Dominick’s

Despite the negative reviews, this is actually my favorite grocery store near my house. Does anyone know what will happen to this location as Dominick’s winds down?

Growing up in Wilmette and in a Jewel-​loyal family, this Dominick’s was an exotic, couple-​times-​a-​year destination. There used to be a Jewel directly behind it with a double-​decker parking lot, but eventually Dominick’s won that turf war and it’s now an Office Depot. Neither here nor there, just tripping down memory lane.
Now this Dominick’s is still a couple-​times-​a-​year place for me, but I’d rather it wasn’t. Sub-​par produce, narrow aisles, no SCOTs (self check-​out terminals) and they inexplicably do not carry my preferred chocolate rice cakes (dude, they’re like chocolate popcorn — shut up). Every other Dominick’s carries them; Jewel does not. Whose side are you on, Green Bay Dominick’s?

On the plus side, they have a small variety of bulk Jelly Bellys. And on a recent visit, the checker gave us a $ 5 off coupon for some reason. Still, that’s a very thin plus side.
Rounding up from 2.5 stars because it’s Friday.

They have tried to cloak a dreary, 1996-​style Dominick’s in 21^st-​century trappings such as soft lighting and faux wood flooring in the produce area. An olive bar too. But it’s tiny and lacks a self-​checkout lane. The self-​checkout failing alone is inexcusable in 2012. At this point, it’s almost as outdated as saying «We accept only cash and traveller’s checks.» Please let me scan my two items quickly and be on my way without having to talk to a living person.
However, there are two worthy positive notes:
1. They have lowered the everyday price of Kerrygold Irish butter to $ 3.99, a dollar less than before. This puts them into better competition with Treasure Island and Trader Joe’s, the area price leaders. It also makes Jewel’s regular price of $ 5.99 even more pathetic.
2. They make a mean apple fritter, probably the best grocery-​store version that I’ve found.

I frequent this location mainly because it’s still close to my apartment in Evanston and it’s NOT the Jewel Osco on Chicago.
There’s nothing really special about this location except that it’s surprisingly not overrun by Northwestern students. This means that I can go in, buy a few items, and get out in a reasonable amount of time at night (around 8pm); the Jewel Osco, on the other hand…

I love this location. It’s my go to lunch spot and they have everything that you could ever need. If you go there for lunch their soup is great and the price is very reasonable. Believe it or not the sushi is exceptional here. It’s actually better than some of the sushi restaurants in the area, but it’s really no cheaper than a sushi restaurant. Roshelle is also so friendly when you’re checking out!

I came around 9pm on a Saturday evening and the store was dead. There were plenty of employees walking around and we were greeted by one of them who asked us if we needed any help. The woman who rang us up was friendly.
The store seemed clean enough and organized though I thought the layout was a bit cramped and that the frozen food section was a bit too cold. And, the bathroom needed a little TLC. The floor looked like it needed to be swept and mopped. Also, they were out of toilet seat covers, which was inconvenient.
OK location, but don’t really see myself shopping here again unless I’m in the area and in a pinch.

Judging by the other reviews, I must’ve gone in here with a target on my back.
Worst customer service ever.
While waiting at the deli, the workers took three (!) customers ahead of me. I dunno… maybe I was wearing my invisibility cloak that day? Normally I’d speak up («excuse me, I was here first»), but it happened so fast (and at different ends of the deli) that I was a little stunned.
Eventually the cloak slipped off my shoulders and a deli dingle acknowledged my presence. She asked me what I wanted, and I told her. She then filled only half my order before swiftly moving onto another patron Luckily for me, he had heard me (clearly) state my entire order, and pointed out that perhaps she should finish it before helping him.
Sigh. Onto the bakery. Hmm… this is a nice Dominick’s. Is it too much to hope that they have brioche? Probably, but I’ve been surprised before. Let’s try. Excuse me, ma’am? Pause. Ma’am? Pause. Excuse me? HELLO?
I actually had to wave my arms to get her to look up. God help me, I’m standing in a Dominick’s in Wilmette, waving my arms.
«Hi. I don’t suppose you happen to have brioche bread?» At this point, I sprouted nine extra heads, because she was staring at me like I had ten of them. I then explain brioche to the bakery worker. «It’s a buttery bread, dense, tender crumb?»
«Never heard of it.» she said, and went back to her previous task.
Disappointing, but not unexpected. I see they have a slicing machine. «Ok, could I get some white bread very thinly sliced?»
«Huh?» she says. I couldn’t tell if that meant «I’m sorry miss, I couldn’t hear you… could you please repeat your query?» or «My apologies, but I’m not sure what you mean by „thinly sliced“. Perhaps you could elaborate?»
Screw it. I left the bakery section, grabbed a loaf of Pepperidge Farm Thin Slice from the pre-​packaged bread aisle, and took it and my two deli items to the cash register. The cashier was very chatty and had a long, elaborate discussion with the customers in front of me. I was in her line for six minutes. He had seven items. In case you’re counting, that’s one item every 51.42 seconds.
This Dominick’s? My personal Hell. Welcome to it.

Definitely my favorite Dominick’s to visit, even though I have two that are closer to home. A clean, friendly and more upscale-​feeling place than many of their other locations. Great place to get in and out of quickly. My only small gripe is that since this is a smaller location the aisles are a bit tight when it’s busy. Usually never a problem, though.

I love coming here on Friday nights at around 11pm, when most people are there to get more beer, but I do my grocery shopping! The aisles are empty and it really is quite heavenly. Of course, there is nobody working the deli or whatever, but who cares? I normally just stock up on DiGiorno pizzas or baked good ingredients.
The produce selection is pretty good. I like the honey crisp apples and green grapes they have. However, it can get a little dangerous navigating the frozen aisles because once I see the strawberry cheesecakes or pizzas on sale, I go a little crazy. One can never have too many frozen items in the freezer right?
So yeah, midnight closing time = SWEET!

The Dominick’s on Greenbay Road, not my favorite. Reasons: The lighting is poor, even after remodeling. They are often out of stuff. They have kid-​sized grocery carts being pushed by kids — a practice that ranges from annoying to dangerous. The workers don’t seem very happy. This Dominick’s is a contrast to the one at Dodge & Dempster — great lighting, well-​stocked, no little carts, no spoiled kids, and very nice staff.

While this Dominicks does have a great set up — easy to maneuver, lots of fresh produce and large aisles — it has three fatal flaws.
1. If you try to go on Sundays or Mondays, they are out of EVERYTHING! I seriously can’t even tell you how many times I’ve been on a Sunday or Monday and not been able to find even basic things. I went this past Monday night and they were out of black peppercorns and Rotel canned tomatoes as well as a lot of their frozen Lean Cuisine options. Unbelievable, but far too common.
2. Price. This place is waaaay expensive. When I shop at the Jewel on Chicago Ave, I spend a little over half of what I spend at this Dominicks on the same things.
3. Customers. Chock full of Northwestern students and whiny, inconsiderate, oblivious to everything around them, loud cellphone chatting North Shore folk who either can’t count to 15 or don’t care that it is the express line and, yes, would like help out with their groceries.
SOO while the food quality is excellent, the produce and meats are great, I always leave irritated and stressed out.

This is a much nicer grocery store than tha surrounding ones. The produce section is huge and pretty good, they definitely have what you are looking for.

I just found this store, and I think it is worth the extra mile or two to get here. The store was much cleaner than the store local to me, and had an amazing produce section.

Ok… this is one of the friendliest, cleanest, and most well-​organized Dominick’s I know. This store prohibits me from going to Jewel, which is just down the street.
First — they recently remodeled the interior to look more woody and «sophisticated» and now carry more imported and organic products. Secondly — they have a Starbucks inside, and their shopping carts each come with a cup holder on the side so you can drink and shop at the same time. (Very thoughtful, eh?) Thirdly — they have paper bags with handles — just like the ones from Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. Jewel’s bags don’t come with handles, so you have to carry them in your arms.
HOWEVER, I am not pleased with one thing, and that is the way they PACK. Four out of five times, the handle gets TORN OFF because they put in way too much stuff in each bag. They’re so heavy that I can’t even lift them sometimes. And today — the girl placed PLUMS (yes, those soft, juicy fruits that are very easily bruised) on the bottom of the bag and piled grapefruits, apples, and a whole 2-​liter COKE BOTTLE on top. I came home only to find the once fleshy plums painfully SMUSHED…
So I did the math… and it’s 3 stars for now.