Cermak Fresh Market

Heaven on earth.
They have killer prices on produce and a selection 3 – 4 times bigger than any competitor. As someone who takes a lot of Latin inspiration in cooking the choices for peppers truly can’t be beat.
Meat prices are usually really good and the store made habanero brats are the only thing I’ll bring to a cookout, they’re THAT good.
I’m giving them 5 stars anyway, but often times the cashiers are less than friendly, one girl in particular that seems to check me out fairly often literally will fail to even greet me or establish eye contact.

Lot of fresh vegetables and fruits are available with budget price. There were separate section for Indian groceries also, which is really good. Will not recommend to buy milk.

Huge selection of ethnic food! Not just Mexican produce! I love it! My go to spot for shopping in the Milwaukee area. Where else can you buy 0.49 cent tortillas and seaweed salad at the same place!

Probably one of the better local grocers! It’s location next to a Target makes it even better!
Produce is definitely fresher and more high quality than Walmart.
The meat here might be slightly more expensive but here’s a comparison.
1 chicken thigh = 2.5 walmart chicken thigh
Source: I’ve personally frequented both places
The only problem I would have with Cermak is its lack of variety.
If you need more speciality foods, other grocers like Metro Mart and Whole Foods probably have you covered.

Great produce, wonderful deli! Rivals El Rey! Their Sala and freshly made daily tortilla and tortilla chips are awesome. What beats El Rey? The extensive selection of ethnic foods from around the world. And the produce is better.

you will not believe the produce prices. I’m talking farmers market prices. they have an extensive selection of ethnic food products at reasonable prices. the meat department stocks products you won’t find in your average supermarket, like rabbit and tripe.
the deli department is wonderful, such a wide selection of cheese, olives and deli meats.

Being from chicago’s Pilsen, I really miss having Regional/​Ethinic based grocers (ie Cermak, Pete’s, H-​Mart, Caputo) around. Really happy that Cermak is around. The meat and produce is probably the best deal around in terms of selection, quantity and price. Other things might not be as good of deal. OJ is probably less expensive at larger grocer chains. Aldi has it’s own strengths that stand up to Cermak.

Best produce selection anywhere, with great prices! Meat department is ok as long as you don’t have to get help at the counter. The employees behind the counter will keep their back to you, turn around and look you in the eye, and then continue on with their work. Deli department is ok, with a good selection, but it is always dirty. Store packaged cheese is disgusting, has little taste and is rubbery. Checkout wait time is always good.

We went when they first opened and loved it. Loved the prices on produce and meat and lots of authentic Mexican food and bakery, and lots of Mexican/​Spanish products. We went a few times. Then recently it was about a year and we went back and it was not good and had really changed and scaled back. The prices were so high, higher than Pick N Save and that is bad. We got some tamales on the way out and when we got home my husband said these were the most basic tamales, dough and meat no flavor inedible and definitely not made by anyone Mexican/​Spanish. What a sad thing. We really liked it. El Rey on 13^th is where we go now.

We’ve visited Pacific Produce and El Rey in recent months and this place blows those both away. The variety of produce is stunning. The bakery and prepared foods are great. Olive bar, cheese selections, ethnic foods from around the world (emphasis on hispanic). We really had fun «discovering» things here. I don’t see it as a place to do my weekly shopping, but, it’s definitely a place I will visit regularily.

place to get smelts at 3.99 $ per pound. 3 milk cake is something that is available in very few places. Persimmons (the long kind) that you can place in a paper bag to ripen and increase the sugars. cheapest fresh produce in Milwaukee. Go on Saturdays or Sundays for the freshest produce. Go early around 7 am to avoid lines. Remember that the same product is priced differently in different aisles. e.g. a bag of rice costs 20 $ per 15 pound bag in one aisle and 18 $ in a different aisle. Keep looking all the aisles before finalizing your purchase. various types of beans and rice with more options. a must visit place. The employees at counters are super fast.

You have to beware of the deli department now because they are getting scummy. I’m starting to notice when they say I have to go in back and get it that it will be a problem.
I’m a rare red meat guy and I asked to see what the roast beef looks like and I’m told that it’s in the back and the woman disappeared. When she returned she showed me a nice juicy red looking roast beef so I bought some. When I got home and made a sandwich I went WTF because what I took home was a dried out and completely brown which was not the same meat I was shown.
I asked for the Moscow ham which was very good from four weeks earlier and when I went to eat it it was completely different. The red head Scottish looking guy had to go in the back and get some, he actually put the meat up to his face to smell it, thats a first for me. It tasted funny with a heavy smell and taste of garlic which my first lunch meat didn’t have even though it looked the same. I found raw sliced garlic stuffed in between the sliced meat which was very different from my origin tasting and I threw it away because the taste and smell turned me off.
Thinking about the garlic in my meat and him smelling it and putting garlic in my meat he knew it was spoiled and tried to mask that and sold it to me anyway.
I’m still going to shop at cermak but when I hear I have to go in the back and get it I will order something else.
The deli dept. is getting real scummy and it’s not the same from when they first opened.

Definitely the best grocery store I’ve been to in the Milwaukee area. It’s not expensive and if you like you like cooking cuisine from all parts of the world you don’t have to run around from one specialty shop to the next. They had full aisles dedicated to Indian, Arab, Italian, Hispanic, Kosher, Eastern European, etc…
Everything was clean and easy to find. They had bundles or herbs and the produce was really good quality (especially compared to TJ’s, Pick n Save, Metromarket).
Highly recommend popping in to see what it’s all about!

Alright, so this place is a perfect combination of good, the bad, and the ugly.
The Good
The produce variety and selection is huge and priced right.
The fresh tortillas, chips and bakery are terrific.
They have an okay variety of ethnic dry goods.
I love the olive bar and cheese selections,
The deli is our number one stop and the reason for our trips weekly, as no one can beat their prices on lunch meat and cheese.
The Bad
The prices on a lot of the dry goods seem high. I’m better off shopping at El Ray or Woodman’s for some items.
Some deli workers are better than others in cutting the deli meats as desired.
You need to check the freshness of the produce before you buy. I don’t mind, as the prices are so economical.
The Ugly
We will not buy from the meat or seafood department. Actually, I can’t even stand the smell of the department. I have never been in an grocery store where the meat department smells like rotting flesh.
I will continue to come here to shop for my weekday lunch boxes until Pick N Save figures out that $ 7.00 a lb is too much to charge for lunch meat and cheese.

Let’s start with the good about Cermak. First, they have an amazing selection of produce. You can find some very obscure fruits and veggies. Second, most of their prices are ridiculously low (celery $.49 per bag). They have some great deals in the front of their store. They sell Boar’s Head meats and have amazing deli selections like olives, feta, cheese bar, etc. Finally, they have great ethnic selections.
Now to the not so pretty… the health code violations are crazy! If you read about this location and then google Cermak Chicago health code violations you might not shop these stores. I can understand mistakes are made but the violations are not fixed which resulted in a very hefty fine for this location in ⁹⁄₂₀₁₄.
Personally, now I will purchase their fresh tortillas and stick to the produce. No meat or deli purchases for me. I hope they get their act together because this store has great potential and is going to open another Milwaukee location in 2015. I think I am being generous with three stars because of the «ick» factor.

This Greek Family market is like a combination of El Rey Mercado, Glorioso’s, Pacific Rim, Lanexang, Parthenon, other great ethnic markets and an inexpensive Whole Foods. The olive bar, cheese counter, hot deli, and produce areas are my favorites. Fantastico!

First came across. Cermak when I lived in Chicago. Recently was in the neighborhood so made a point to stop in, it did not disappoint.
This is really the place to go for PRODUCE. I should have taken a photo of how much they have but it has to be at least twice as much as your average grocery store. Need a specific pepper or root vegetable? They probably have it. Need great prices on the classics, they have them. Got a pineapple for 99 cents, zucchini for 89 cents a pound.
I don’t purchase a lot of meat but I did saunter by the meat section and saw that the prices were also very affordable. Some things appeared more fresh than others to me so you will want to pay attention to that. There were tons of fresh braut options which got me excited to come back to try some.
Overall, all the other prices are equal to or higher than other stores but nothing extremely high. I recommend if you buy a lot of fresh items.

This is a harder review to write because as much as I’d like for everything to be great, they are a bit all over the place. So I’m going rate individual elements, take it for what you would like.
Variety of produce — 5 stars. They have everything! Many ethnic produce selections. Need baby bok choy, they have it. Need red and green prickly pear, got it. Dragonfruit, no problem.
Produce that you use within 24 hours of leaving the store — 4 stars. If you put your produce to work and eat it, cook it, pickle it, or otherwise alter it thing go fine.
Produce that you keep more than a day — 2 stars. You will see a quick deterioration. Peppers will have more wrinkles that Joan Rivers. Fruit will become sallow and implode in on itself. Potatoes will get soft. The inside of cucumbers will turn to mush. The only produce I have not had an issue with are bananas and ginger.
Selection of ethnic food items — 4 stars. Making Thai? There’s an aisle for that. Grandma’s Slovenia recipe? There’s an aisle for that. Salt cod on your list? You’ve come to the right place.
Prices — 2 stars. The aforementioned produce is great, again get to work using it. But on the rest of the store (ethnic items, beverages, and bakery/​deli) the prices are quite high. Maybe not Pick N’ Save high, but certainly higher than Woodmans, where most of these items can be found.
Bonus item — hot tamales from the deli — 4 stars. The hot deli is sporadic in their offers and some items have been sitting out for quite some time. But the six packs of tamales, prepackaged and ready to go out the door with you are fantastic. Peel back the soft corn husks and you will find the tastiest of tortilla surrounding well seasoned fillings. If available my go to is the Chicken Mole, it’s tender white bird wrapped in the flavorful but not too abundant filling.
I was very excited to read there will be another Cermak in town, this one in Walker’s Point. And I have high hopes that by then some of these issues can be improved upon.
Until then one needs to be a smart and informed shopper, know how old produce looks, and know your prices and you’ll do just fine.

I really like Cermak because it’s convenient to get there from any side of town and the store is huge. There are few items I was not able to find here while searching for specific brands.
I’m all for fresh produce. I don’t know of any store in MKE that has a more vast selection of produce. Of note, they do not seem to stock herbs like fresh basil or rosemary. (I couldn’t find it, nor did staff know where it could be found)
I’m picky about meat. I was a little hesitant to purchase any here as I prefer grass-​fed variants, but I picked up some beef ribs to make short braised short ribs and was not disappointed with the taste. Their house-​made chorizo is spicy and cheap and works well as a crumble for other dishes.
They’ve got a tortilla factory in the back that pumps out chips and tortillas. I like the texture of the chips but prefer El Rey.
Huge selection of cheese at great prices.
The hot bar is also decent. I’ve picked up a torta while shopping and it was comparable to those from other local food trucks.
The checkout staff has always been way friendly.

On Miller Parkway we finally got our first Cermak Fresh Market grocery store. This is fairly close by this ball park so it would be a great place to pick up tailgate supplies or meet up and carpool with a DD.
So I Finally got a chance to get to the new grocery store in the area. I’m not sure about the name but it sounds very close to the street in Chinatown in Chicago also known as the Red line Cermak-​Chinatown stop for ‘L’ for elevated train, some competition for Pick n Save.
Great selections to choose from in many departments. I think I counted 6 – 7 varieties of braunchschweiger here. This place a wonderful supply of produce, ethnic foods, deli, bakery, tortilla, meat, cheese salsa and Guacamole. I wish we would have come here hungry we certainly would have got more and spent more. Pineapple was 1 dollar each!!! usually 3 – 4 dollars everywhere else. I seem a lady get 12 of them. I wonder what she will do with all of that? Drinks? salsa? Juicer craze? Either way its a great deal. Lastly they have all kinds of rare ethnic snacks and drinks example Cockta soda. See pic.
Food: 4 pretty great specials many products seem to come from Chicago. Some of the fish started to have cloudy eyes. But they do have head on fish so that is pretty good.
Ambiance: 5 fairly new décor new clean carts wide aisles.
Service: 4 friendly stockers and register operators.
Location: 2 not very close to where I live but it’s close to Miller Park.
Value: 4 it’s pretty great to have competition. Great deals are here just have to compare prices.