Horrocks – Battle Creek

11 05 2009
  • 235 Capital Avenue SW
  • Battle Creek, MI 49037
  • (269) 966-3200
  • Website
The Horrocks store on Capital Avenue SW in Battle Creek.

The Horrocks store on Capital Avenue SW in Battle Creek.

Easily, one of things I like the most about Lansing is Horrocks.  We’ve saved so much money and gotten some great stuff at Horrocks in Delta Township.  When produce is in-season, Horrocks is a once a week trip.  During the winter, it turns in to a bi-monthly or monthly trip but still something I look forward to.

J and I met her parents in St. Joseph for Mother’s Day brunch.  On the way home, J suggested stopping by Horrocks to get some fruit for the week.  Since it was on the way, I suggested we check out the Battle Creek Horrocks.

The Horrocks on Battle Creek is near I-194 on Capital Avenue SW.  The building looks to be an old office building or something.  The store is in a pretty industrial area, so the previous tenant of the building could have easily used the building for anything.

Being regulars at the Lansing store made the Battle Creek store very confusing.  We’re so used to the layout and the flow of the store in Delta Township that we were lost when we got inside the Battle Creek store.  First, you actually have to walk through the greenhouse to get to the building.  We grabbed a cart and walked through the doors.  At first, I thought we were in the wrong store.  I thought maybe there were separate buildings for the grocery and greenhouse parts of the business.  Read the rest of this entry »

Advertisement

Comments : 8 Comments »
Tags: , , ,
Categories : Battle Creek, Grocery, Michigan

Whole Foods Market – Willowbrook, IL

2 05 2009
  • 201 63rd Street
  • Willowbrook, IL 60527
  • (630) 655-5000
  • Website
The Whole Foods Market on 63rd Street in Willowbrook, IL

The Whole Foods Market on 63rd Street in Willowbrook, IL

When you’re within a couple miles of a Whole Foods Market, you have to go.  Right?  That’s the case with us anyway.  We were in Willowbrook for lunch at The Chicken Basket and J said there was a Whole Foods right down the street.  It’s the store where she was first introduced to the store we’ve come to lovingly call Whole Paycheck (thanks Amy).  When we lived in Peoria, J would make the drive to her parents house quite often.  On those trips, she and her mom would run to Whole Food and stock up on pre cut fruits, veggies, and those delicious pre-made salad.

Whole Foods has a number of markets in the Chicago area.  The Willowbrook location is on 63rd Street right off of Kingery Highway (IL-83).  We actually drove by it the first time because J thought it was visible from Kingery, but we found out pretty quickly, it’s not.

The store is a stand alone and the parking lot is really tight.  Whole Foods is definitely not your typical mega mart with concrete parking lots as far as the eye can see.  There’s plenty of parking, but it’s not spread out and there’s not a lot of empty spaces.

The Willowbrook Whole Foods sets the standard for J.  She compares every Whole Foods we go in to to this one.  I actually thought the store was cramped compared to the two Ann Arbor stores, but she thinks there’s more room.  The theme of the weekend was Cinco De Mayo and there were a number of sample tables throughout the store.  It’s too bad we just came from lunch because we really could have eaten our way through. Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , ,
Categories : Grocery, Illinois, Reviews, willowbrook

Handy’s Food Market

30 04 2009
  • 424 W. Willow Street
  • Lansing, MI 48906
  • (517) 482-1156
  • No Known Website
Handys Food Market on Willow Street in Lansing.

Handy's Food Market on Willow Street in Lansing.

Handy’s Food Market is on Willow Street at the corner of Chestnutt.  It’s a really small building with just a little bit of street parking.  There were already three or four cars parked out front, so I had to go down the street a little ways to find a spot. 

Like I already mentioned, there isn’t a lot of room in the store.  There’s one shelf that runs through the middle of the store and divides the space in to two.  With the aisles that are left, there’s not enough room for two people to pass by comfortably. 

I found the spice section I was looking for, but again, couldn’t find what I was looking for.  I found whole ancho chile’s, but no powder.  Before I left, I also noticed some hanging above the counter, but still, no ancho chile powder. 

I didn’t look around too much, but the rest of the store was filled with staples of the Mexican pantry.  There was also a case up front that had some prepared food that looks like it just needed to be heated up again.  I didn’t ask questions and there wasn’t a whole lot of room to move. Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : 6 Comments »
Tags: , , , ,
Categories : Grocery, Lansing, Mexican, Michigan

Jewel-Osco – Kankakee, IL

20 12 2008
  • 446 S. Washington Ave
  • Kankakee, IL 60901
  • (815) 935-2040
  • Website
The Jewel-Osco store on Washington Avenue in Kankakee.

The Jewel-Osco store on Washington Avenue in Kankakee.

When you grow up in a small town, the closest supermarket isn’t always just around the corner.  In our case, the closest supermarket is a half hour away.  My family doesn’t have the luxury of deciding what they want for dinner then running to the store to get it.  I grew up in a time where there were no hypermarkets and supermarkets were a once a month trip.  The only one of those big chains that is still around today is Jewel-Osco.

Jewel-Osco started life and Jewel Food Stores and Osco Drugs.  Somewhere along the line, they merged to become Jewel-Osco.  The weird thing was, they were almost always in the same building and connected.  Osco was more like Walgreens with some items and Jewel did the food thing.  When other supermarkets started doing pharmacy’s along with some merchandise, Jewel and Osco just merged together.  I remember how this store used to be set up and it always seemed dumb.  There were two separate entrances and a hallway connecting the two stores, but you had to pay for each stores merchandise in their store.  Now, pretty much all Jewel-Osco stores are in the same building even though both brands usually have their own management teams and marketing identity. 

Jewel is pretty unique to Illinois although you can find stores in eastern Iowa and Northwest Indiana.  The homebase is in Melrose Park. Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: , , , , ,
Categories : Chains, Illinois, Kankakee, Reviews

Westlund’s Apple Market

6 12 2008
  • 2301 E. Grand River Avenue
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 482-3900
  • Website
Westlunds Apple Market on Grand River Ave. in Lansing

Westlund's Apple Market on Grand River Ave. in Lansing

J and I had both seen the recent commercials for Westlund’s Apple Market touting $1.69 ground beef.  She doesn’t eat ground beef that often, but I could live on the stuff, so on our way home from Howell, we decided to check it out.

Westlund’s in on Grand River a few blocks from Frandor.  I don’t know why, but I was expecting it to be out towards Eastwoode.  I thought my GPS was screwed up when it turned me left on Grand River from US 127.  J kept assuring me that is was the right way.  She could remember driving by it, but I couldn’t picture it. 

It was a snowy day and it was hard to see the parking lines in the lot, so I just made my own space across from a car thta was already parked.  We made our way in and I got a little nervous when I saw signs on the door that said (these are paraphrased) only one student in the store at a time unless with an adult and  leave all backpacks in the front of the store.  Signs like that just don’t make me feel all that comfortable and that’s not what I was expecting from a neighborhood grocery store. Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : 3 Comments »
Tags: , , , , ,
Categories : Grocery, Lansing, Michigan, Reviews

Dominick’s Finer Foods- Oak Lawn, IL

26 11 2008
  • 8700 S. Cicero Ave.
  • Oak Lawn, IL 60435
  • (708) 422-3906
  • Website
Dominicks Finer Foods on Cicero Ave. in Oak Lawn, IL

Dominick's Finer Foods on Cicero Ave. in Oak Lawn, IL

I needed some last minute cream cheese to make an Oreo Cheesecake for my family’s Thanksgiving.  I didn’t want to make a cheesecake in Lansing then try to transport it to Illinois, so I just figured I would buy what  I needed in Chicago, bake it at J’s parents then take it home.  There are a couple options for grocery stores in Oak Lawn, but we went to Dominick’s because we know “someone” there. 🙂

Dominick’s is chain of supermarkets that got it’s start in the Chicago area by Dominick DeMatteo in 1918.  The first supermarket was opened in 1950.  They sold the chain in the late 60’s, but they were so unhappy with the agreement, the family bought the chain back in the 80’s. 

In the 90’s, Dominick’s was an innovator with POS systems, cafe’s, video rental, and many other things that are now commonplace in most major supermarkets.  Dominick DeMatteo died in 1993 and the family put the comapny up for sale.  In 1996, they were sold to LA based Yucaipo Co.  A few years later, they were sold to Safeway Inc.  At the time of the sale, there were 116 Dominick stores.  After years of trying to change the financial structure, Dominick’s now operates 83 stores.

We only needed to pick up a few things and they were pricing those items for holiday sale.  I picked up three packages of cream cheese, a can of sweetened condensed milk, oreos, and a springform pan.  The items rang up to $28, but after the sales were applied, it was just barely over $21 with the pan taking up a good chunk of that price.

I didn’t really get a whole lot that warrants a review and it’s not like most of you are going to run to a Dominick’s to go shopping, but I did want to throw out a little history of a Chicago institution and something you won’t be able find in many markets.


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , ,
Categories : Grocery, Illinois, Oak Lawn, Reviews

Kroger – Frandor

17 11 2008
  • 443 Mall Ct.
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 332-2090
  • Website
Kroger in the Frandor Shopping Center.

Kroger in the Frandor Shopping Center.

I have a feeling one day I will visit all the Kroger’s in Lansing.  For some reason, when I need something, I instinctively go to Kroger.  Maybe it’s because I’ve been around Kroger all my life whereas the other supermarket’s in the area or foreign to me.  Maybe it’s because there just always seems to be a Kroger when I need one.

J and I were in Frandor to check out Linens ‘N Things again.  My dad wants some pans for Christmas and he’s very, very picky about what he wants, so we were hoping to find something cheap at LNT. They just lowered their prices again, so we thought it was a good time.  We picked up a few things there, but I needed to pick up a few groceries as well and there was a Kroger not too far down the parking lot.

So, we headed back to the truck to drop of the “Things” we bought from Linens ‘N Things before heading to Kroger.  I’m guessing this store is one of the older ones in Lansing.  They still have an old sign on the building and the layout is a little wierd for a grocery store.  When you walk in, you come in behind the cash registers.  There’s only one door in and out so you come out the way you go in.  If you keep walking past the cash registers, you’ll eventually hit produce and you can start shopping just like you would at any store. Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: , , , , , ,
Categories : Chains, Chocolate, Grocery, Lansing, Michigan, Reviews

Goodrich’s Shop-Rite

4 11 2008
  • 940 Trowbridge Rd
  • East Lansing, MI 48823
  • (517) 351-5820
  • Website
Goodrichs Shop-Rite in Trowbridge Plaze in East Lansing.

Goodrich's Shop-Rite in Trowbridge Plaze in East Lansing.

Another recommendation by regular commenter Corky.  Since we were already at Hobie’s (review HERE), we took a few minutes to walk over the Goodrich’s Shop-Rite to check the place out.  Corky and a few other people have told me they carry Zingerman’s bread so that’s what we went looking for.

Goodrich’s Shop-Rite is in the Trowbridge Plaza near MSU’s campus.  When we walked in, my first impression is that it wasn’t going to be much different than any other grocery store.  We walked quickly through a lot of the GM section looking for the bakery and deli section.  On the way, we made a quick run through the meat department.  The thing I noticed here is that they put signs up letting you know where all their meat came from.  I’ve been noticing that a lot more lately.

We finally made our way to the deli and what a surprise.  I was a little unimpressed up until that point.  Once we turned the corner, my impression changed.  The deli/bakery section is rather large.  There are racks of bread throughout the area.  I didn’t find any Zingerman’s so I didn’t buy anything, but there was a lot of different fresh baked bread.  The deli case was also huge.  Lots of different meats and cheeses. Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : 4 Comments »
Tags: , , , , , ,
Categories : East Lansing, Grocery, Local Flavor, Michigan, Reviews

Brower Food & Hardware

3 11 2008
  • 2102 Aurelius Rd.
  • Holt, MI 48842
  • (517) 694-0531
  • No Known Website
Brower Food & Hardware on Aurelius Rd. in Holt, MI

Brower Food & Hardware on Aurelius Rd. in Holt, MI

I have been stopping by Brower Food & Hardware for several months now after seeing a review for a deli located inside the little grocery store.  Each time I’ve tried to stop at Big T Deli & Grill, I’ve come up disappointed.  I dont’ know if they stopped doing the deli or what.

This time, I wasn’t looking so much for lunch as I was a small bottle of tequila.  Brower Food & Hardware sits on Aurelius Road near the Holt Plaza.  There’s a very small parking lot in front of the store.  Inside, there’s not a whole lot.  There are a few pantry items, pop, and of course, liquor.  I went to the pop cooler first to grab a Pepsi then headed over to the liquor.  I’m not a big fan of places that keep their hard liquor behind the counter because I always feel so rushed to make a decision and I can’t really see the prices.  That’s how Brower is set up.  The wine is out on shelves and the beer is in coolers.  I didn’t see what I was really looking for so I just paid for my Pepsi and got out. Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : 5 Comments »
Tags: , , , , ,
Categories : Grocery, Holt, Local Flavor, Michigan, Reviews

Meijer – Grand Ledge

16 10 2008
  • 730 E. Saginaw Hwy.
  • Grand Ledge, MI 48837
  • (517) 622-6800
  • Website
The Grand Ledge Meijer store located just on the edge of town on Saginaw Highway

The Grand Ledge Meijer store located just on the edge of town on Saginaw Highway

It’s October and I need charcoal.  Just because it’s fall and quickly becoming winter doesn’t mean I’m going to stop grilling.  According to most mega marts, I should be putting up tacky Christmas ornaments, not grilling a pork loin.  I’m also a charcoal snob, so that makes things a little bit tougher.  No briquettes for me.  The chemicals used to press them together annoy me.  If you don’t let it totally ash over, you’ll pick up the chemicals in your food.  I’m not that patient, so I use natural hardwood lump charcoal.  We looked at Wal-Mart, but all they had was the Kingsford crap.  I was just going to run to the Meijer by our place to see what they had, but since we were in Grand Ledge anyway for lunch, I decided to stop at the Grand Ledge store.

The Meijer in Grand Ledge is just on the edge of town on Saginaw Highway.  It’s a newer store with the newer facade.  It’s not quite the “main street” concept store they’re starting to roll out, but it’s in between that and the old boxy type like the store on Pennsylvania.  The inside of the store is a drastic difference too.  J made the comment that it’s much less overwhelming than the other stores around here we’ve been in.  My complain about Meijer is just that it’s so darn big.  It’s hard to find things and can be frustrating if you have to shop in a couple different departments. Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: , , , , , ,
Categories : Chains, Grand Ledge, Grocery, Michigan, Reviews

« Previous Entries