I went to a Food4Less yesterday, since it was the only place that I could find unsweetened KoolAid. Really, I don't know what all the negative comments are about. The place was fine. They had a pretty good selection of most anything you could want and their pricing sure beat the crap out of Jewel or Dominicks. I'd say Aldi still has them beat on price, but F4L has a much larger selection. Their produce selection was pretty good too. Now, all of you who have never been there can tell us why it is so horrible.
I never got it either Crunchie. We've gone to a Food4Less as well & like you said, had a nice selection, good prices etc..
The 1 we went to wasn't in the best of neighborhoods, but we were going for good prices, not anything else. These days with EVERYONE price gouging finding a store with a good selection, PLUS good prices is a plus in my book!!
Past threads I've read here seem to be down on the "element" that goes to this store. The "element" is here in Berwyn already, so what's the difference. PLUS Berwyn needs a good BIG food store to give Jewel & Tony's a run for their money. Not to mention helping to keep our money IN Berwyn!
one word: deli.
OK, two words: barf.
Ultra has them beat on price (and quality (and cleanliness)), too.
Quote from: Diona on October 26, 2010, 06:24:55 AM
Past threads I've read here seem to be down on the "element" that goes to this store. The "element" is here in Berwyn already, so what's the difference.
That's right, I'm not moving.
I will concede that their deli is a weak point, but beyond that, they are fine. The place is clean and there are no more lowlifes hanging around than anywhere else. They do offer better deals on a lot of shit that you can't get anyplace else.
When we went to the Food4Less, we didn't get the deli so I wouldn't know about that 1.
I've been to Ultra as well & like them.
I'm not a bif fan of FFL, but I don't have anything really bad to say, either. I read their ad every week, and generally only go for two things when they are on sale:
1. Ocean Spray Cran Juice Cocktail 1.00 ( they had these again two weeks ago, scored 16 btls)
2. Their house brand frozen hash browns - 2 lb bags for 1.00.
Other than when they do their 1.00 promotions, I can do better at Tony's for my needs.
We lived in the South for about 8 years, got used to shopping at Kroger. My wife likes some of the Kroger house brands that FFL carries.
I had lunch at a friend's house in Berwyn today, so I stopped by Tony's to get some Italian butter cookies. I haven't been in there for a couple or three years. I forgot how very nice it is. You can get booze and bakery and everything in between. It's clean and bright. Whatever goes in CP will have to be pretty good to top Tony's. Their cookies are $4.99 lb. I pay $6.99 for the same thing at Amici. I should say I used to pay that at Amici..not anymore. However, Amici does make a fresh sub for 4 bucks. Does Tony's have sandwiches in their deli?
Quote from: pkd50 on October 26, 2010, 05:06:41 PM
I had lunch at a friend's house in Berwyn today, so I stopped by Tony's to get some Italian butter cookies. I haven't been in there for a couple or three years. I forgot how very nice it is. You can get booze and bakery and everything in between. It's clean and bright. Whatever goes in CP will have to be pretty good to top Tony's. Their cookies are $4.99 lb. I pay $6.99 for the same thing at Amici. I should say I used to pay that at Amici..not anymore. However, Amici does make a fresh sub for 4 bucks. Does Tony's have sandwiches in their deli?
Pkd, the correct Chicago way to say that is "a couple two, tree." ;D
And no Tony's doesn't have sandwiches in their deli. (at least that I have noticed)
the problem is the low prices. lower prices equal lower sales tax revenue.
I believe Tony's makes HUGE subs, but I don't remember seeing sandwiches or ads for fresh sandwiches.
I do like Tony's, but I've been seeing an upward trend of them slowly hiking UP their prices on everything. I don't know if it's because now they are established so they can really give us their "rock bottom" prices.
OR
Just like everything else, the prices are going up while WE (the consumers) aren't getting pay raises or losing our jobs.
Diona, I'm happy I wasn't the only one to notice the price hikes at Tony's. It seems initially they lured you in by their astonishing low prices and cleanliness. Then after they established themselves in the neighborhood, they raise their prices and layoff the mop boy!
I think what Berwyn needs is a Moo and Oink! That will bring in the tax revenue! Oh, wait, can a city collect taxes off of link? Well there goes that idea....
The thing that bothers me the most about Tony's is the ridiculously long deli line. I went there a couple of weeks ago, in the middle of a weekday afternoon mind you, and when I grabbed the ticket I was 32 numbers behind. I went and shopped abound the store for at least 20 minutes and when I came back they had only gone through 11 numbers. I just tossed the ticket and forgot about the deli. Like most other businesses these days they couldn't give a shit about customer service. The way they look at it is fuck you. Wait like everybody else and if you don't like it, beat it. There ain't no where else to go for this shit so just wait while we understaff and over work our employees so the bottom line looks better for Mr. Tony, whoever he is.
Oh by the way, the other thing that REALLY pisses me off about Tony's is that whenever I ask any of their employees where something is they have no effin clue. "Hey do you know where the colon cleanse is?" "Uh, yeah dog, I don't know where it is yo." That's the usual response.
Thanks for the heads up. I guess I won't be driving back to Tony's anytime soon.
Any new news about what's going into CP yet?
bigolo my husband & I have been noticing it for awhile now, but we are kind of "stuck" because there is nothing in Berwyn & not having a car it's hard to get more deals on shopping. It's Tony's or Jewel & let's face it between those 2, Tony's still has better prices (even with their prices hikes).
berwynguy, I agree 200% about the deli. We have only gone on Saturday mornings, but even by 8:30am it's packed. It looks like they have/had alot of people behind the deli, but the customers wanting deli stuff seem to want alot. Which isn't a bad thing, but it makes it hard for other customers to have to wait for awhile. We haven't bought anything in the deli in a while now because of the long waits.
The big thing that we don't like about the customer help is when we are checking out we have a big order (we go shopping for 2 weeks plus). The cashier has to be both cashier & bagger while other people with much smaller orders have a bagger. My husband has actually walked around & found a manager or 2 & told them to help the cashiers out before.
LOL...this thread now got to be about Tony's, sorry Crunchie! :D
Diona, this is the world we now live in. Customer service is a thing of the past. The thing that bothers me about this whole economy colapse is that there are some businesses that have not really been affected by the economy but use it as an excuse to cut, cut, and cut their help staff to almost below minimun operating standards. Do you think Tony's is hurting when they have a deli line that is 20-30 people deep almost all of the time? They should have another three people behind the counter AT LEAST. Because there are only a few options for grocery shopping in the Berwyn area we usually visit the ghetto Jewel as we call it at North Riverside. Ya think they could hire some guy for $8.25 per hour just to run a wet mop and broom over that joint? The place is so filthy it is sick. But you know what? They don't care. Another place that is running on fumes in the proper staffing area. I bet they just think, let this place look like shit. The people shopping here aren't much better, they will just keep coming.
I seriously hope there is a Meijer coming to CP. At least there will be one more option.
I've also noticed the upward creep in the prices at Tony's. Their liquor seems quite high to me. And the canned goods don't seem like they are much cheaper than Jewel.
Yeah sad, but very true berwynguy. It's not only Tony's that I noticed customer service going in the toilet. It's sad, but it's the state of things these days.
Quality, service and price. You can have two, but not all three. Three is an impossibility.
So choose your poison. If you want great product and service, expect to pay a higher price. If you want great service and prices, expect to compromise on quality. But you can't have all three.
And in this ecopnomy, in this community, if you were a retailer, which of the three would you attempt to provide?
Quote from: pkd50 on October 27, 2010, 12:03:33 PM
Thanks for the heads up. I guess I won't be driving back to Tony's anytime soon.
I'd suggest judging by your own experience before writing them off. I won't say that others' experiences are not exactly as they describe them, but
I've had more good than bad experiences at Tony's. I have also walked out after being less than impressed by the deli wait a few times, but more often than not, it's not so bad (at the times I go.) As for asking for help, I can't comment. I do Tony's at least once a week, and I kinda know where everything is, so I check the ad, make my plan of attack, and I usually can do it in/out pretty quick.
A suggestion:
When they have the E. Wedel choc bars on sale for 69c each, grab a few Milk Choc ones. Eat them at room temp. You'll have a fuzzy, warm, feeling about Tony's after that.
Quote from: seebee on October 28, 2010, 08:23:11 AM
A suggestion:
When they have the E. Wedel choc bars on sale for 69c each, grab a few Milk Choc ones. Eat them at room temp. You'll have a fuzzy, warm, feeling about Tony's after that.
Reaction to the dairy?
Quote from: All Blocked Up on October 28, 2010, 12:03:39 PM
Quote from: seebee on October 28, 2010, 08:23:11 AM
A suggestion:
When they have the E. Wedel choc bars on sale for 69c each, grab a few Milk Choc ones. Eat them at room temp. You'll have a fuzzy, warm, feeling about Tony's after that.
Reaction to the dairy?
LOL, no :D
Might be the best 69c milk choc bar I've come across. They go 69c pretty regularly too.
You're right Seebee. I won't write them off yet, but you seem to be the only one who hasn't blasted Tony's. Thanks for the tip on the chocolate bar. Is it found in the candy aisle or at the check out?
I think customer service is an issue many places nowadays. I lived in Chicago and shopped primarily at the Jewel located at the intersection of Kedzie, Addison, & Elston for about 8 or 9 years, with the occasional trip to Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Dominick's, and Stanleys. The store was always clean. Staff were always friendly & helpful. What a shock, when I moved to Berwyn in 2005, I continued to have one bad experience after another at the Jewel in North Riverside. The store was dirty. Really dirty. Worse than I remember the Wicker Park Jewel in 1995 dirty!!! There were never any carts available, & the guy who was supposed to be collecting them in the parking lot was outside on his cell phone. I almost completely stopped shopping at NR Jewel after I waited in a HUGE line one evening, only to get up to the cashier to discover that she was sending text messages while ringing up the groceries!!!! Finally, 2 years ago, my health insurance changed, & I no longer had to use the Osco Pharmacy (and they were often out of the medication I needed!) So now I RARELY set foot in Jewel. Maybe if Tony's is closed or I really need something from Osco. THat's about it. I will say that Jewel sure is a whole lot cleaner now that Tony's is open & a lot less crowded. Also, there's never a line at the deli, but their deli prices are at least twice that of Tony's. Their produce is high too.
I have had pretty good luck with customer service at Tony's. I think the place is incredibly busy & considering that, I think they keep it fairly clean & fairly well stocked. I have figured out the art of taking a deli number, shopping for my produce or other stuff, and making it back on time. I have no complaints about cashiers having to do the bagging, just that they give out waaaay too many plastic bags. I either bring my own bags or ask for paper. They must be on strict order to really fill up paper bags though-b/c I never leave with a ton of paper bags. I am a stay at home mom, though, so that does allow me to shop at times that tend to be less busy. Would I like to shop somewhere cleaner & nicer all the time, sure-but for now Tony's is where I do the bulk of my shopping. I would be thrilled to have another good grocery shopping option.
I have to agree with Tuttles that the Jewel in NR is dirty. I shop mainly at the Jewel in Stickney and the difference between the two in terms of cleanliness is night and day. My only beef with the Jewel in Stickney is that they seem to be having fewer and fewer lanes open with cashiers - it's almost like they're trying to push everyone to use the self-checkout lanes which is aggravating me too. If I want to bag my own groceries I'll head to Aldi's. I'm paying somewhat of a premium to shop at Jewel (even though I'm a big sale shopper) and want them to have lanes open with a cashier and bagger. These are the things that lose businesses customers.
The self check out lines are just another way to save a buck. Less employees,
but is that savings being passed on to the customer?
I notice the same in stores like Lowe's, and etc. I rarely use this kind of checkout
service. I miss the friendly helpful employee! Things just aren't the same anymore!
Quote from: pkd50 on October 28, 2010, 05:45:18 PM
You're right Seebee. I won't write them off yet, but you seem to be the only one who hasn't blasted Tony's. Thanks for the tip on the chocolate bar. Is it found in the candy aisle or at the check out?
The E. Wedel selection is in one of the International Aisles near the north side of the aisle (lol I KNOW Tony's!) If I remember correctly,
it's the same aisle as the Mexican soda, but on the other side on the far end, across from all of the international cookies.
One more thing I'm digging on about Tony's - their international stuff. Shan masalas, Walkerswood Jerk Paste (2 bux less than at Ultra, BTW,) multiple basmati brands, 3 kinds of fish sauce, paratha, Chinese buns, and their frozen organic selection grows almost every time I'm there.
I usually go on Tuesdays or Thursdays after work (5 pm-ish) I know the lines at the deli can be challenging sometimes, but grab the number, go shop, and come back. I won't say that I've never left without gettin a deli item that I would have liked because the wait was too long, but that has only happened a few times. I really like Tony's, but I do shop at the Jewel in Stickney, Berwyn Fruit Market, Justice, Tonini's, and Familia as well. Hell, I get out to the Shop & Save on Archer once in a while too. Petes Produce too. My usual suspects I find at great prices at each:
Tony's:
Lunch meats, although really only Sara Lee Turkey, Tony's housemade Roast Beef, once in a while mortadell, or prozhoot
italian bread
Polish Rye
B/s chicken thighs
steaks / beef (gotta be careful of grades, but hopefully u know that
frozen ravioli
those E. Wedel Milk choc bars have me hooked
Walkerswood Jerk paste
pasta
olive oil
PRODUCE!!!
======
Jewel:
cereal
Justice:
produce, and SOME meats
Roasted Chickens
LOVE their chicken fajita mix in the deli
Familia:
Produce and some meats (usually only chicken leg quarters)
BFM:
Roasted Chickens
carnitas
Produce
lunch meats
Milk
Quote from: Tuttles on October 28, 2010, 11:22:32 PM
I have no complaints about cashiers having to do the bagging, just that they give out waaaay too many plastic bags.
I have noticed that also. If you buy ten item, you will get at least eight bags. ::)
That's really no exaggeration about 8 bags for 10 items @ Tony's. I try to remember to bring my own or ask for paper (which I then reuse & recycle) - but perhaps I will try to remember to bring the issue to a Tony's manager. It's really RIDICULOUS how many bags they use.
I do like the bakery @ Tony's. $4.99 for a pound of cookies is an excellent price. When they have the fresh baked foccacia for $.99, I use it to make my version of a muffaleta. The deli is a pain, but, I will wait in line for the Tony's turkey breast, especially the cajun, is very good, and when the roast beef is on sale with a pint of au jus, although I do add more seasoning when I'm heating it up. Lately, I've been going to the Shop & Save on Archer & Central. Very clean store, nice and fast deli, very good produce,love the fresh baked breads, especially the rye.
Now, I'm a true blue Costco person. Yea, I pay to be a member, but, I use the monthly coupons, knowing prices, and the savings add up. Plus, today, I filled up at the gas pump for $2.75 a gallon.
Quote from: Peridot 16 on November 02, 2010, 05:23:52 PM
I do like the bakery @ Tony's. $4.99 for a pound of cookies is an excellent price. When they have the fresh baked foccacia for $.99, I use it to make my version of a muffaleta. The deli is a pain, but, I will wait in line for the Tony's turkey breast, especially the cajun, is very good, and when the roast beef is on sale with a pint of au jus, although I do add more seasoning when I'm heating it up. Lately, I've been going to the Shop & Save on Archer & Central. Very clean store, nice and fast deli, very good produce,love the fresh baked breads, especially the rye.
Now, I'm a true blue Costco person. Yea, I pay to be a member, but, I use the monthly coupons, knowing prices, and the savings add up. Plus, today, I filled up at the gas pump for $2.75 a gallon.
I just received a large sale flyer from Costco today with tons of coupons in conjunction with their new store opening in Melrose Park at the old Kiddieland location. It's opening November 17th. Maybe I'll give it a try.
Quote from: Peridot 16 on November 02, 2010, 05:23:52 PM
I do like the bakery @ Tony's. $4.99 for a pound of cookies is an excellent price. When
I like to go to Tony's to stare at the bakery items. They are so beautiful and drool-worthy. And just staring at them is way better (for me, at least!) than eating them.
I like to go to Joe and Frank's and stare at the young Polish girl's behind the deli counter. They are also beautiful and drool-worthy.
Quote from: dukesdad on November 03, 2010, 11:44:44 AM
I like to go to Joe and Frank's and stare at the young Polish girl's behind the deli counter. They are also beautiful and drool-worthy.
Neither of you think that Joe and Frank's sausages are also drool worthy?
Funny of you to say that Bonster! Bear used to carry on about those polish
girls and how hot they were!
Quote from: Berwyn Patsy on November 03, 2010, 01:29:58 PM
Funny of you to say that Bonster! Bear used to carry on about those polish
girls and how hot they were!
Bonster?
Quote from: Fer on November 03, 2010, 11:40:01 AM
I like to go to Tony's to stare at the bakery items. They are so beautiful and drool-worthy. And just staring at them is way better (for me, at least!) than eating them.
The Tira Misu sucks. Looks good though.
Quote from: buzz on November 03, 2010, 09:31:02 PM
Quote from: Fer on November 03, 2010, 11:40:01 AM
I like to go to Tony's to stare at the bakery items. They are so beautiful and drool-worthy. And just staring at them is way better (for me, at least!) than eating them.
The Tira Misu sucks. Looks good though.
Yeah, I find the same thing. Tony's bakery items look a lot better than they taste. Buzz, try the tiramisu cake in Caputo's bakery section, it's pretty good.
Just my personal preference, but I find Tony's bakery (sweets) to be not that great either. I kinda wanna try a tres leches from there though.
Tony's has excellent kaiser rolls and hot dog buns from the bakery. Get there early, they sell fast.
Quote from: Terri on November 04, 2010, 08:38:23 AM
Tony's has excellent kaiser rolls and hot dog buns from the bakery. Get there early, they sell fast.
I also like the fresh baked bolillo and telera rolls, especially the wheat. There great toasted.