Jewel Osco vs Mariano's (Chicago, Mundelein: live, prices, groceries)

[ColdAilment]

Two grocery store chains that seem to dominate the Chicagoland area, there isn't much else that competes with them, though regional Meijer's is creeping into some of the suburbs.

Having just moved here last year I wasn't familiar with either of these grocery store chains but have since become very familiar with both of them.

My question is do you have a preference on these stores? What makes you prefer one to the other?

[williepotatoes]

Originally Posted by ColdAilment

Two grocery store chains that seem to dominate the Chicagoland area, there isn't much else that competes with them, though regional Meijer's is creeping into some of the suburbs.

Having just moved here last year I wasn't familiar with either of these grocery store chains but have since become very familiar with both of them.

My question is do you have a preference on these stores? What makes you prefer one to the other?

Jewel is far and away the largest, they have about five stores for every one Marianos. They are also Chicago's legacy grocer having been the dominant chain for 60+ years. Out here there are a lot of other options that are convenient, because everyone drives.

[ColdAilment]

Jewel may be dominant, but I find that Mariano's has far more reasonable prices, and Mariano's has a lot of expansion in the city. I think Jewel is Chicago born though, where Mariano's goes under a different name in Wisconsin, which is where they are fro.

[Maintainschaos]

Aldi and Whole Foods are also very prominent, too. I preferred Dominick's over Jewel when they were still around, but I also like Mariano's more than Jewel. I do most of my grocery shopping at a combination of Aldi, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's.

[southwestW]

I use to like Domonicks when I lived on North Shore. That was yrs ago before they became Safeway. I was never crazy about Jewel. Prices too nigh for the look. Trader Joes is my favorite. My aunt says it's not to popular in Chicago as is on west coast. Mariano's looks nice. Is it considered upscale?

[quigboto]

They're both good, but I prefer Mariano's over Jewel. Strack and Van Til is pretty good too if you've got one near you.

[pete6032]

Originally Posted by ColdAilment

Jewel may be dominant, but I find that Mariano's has far more reasonable prices, and Mariano's has a lot of expansion in the city. I think Jewel is Chicago born though, where Mariano's goes under a different name in Wisconsin, which is where they are fro.

Mariano's goes by the name "Metro Market" in the Milwaukee area.

[baileyvpotter]

Originally Posted by williepotatoes

Jewel is far and away the largest, they have about five stores for every one Marianos. They are also Chicago's legacy grocer having been the dominant chain for 60+ years.

^^^You're right. I remember when they opened up a store near Humboldt Park back in the 60's
(near Jim Moran the Courtesy Man) and boy oh boy mom was thrilled about it.

*wikipedia's History of Jewel's in Chicago (which will not link on here) goes into great detail
about the history of Jewel's and it's sister stores.

[via chicago]

Jewel is awful, by and large. I dont think Marianos is the second coming or anything, but the selection in general is a step above, even for basic staples. Case in point: try to find a loaf of bread at Jewel that dosent contain HFCS (good luck). Its depressing. Marianos has some of that, but also stocks loaves from local bakeries that came in that day without preservatives or artificial flavors/sweeteners. Marianos also has a much better meat counter.

Originally Posted by southwestW

Mariano's looks nice. Is it considered upscale?

i wouldnt say its upscale in the way Whole Foods is. they just have somewhat better store layouts than legacy Jewels

honestly, i prefer Harvesttime over both of them.

[JONOV]

Originally Posted by ColdAilment

Two grocery store chains that seem to dominate the Chicagoland area, there isn't much else that competes with them, though regional Meijer's is creeping into some of the suburbs.

Having just moved here last year I wasn't familiar with either of these grocery store chains but have since become very familiar with both of them.

My question is do you have a preference on these stores? What makes you prefer one to the other?

Originally Posted by ColdAilment

Jewel may be dominant, but I find that Mariano's has far more reasonable prices, and Mariano's has a lot of expansion in the city. I think Jewel is Chicago born though, where Mariano's goes under a different name in Wisconsin, which is where they are fro.

For years, in Libertyville, Jewel was it. Mundelein and VH had Dominicks sometimes, and mom would go there sometimes, and she would also go to some of the larger Hispanic oriented supermarkets for produce, but by and large it was Jewel. Even after Sunset moved in, Jewel was the dominant force because while less expensive than Sunset, she didn't have to bag her groceries (which was important when you had small children.) I haven't seen Jewel stores much beyond Kenosha (although I understand they are in Iowa and Indiana.)

When Mariano's came in, the Jewel parking lot looked like a ghost town, and still does. I went in there the day before Thanksgiving last year and was shocked at how empty it was relative to the day it was.