting to type Suburbs 1 City 0 yesterday, but decided not to. I love all the restaurants being close by in the city, but the traffic, parking, potholes, crime, etc - no thanks.

riddlemay wrote:Coogles, how would you rate the parking garage itself, aside from the validation issues? One of those city garages that are a relative pleasure (one-way traffic, wide-enough lanes, wide-enough spaces, clarity on where you're supposed to drive as you look for a space and as you leave the structure), or one of those city garages that are a relative nightmare (pillars that are crushed fenders waiting to happen, cramped two-way traffic, ungenerous spaces, in and out traffic pattern that is the equivalent of an M.C. Escher drawing)?

Your answer will probably determine whether I ever go here!

The parking garage lanes are two-way, but pretty wide as are the spaces. I didn't notice any columns you would have to navigate around to park like in the Trader Joe's Clybourn garage. Since many of the attractions at New City aren't open yet the garage wasn't very crowded at all, it may be more difficult to gte around in when it's crowded.

Thanks. I think it sounds just un-dreadful enough that we might give it a shot for grins.

WRT parking validation, usually in these kinds you do have to run it through the pay station. I think it has no way to know if you overstay your 90 minutes and need to pay more otherwise.

The stuff about suburbs v city above is pretty rich, seeing as how this is a complex and a part of town that presumably would make many suburbanites feel right at home.

Matt wrote:The stuff about suburbs v city above is pretty rich, seeing as how this is a complex and a part of town that presumably would make many suburbanites feel right at home.

Agreed.

I was thinking without the city there are no suburbs.

The new Mariano's at the end of my alley is definitely part of the mallification of cities. And we still find it odd to have these consumer complexes displace public housing but that's a different subject. --LLAP

Kroger has announced the acquisition/merger with Roundy's - Mariano's parent company. This deal has yet to close; it has just been announced.

Yahoo article

From Crain's:

https://shar.es/15zfEk

The Cincinnati grocery giant is buying Milwaukee-based Roundy's. No store closing are planned.

milz50 wrote:Kroger has announced the acquisition/merger with Roundy's - Mariano's parent company. This deal has yet to close; it has just been announced.

Yahoo article

Also note that Mariano's is likely worth far more than the acquisition price of the deal. Due to their decreasing sales, leases, employee costs and competition, the legacy Roundy stores are worth negative $$.

milz50 wrote:

milz50 wrote:Kroger has announced the acquisition/merger with Roundy's - Mariano's parent company. This deal has yet to close; it has just been announced.

Yahoo article

Also note that Mariano's is likely worth far more than the acquisition price of the deal. Due to their decreasing sales, leases, employee costs and competition, the legacy Roundy stores are worth negative $$.

No kidding. That's like buying a diamond encased in 1,000 tons of cow manure.

The $3.60 a share is less than a half of the IPO price of just a few years ago (and a quarter of the price a month or so later).

milz50 wrote:Kroger has announced the acquisition/merger with Roundy's - Mariano's parent company. This deal has yet to close; it has just been announced.

Yahoo article

I'm ascared! Hopefully this won't be a repeat of the Safeway/Dominicks debacle.

Coogles wrote:

milz50 wrote:Kroger has announced the acquisition/merger with Roundy's - Mariano's parent company. This deal has yet to close; it has just been announced.

Yahoo article

I'm ascared! Hopefully this won't be a repeat of the Safeway/Dominicks debacle.

I'm excited. Kroger is a great operator.

stevez wrote:I'm excited. Kroger is a great operator.

You're reaction makes me feel a little better, because I had the same feeling if deja vu with Mariano's potentially losing its local feel.