I thought the Garden Fresh Markets, which have expanded rapidly in recent years, deserved a thread of their own.
There are currently eight stores in this family-owned chain. Another is slated to open at McCormick and Touhy in Skokie in fall 2008. I've also heard -- I don't know how reliably -- that the Whole Foods in Palatine may move to Kildeer and that Garden Fresh is eyeing the current location. (A Crystal Lake location opened in 2007 closed after six months.)
I'm interested in hearing about differences between the various stores. While even Jewel and Dominick's vary from location to location in terms of physical space and merchandise, the differences here seem wider.
I've shopped at the Wheeling location off and on for years and I recall it as an offbeat, eclectic store where you never knew what they'd have. In recent years, they've regularized with a strong Eastern European slant. This location has expanded, but it's small compared to some of the other stores, such as the Arlington Heights location, a former Cub Foods.
I haven't been there too often, although it's nearest to me and I shopped regularly at Cub. But Cub Foods was 24/7 and Garden Fresh closes at 10 p.m. The merchandise at this store seems fairly mainstream. I usually find myself heading toward Harvest Fresh (100 E. Rand Road, 847/368-0138) instead, where I enjoy the international mix.
Yesterday, I happened to be in Northbrook and needed a few items, so I dropped into that store. I was surprised to discover that has an extensive kosher section, including a full-service kosher deli (not open on a Friday night during Passover). I was there late in the evening and they began making annoying "this store will be closing announcements" -- which always make me want to drop all of my selections and run out the door -- so I didn't get to explore it well, but they also seemed to have a lot of Indian items.
What's more, the manager unloaded my groceries from the cart onto the checkout. I asked if this was special service because they were trying to hurry to close and he said he always did it. (Judging from the photo on the website, this was Avi Mor, who from his name and appearance must be a close relative of Adi Mor, the owner, who lives in nearby Highland Park.)
Meanwhile, I noticed this item on the Garden Fresh web site:
Take a ride with Adi to the South Water Produce Market. For more details, call Julie at (847) 520-1200 or set a date at any one of the Garden Fresh Market stores.
Anyone done that?
Garden Fresh Markets
www.gardenfreshmarket.com
Chicago: 5701 West Belmont Ave., (773) 622-2211
Wheeling: 1786 Hintz Road, (847) 394-1100
Mundelein:400 Townline Road, (847) 949-9210
Northbrook: 275 Skokie Blvd., (847) 272-0300
Mount Prospect: 1145 Mount Prospect Plaza, (847) 463-2360
Arlington Heights: 600 East Rand Road, (847) 577-1770
Round Lake Beach: 965 East Rollins Road, (847) 231-6650
Naperville: 955 W 75th Street, (630) 961-9204