Groceries in Milwaukee? (Paris, Woodman: rental, to buy, school)

[SamirD]

One thing I did find odd was the prices on certain things. Like Lysol spray is 2x what I ever saw, even in NYC and the same for Cascade powder. Cascade was dirt cheap at Target in NYC--it's 2x+ more here.

The other thing was EAS carb control protein drinks. I've only found them at one place for less than $8, and that's CVS. Oddly enough, milk was also the cheapest at CVS.

Generally, I've been pretty happy with the prices I've seen for groceries. I should be able to shave off at least $100 from what we were paying in NYC.

[brian571]

When I was in Milwaukee, we did most of our shopping at Woodman's and got fresh items (meat and produce) at Sendik's. Sendik's quality on fresh items is very good. I'm further south now and get everything but meat at the Woodman's in Kenosha. Woodman's can't be beat on prices for packaged foods. They are literally dollars cheaper than Pick n' Save and others on some items. Their produce is OK. They like to sell items that are graded lower for appearances - for example a funny shaped pepper or apple. They still taste fine though.

It should be noted that there are different owners for many of the Sendik's. The one on the east side on Downer and the other on Oakland in Shorewood are owned by two different families if I remember correctly. They are pretty small, but good for meats and produce. The larger ones in Mequon, Germantown, Grafton, West Bend, New Berlin, Greenfield, Franklin, and Whitefish Bay, sometimes called the "Red Bag" Sendik's, are owned by the Balistreri family and are full service grocery stores. There is another Sendik's out on Capitol drive in Brookfield that's a full service store, also owned by a Balistreri, but not the same ones as the others. It's kind of confusing if you're new to town. I shopped at the one in Mequon and it was nice. It's the largest one in the chain. They had a huge selection of meat at that location including dry aged steaks. It could get expensive, but the quality usually backed up the prices.

[SamirD]

Thank you for the informative post on Sendik's and Woodman's!

My wife cooks a lot, so fresh produce and quality meats are pretty important to her. I'm more of a packaged and frozen food guy (being a bachelor and very busy with work most of my life), so it's hard to get everything at one place for us.

[pete6032]

I've noticed that even the discount grocery stores in higher density areas IE Pick and Save in downtown/1st ring suburbs is just as expensive as upscale grocery stores in further out suburbs, but the further out upscale grocers have much better fresh produce.

Go to pick and save on Ogden and pay $3 for fresh lettuce that expires in 4 days or go out to Sendiks in Mequon and pay $3 for the same lettuce but it expires in two weeks. Much fresher, same price.

[SamirD]

Originally Posted by pete6032

I've noticed that even the discount grocery stores in higher density areas IE Pick and Save in downtown/1st ring suburbs is just as expensive as upscale grocery stores in further out suburbs, but the further out upscale grocers have much better fresh produce.

Go to pick and save on Ogden and pay $3 for fresh lettuce that expires in 4 days or go out to Sendiks in Mequon and pay $3 for the same lettuce but it expires in two weeks. Much fresher, same price.

I've noticed that the pricing follows that pattern as well. Pretty much the same in most cities. The NJ suburbs were much cheaper than Manhattan, sometimes even half.

That's an interesting point about the quality. Once we get into a regular routine of shopping, we'll have to venture out a bit. Although, after last night's 'loading up' on groceries and transporting them back to our place, we're going to have to stick to the NYC pattern of 'just in time' shopping. And more than likely that will mean just hitting the city stores when we need something vs planning for larger shopping runs.

[northnut]

Originally Posted by SamirD

I've noticed that the pricing follows that pattern as well. Pretty much the same in most cities. The NJ suburbs were much cheaper than Manhattan, sometimes even half.

That's an interesting point about the quality. Once we get into a regular routine of shopping, we'll have to venture out a bit. Although, after last night's 'loading up' on groceries and transporting them back to our place, we're going to have to stick to the NYC pattern of 'just in time' shopping. And more than likely that will mean just hitting the city stores when we need something vs planning for larger shopping runs.

Yeah, I pretty much go to the grocery store every day or every other day to pick up stuff instead of going say once a week & loading up. Veggies or fruit just rot if I do it that way. It's really too bad that America isn't more like say Europe with more corner little deli's or marts that people can easily walk to whenever they want instead of having to drive to the store like they do here. It's just so inconvenient & attributes to unhealthy eating & relying on your car.

[Renton13]

Is there PeaPod or any grocery delivery service there? I prefer ordering on-line and having groceries delivered instead of making it a three hour errand on weekends.

[northnut]

Originally Posted by Renton13

Is there PeaPod or any grocery delivery service there? I prefer ordering on-line and having groceries delivered instead of making it a three hour errand on weekends.

Yes, we have Pea Pod.

[Renton13]

Originally Posted by northnut

Yes, we have Pea Pod.

Thanks. Same prices as Fresh Direct here (NYC) but I would probably do it for the familiarity/convenience.

But PeaPod won't deliver beer! Get a local lobbyist on that pronto.

[northnut]

Originally Posted by Renton13

Thanks. Same prices as Fresh Direct here (NYC) but I would probably do it for the familiarity/convenience.

But PeaPod won't deliver beer! Get a local lobbyist on that pronto.

Haha, believe me I've thought of that business idea already.