Tony’s Finer Foods

Don’t know about the other locations, but the recently opened Prospect Heights stores leaves ALLOT to be desired. The food is ok so far and the prices are so far good, but the customer service … Shall we say sucks. Just hung up after having called the store, twice, got disconnected the first time and no one picked up after I was placed on hold the second. Hmmm. First visit, no baggers and hubby bagged, ok. Second visit the cashier bagged my groceries like a garbage bag, trying to stuff in as much in one bag as possible, putting bread in with multiple other items and we had to rebag her weak attempts. Then I wrote a check, for exact amount, she looks at the check and she asked me if I wanted cash back. I am not sure that’s how it works, dear. Today’s visit, had unfortunate instance of same cashier, I didn’t recognize her but found my earlier receipt for checking account purposes and found it was same person. Today, the bagging was worse yet. Even my college age daughter called it a «shit show» and she rebagged. There was not anybody even behind us so what was the problem. Carelessness. Bought things at the bakery, and the rep at the bakery counter so gently boxed up our little desserts and bingo, they were toppled when bagged. Bread and large stalks of celery with a bag of three red peppers don’t fit in a plastic bag. Ice cream and frozen veggies does not go well with boxes of cereal. Then, I caught an overcharge while we were at the register, and that was corrected right at the register and probably a mistake, but then get home, and I was doubled charged for something anyway!!! They have been opened a very short time and so far, I wonder if this is their standard or what. I hope not because it’s nice having another grocery store. But frankly, if these kinds of things continue, I’ll go back to other grocery stores we frequented when Ultra’s quality went downhill. Like everyone else, I work too damn hard for $$$ to pay for my groceries, to have them mashed and smashed and jammed into plastic bags like there aren’t enough bags in the store. Time will tell. I have to go back at least one more time — to get my refund for the double charge!

My favorite grocery shop. Always fresh fruit, vegetable and deli! Such a huge assortment of international foods from all over the world. Good promotions every week. They even have phone app with coupons and promotions.

Ever since I’ve been shopping here, I’ve been getting really grossed out with thier beef, everytime I’ve ate it, it seems to have gone bad or something, one time I ate most of the steak and ate the corner, and puked it had the worst taste, like shit that I’ve ever tasted… the pork and chicken cuts are not my fav. Either… someone in my house has been shopping thier lately, and buys thier meats. I think maybe it just me I try it again, and bam another gross strong smelling piece of meat… Seriously since eating meat here I’m thinking about being a vegetarian!!!

This store is really growing on me. I will always be a Mariano’s guy. However, I no longer live a five-​minute walk from a bitchin’ giant Mariano’s; instead I live equidistant between two crappy Jewels. And believe me, Tony’s is a far, far better option than a crappy Jewel.
When you walk in the front and see gelato and smoothie stands, you may think that they are indeed trying to copy Mariano’s. Who knows. They feel like two different kinds of stores to me, although there is some overlap. There is a salad bar, but no hot food bar. They make no attempt to match the big M on prepared foods, although there is fried chicken and sushi.
Where they outclass Mariano’s and every other regional grocery is in produce. I don’t know how they do it, but their stuff is always gorgeous and fresh, and they have killer weekly sales on items that I eat all the time such as red grapes, gala apples, navel oranges, green peppers, sweet corn, and so on. Plus they have plenty of exotic stuff, not a few dessicated token specimens in the corner, but big, vivacious piles of them.
The deli is extensive, very much appreciated. I can get more than a dozen kinds of turkey. And they have a pickle barrel! (The pickles are pretty good too.) And two sauerkraut barrels! Who ever heard of such a thing? Beware the weekend lines at this deli; you may take number 38 and find that they are serving 25, and some of those customers ahead of you are very high maintenance.
The bakery is unreliable. Not the wares – reliably good bread and rolls, reliably ho-​hum sweets. (However, their apple fritter ain’t bad for a grocery store.) The problem is their failure of alacrity in the morning. At 7:15 or 7:30, you are lucky to see any bagels. Occasionally, by 7:40 to 7:45, there are still NO baked goods whatsoever. WTFudge. That really, really sucks when you’ve made breakfast and lunch plans based on picking up a bagel and a roll. I make this silly plan frequently and then at least half the time it fails. Shape up, Tony! Your store opens at 7; it is inexcusable to have no fresh baked items half an hour later. If you open at 7, you should be fully operational at 7.
Tony’s other main strength is their imported grocery items. I don’t know what most of that stuff is, but I’m sure that I would appreciate it if I were from any of those places. The tradeoff for this is that the depth and breadth of regular grocery items – your various canned, boxed, and bagged goods – is a bit weak, as the ethnic foods leave less space for mainstream products. For example, I found generic Cheerios (Centrella brand) but no generic bran flakes. They have Jif Natural creamy peanut butter, but not crunchy. They sell only one variety of vegetable pasta (Barilla penne). They carry Quaker rice cakes, but not the chocolate chunk flavor. So it seems that you can find what you want generally, but if you prefer specific brands or varieties, you might need to try a different store.
Oh, one last thing, but a biggie – self-​checkout terminals. Such a beautiful thing. The self-​checkouts and the produce quality and selection keep me coming back; the bakery issue prevents them from being my #1 store though.
A few other random observations:
+ Chase ATM
+ House guacamole is solid
+ Frequent $ 1.99 sale on Kerrygold Irish butter – best price in Chicagoland
+ Four different brands of rice pudding. I like the one with the guy wearing a sombrero.
+ Pretty good grocery store sushi
+/​-​Bagels are on the dry side but still better than any other grocery store
+/​-​Fresh juice selection is pleasantly diverse (e.g. watermelon, canteloupe, beet, carrot) but I would love to see more blends such as orange/​grapefruit, orange/​pineapple, or beet/​carrot/​apple
+/​-​The deli has several different kinds of bacon, some of which I’ve never heard of… but the deli staff cannot explain the differences between them
+/​-​The meat department makes pretty good italian sausage, but when it’s labelled Hot, it really isn’t
— The fried chicken is not good
— I can never find a goddamn basket – NEVER

Overall it’s a Mariano’s with a different name and more ethnic options.
Produce selection is 4 star: tons of fruit options and vegetables for the most part. Organic options are a bit scarce. They do have a variety of ethnic options.
Deli counter is a 3 star: super long wait, service is slow, not sure if all deli is fresh, they have some ethnic options but I prefer getting my deli at Fresh Farms — they are cleaner with way more options and like 5 people serving customers at all times.
Bakery is a 4 star: not enough bread options but the sweets like cakes and pasties are abundant. Their cannoli are to die for — especially the ones dipped in chocolate.
Meat: wasn’t as fresh and we were on the fence about getting it
Liquor: selection is fairly limited and fits into one aisle or everything stuffed in there. Impossible to find wine with the way they have it organized — it’s by country and by brand not by type of wine. Really frustrating
Never really have to wait a long time for checkout. Multiple lanes open.

I had pretty good experience with the meat at Tony’s in the past. I went and bought 12 ribeye steaks for a party. Worst meat ever. You could not even bite into it. It was not one piece of bad meat but all was bad. I will never shop there again. Hanover Park store.

Great selection of organic and hard to find produce. Fresh juices are delicious, deli and meat department have large selection. Cage free, organic eggs available. All around great grocery store.

All Tony’s stores are not created equal. This particular Tony’s location @ 8900 N Greenwood in Niles, IL is very nice. It’s always very clean and well stocked. They have a very nice selection of produce a little more expensive then Jerry’s (but then who isn’t). They have a kick ass bakery section. The fish department has a very nice selection of seafoods, both fish and shellfish @ reasonable prices. The meat department also has a nice selection of beef, pork, chicken and lamb products. They are priced very reasonable, but I have found that their beef isn’t the best quality. This store is much nicer then the Tony’s on Elston Avenue.
Overall I like this store because it’s a newer store, always nicely lit and bright & clean with a good selection of merchandise at reasonable prices

Produce department I will pass…
Bakery is just so awesome they make good sweets in the perfect price.
Fish department is ok you take a chance but it’s not always bad!
Prices are good service is very good
And you ll find what u need !

Meat is always fresh. Prices are much higher comparing to Jerry’s but Deli is worth coming for here. They also have huge selection of cakes and deserts.

I love Tony’s for the most part but it seems as though the meat has been off lately. I just threw a pork roast out because it was bad and I refuse to buy ground meat from them because of previous spoilage issues. If you’re not going to use the meat that day or maybe the next then don’t buy it. I’m looking forward to Fresh Farms opening so that I have another place to buy my meat.
I do love the fact that they have added a Gelato Bar and a Sushi counter.

I used to come here often when Tony’s first opened, and this is my first time back in about a year and a half. Tony’s has had a make-​over since then, and has included way more organic stuff (YAY!). I think the produce section is great, the bakery is ok but very expansive, and the deli doesn’t have as much turnover so the meat you might get is a little stale. We’ve tried the meat selection and I see that a lot of people have complained about it, but I guess we’ve had luck. Prices are about average. This is the biggest store around us that offers a lot of ethnic items, until Fresh Farms opens either later this year or early next year. And the parking lot sucks, but anyway glad to have it back on our rotation!

Our first apartment was on Dee Rd… and this little place was less than a mile away. We stayed in that apartment for 2 years and i probably visited Tony’s 2−3x/week.
The fresh produce section is not that great to be very honest. Fresh Farms and Produce World are much better in that regard. However, Tony’s redeems itself in it’s international foods/​deli/​frozen foods/​bakery. So many times i woulf decide to make something totally different for dinner than i had planned… and just a quick trip here and i had all the ingredients.
I live a lot farther now so i wouldn’t make the trip there, but… loads of fond memories.

BUYERS BEWARE!!! I went with my family to Tony’s yesterday (¹⁰⁄₆) and bought a bunch of stuff for our home. Including and assortment of meat. I bought some ground meat (pork and beef) for today’s dinner meal (¹⁰⁄₇). I starting cooking the meat and this HORRIBLE smell filled my home! Turns out the meat was rotten!!! I will never be shopping here again! I do not trust any of the meat that I bought yesterday and will end up LITERALLY throwing away $ 100 worth of meat! EVERYONE BEWARE OF THIS MEAT DEPARTMENT! Don’t throw away your money and go somewhere else!!!

Love this store. Big and clean. Fast service and friendly faces.

When Tony’s first opened, I couldn’t get enough of it. I do still shop there because I love the selection of international products and the produce section. What I have noticed however, is there is a problem with the deli. I have gotten several items there that were spoiled when I bought them, including cold, fried chicken fillets, spinach pies, and lunch meat. I have seen condensation from the upper shelves dripping into the salads on the bottom level, and so I no longer buy anything from the deli at all. So, if I weren’t including the deli, I’d give Tony’s five stars, for the things mentioned above as well as the prices, but only three with the deli included. One important way that it stands out from the other international markets is the crowds are not as obnoxious as in Fresh Farms or Jerry’s, which in itself makes the shopping experience less stressful.

Nice location. Packed on the day we went (Saturday evening), but not obnoxiously packed. Same great deals on produce and other items — nice selection too. This location is a bit out of the way for me, but if in the area, I’d totally hit this place up for groceries!

I love going to Tony’s. They carry a lot of ethnic foods as well as hard to find items. I get all my baking needs from them. They also have a nice selection of fresh meats and seafoods. It’s not cheap but it won’t break the bank.

First weekend of opening… shocked at the lack of parking! Who knew! All the years it was a Dominick’s, never once saw the parking lot that full! I actually feel for the other retailers in the strip center, their customers had to have struggled with finding parking too!
Produce section, LOVE IT, found fruits and veggies that I never see at other stores, and the prices were a great compromise between Jewel and a produce market, with a produce market type selection. Fantastic!
Deli, LIKE IT, while there are better prices at other smaller grocery stores, but the volume here is great! There are so many things to choose from. Only like it, however, because a) staff behind the counter was a bit disorganized, and b) the deli cases could be better organized considering the size (Boar’s head always gets its own section and screws up the basic layout of the deli cases).
Bakery… LIKE IT! They have bread from different bakeries, and a whole case of cookies/​tortes and the such. Picked up some fresh bread, which was tasty but a little on the stale side even thought it was eaten the same day.
Butcher/​Meat, WOW! Much bigger ‘freshly butchered’ section, and three guys back there chopping away at the meat! Not a huge prepackaged meat area, but good… although really look at the cuts of beef. I bought a pot roast and it was really fatty, so fatty that it gave the roast great flavor but I lost a good amount of the meat because it would have been too chewy with that amount of fat.
Frozen section… eh, bigger isn’t always better and I was in a rush, so I didn’t get to really check it out… so I must say that I am not the best to review that section.
Dairy section… here I can get better deals all over town (Des Plaines, Park Ridge, Niles), milk was all over priced, no matter what the brand. Eggs were same price as average at Shop N’Save… OJ same pricing.
No question I will do some shopping here, but as a budget concious working-​mother of 3, if I only go one place to do ALL my shopping, it’s going to be hard to beat Meijer’s prices, quality and variety.

Tony’s moved into the space where the old Dominick’s on Greenwood used to be 5 years ago. But make no mistake, Tony’s is the anti-​Dominick/​Jewel. Since they just opened this week, there were glittering streamers and banners in the parking lot. While other people came here for the grand opening festivities, I came at an off-​hour — 7 AM on a Saturday morning just as they opened. No crowds, just fresh products being put out on the racks at that hour.
Inside, it’s elegant and huge, with wide aisles everywhere. The produce section is neatly arranged, with the deli and cheese sections right next to it. Prices on most produce were cheaper than Jewel but Jerry’s is still better than most of these.
The deli has an assortment of Polish, Russian, Italian and Hispanic foods. For the Polish sausage lovers, I am happy to report they carry Ashland Sausage products, one of my favorite brands.
The bakery section had HUGE doughnuts for 75 cents, almost twice the donut as Dunkin’s standard size. I almost got one but upon hearing «Do They Know It’s Christmas» playing in the background, I walked away without one.
The meat section is vast, also offering an assortment of the usual beef and pork cuts, but I bet they’re the only place in a 10-​mile radius with Aunt Bessie’s Chit’lins, sold in big frozen slabs.
The grocery aisles carry various ethnic foods: Hispanic, Polish, Greek, Italian, Indian and Middle Eastern. With the diverse population in nearby unincorporated Maine Township and Niles, I can see this place giving Shop & Save a serious run for the money.
Being a block from the Dempster Jewel and about 2 blocks from Shop & Save, Tony’s is a potential grocery game-​changer. It’s no surprise the Dempster Jewel’s advertising supplement is suddenly offering special sales just for their location since they have to keep up with this place now.
While I’m not quite ready to switch allegiances from Shop & Save in Des Plaines to this place, they make a strong argument.