Not surprised as they took away everything that made that place special and replaced it with empty shelves or nuts. I would love to hear the "business plan" they put in place for that store?

Hi,

I was heading out in that direction today, I was hoping to buy some dates and such for holiday baking. I would also buy bulk gelatin powder.

Is there a store like this out there?

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

Their Barrington store renamed as Fisher Nut Store apparently closed in August or September.

Regards,

I used to stop there once a month or so. In my opinion, the Home Economist management could NOT decide exactly what they wanted to be. Some times it looked like a gourmet store with great cheese. Then, they would have nothing in the refrigerated area and just have bulk stores. You could never count on what they would have. It was like "never the same store twice" in not a good sense.

When they swapped over to the Fisher Nuts brand, the variety of foods dropped considerably AND the prices were often higher than in the local grocery stores. They offered NOTHING that you could not find elsewhere.

Fisher does have a factory outlet in Elgin:

1701 N. Randall Road
Elgin, IL 60123
Phone: (847) 214-4400
M-F 9 AM - 6 PM
Sat 9 AM - 5 PM
Closed Sundays

I thought the Home Economist was long gone and dead, but a passing comment here offered new hope:

Stores have two different owners and approaches to stocking their stores. The Westmont location has the same full line enjoyed at the Home Economist. The shop on Devon has a different name on the store front: 'Fruit and Nuts.' It does not have the same inventory of flours et al from the first. These entities do share the same website.

Bulk Fresh Pantry - 'the store for the home economist' - full line like the Home Economist.
Address: 6382 S Cass Ave, Westmont, IL 60559
Phone:(630) 852-0214
Website: http://www.bulkfresh.com/
Hours:
Friday 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Saturday 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Sunday 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Monday 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Tuesday 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Wednesday 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Thursday 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM

bulkfresh pantry - pretty much stocks dried fruits and nuts
6A East Devon Avenue
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007
(847) 357-1168
Hours:
Monday–Friday 9:30 AM–6:30 PM
Saturday 10 AM–5 PM
Closed Sunday

Hi,

Last evening, I stopped by the Elk Grove Village shop on my quest to buy bulk unflavored gelatin. I arrived 15 minutes before posted closing hours to find the lights off, door locked and a young clerk standing over the cash register. I presume he was taking it on its shutdown paces. His reaction to my irritation was to shrug his shoulders.

This morning, I filed a complaint on their website. I received a call from the owner of the Westmont location who advised Elk Grove Village is owned by someone else. While the experience was unpleasant, I learned I was never going to find my gelatin at the Elk Grove Village location.

Both locations are owned by different people and stock their stores differently. The Westmont location's stock emulates what was once expected at Home Economist: flours, salts, gelatin, edible baking supplies and such. The location in Elk Grove Village is smaller with its stock concentrating on dried fruits and nuts.

If you wish for dried fruit and nuts only, both locations will fit the bill. Since it is different owners, it may also be different suppliers. For the full line, go to Westmont.

I hope to get to Westmont sometime soon and will report back.

Regards,