Lunds & Byerlys

[marshd1000]

I’m from the Seattle area but in Minneapolis today and went into a Lunds and Byerlys store! Before QFC was acquired by Fred Meyer and then Kroger, it was rumored that Byerlys and/or Lunds had been approached by QFC for an acquisition! Back in the 1990’ s that may have made some sense and perhaps QFC may had become more like Metropolitan Market. Back in the 90’s both Byerlys and QFC had Leann Chinn Chinese take out counters too, in addition to being marketed as being upscale! We all know that most QFCs are not that upscale anymore! But The combined Lunds & Byerlys seem to have that Metropolitan Market vibe with similar type offerings and nice decor. One thing that is different, at least considering the one I was in, there was a Caribou Coffee outlet! But it was a corporate store leasing space and not a licensed store! If Good Food Holding wants to expand to Minnesota, Lunds & Byerlys would be a good fit! Other observation, private label is a combination of Nash and Finch, Topco and Unfi. There may be a store brand but I didn’t look around to see it!

[buckguy]

I went to Lunds and Byerlys when I was in Minneapolis last year. I was disappointed—the range of prepared foods and bakery seemed rather limited and expensive for what it was. The downtown Whole Foods was a pleasant surprise, in comparison. Caribou got its start in the Twin Cities, but as coffee I don’t think of it as an asset and I had some excellent coffee elsewhere in Minneapolis.

[storewanderer]

I just wasn't that impressed with this chain. I tried some bakery/deli items and the stuff seemed bland. The prices to me did not necessarily seem out of line but were definitely no bargain. I guess next to Cub their offer looks upscale.

I wonder if buckguy and I went to the same store - it wasn't far from downtown. I went to 1450 West Lake.

Did the self checkout still have an Albertsons clover logo in the background on most of the screens? Classic Supervalu support there.

Caribou is pretty weak stuff, you'll be drinking it all day and even then you will still go to bed without issue. I do like their iced tea program though.

[rwsandiego]

In the late 1990's they opened a couple of stores in the Chicago suburbs. I wasn't impressed. Nor was anyone else, as they closed within a few years of opening and were sold to Dominick's.

I just wasn't that impressed with this chain. I tried some bakery/deli items and the stuff seemed bland.

That's my recollection, also. IIRC, the meat wasn't anything to write home about, either.

...
Did the self checkout still have an Albertsons clover logo in the background on most of the screens? Classic Supervalu support there.

It's also classic inattention to detail by Lund's and Byerly's. They could have had this changed.

...
Caribou is pretty weak stuff, you'll be drinking it all day and even then you will still go to bed without issue. I do like their iced tea program though.

When they opened in Chicago everyone was talking about them. The coffee was pretty bad back then, too. Their cafes were always packed, but it seemed like no one ordered ordinary coffee. They always had tea or mochas and flavored coffee.

[Romr123]

My recollection was that Caribou would use chocolate chips for their mochas/chocolate drinks which were pretty amazing.

[buckguy]

In the late 1990's they opened a couple of stores in the Chicago suburbs. I wasn't impressed. Nor was anyone else, as they closed within a few years of opening and were sold to Dominick's.

I just wasn't that impressed with this chain. I tried some bakery/deli items and the stuff seemed bland.

That's my recollection, also. IIRC, the meat wasn't anything to write home about, either.

...
Did the self checkout still have an Albertsons clover logo in the background on most of the screens? Classic Supervalu support there.

It's also classic inattention to detail by Lund's and Byerly's. They could have had this changed.

...
Caribou is pretty weak stuff, you'll be drinking it all day and even then you will still go to bed without issue. I do like their iced tea program though.

I dimly remembered that Byerly had gone into other cities. The store I visited is the one storewanderer visited near downtown Minneapolis.

I don't recall Caribou having a moment in Chicago. I do remember when Starbucks went there in the 90s and quickly blanketed the place, attracting plenty of customers. I used to get to Chicago several times a year at that time. It was a year or two before they came to the East Coast and started their big expansion in multiple parts of Asia (they opened in Singapore and Tokyo at about the same time and then were in Bangkok a year later). Perhaps Caribou attracted homesick Minnesotans.


When they opened in Chicago everyone was talking about them. The coffee was pretty bad back then, too. Their cafes were always packed, but it seemed like no one ordered ordinary coffee. They always had tea or mochas and flavored coffee.

[rwsandiego]

...I do remember when Starbucks went there in the 90s

Actually, Starbucks opened their first store outside of the Pacific Northwest in Chicago in 1987. You can read all about it here.

I don't recall if 150 N Wacker (long since closed) was their first Chicago store or one of the three that opened shortly thereafter, but I started drinking their coffee the day that store opened. It was on my way to work from the train.

...The coffee was pretty bad back then, too.

As a lover of strong coffee, I thought their coffee was great. They did, however, sell a lot of mochas and cappuccinos.

Fun fact: Gold Coast Blend was created in celebration of their expansion to Chicago.

Regarding Byerley's in metro Chicago, they chose odd locations just as Dominick's was converting most of their stores to the Fresh Store format, which included restaurants. They just didn't do their research.

[storewanderer]

I always thought the weaker Caribou was a cold weather coffee. You drink it all day maybe for some flavor or maybe just to stay warm. As opposed to Starbucks or even harder of a punch Peet's which is very strong and will get you very awake in very short order.

Despite poor operations my coffee preference is Dunkin. If I want something strong then it is Peet's.

[Romr123]

...The coffee was pretty bad back then, too.

Regarding Byerley's in metro Chicago, they chose odd locations just as Dominick's was converting most of their stores to the Fresh Store format, which included restaurants. They just didn't do their research.
[/quote]

Their location in Schaumburg was exactly that---a little odd. Ingress/egress was tough, though the stores in the neighborhood weren't great (a Butera and an old Dominicks were west and north (on Golf), an Eagle was (I recall) still in Elk Grove Village to the east, a fruit market was NE on the other side of the expressway). The stores were better north of Algonquin.

[retailfanmitchell019]

I just wasn't that impressed with this chain. I tried some bakery/deli items and the stuff seemed bland. The prices to me did not necessarily seem out of line but were definitely no bargain. I guess next to Cub their offer looks upscale.

I wonder if buckguy and I went to the same store - it wasn't far from downtown. I went to 1450 West Lake.

Did the self checkout still have an Albertsons clover logo in the background on most of the screens? Classic Supervalu support there.

Caribou is pretty weak stuff, you'll be drinking it all day and even then you will still go to bed without issue. I do like their iced tea program though.

It’s too bad you’re not impressed with them… I found the quality of L&B bakery products to be great.

I went into an L&B five years ago when visiting family back in MN. I went to the one in Eden Prairie (close to where my aunt lives). That store is a former Rainbow (L&B bought this one during the Rainbow collapse in 2014, along with another Rainbow in Woodbury).

The store you went to on Lake Street is in Uptown Minneapolis, known for being a hipster neighborhood in Minneapolis. This is where Twin Cities teenagers would hang out in the 70s and 80s. My father grew up in Edina, a suburb adjacent to Southwest Minneapolis. He was a courtesy clerk at Lunds when he was in high school.
Uptown back in those days was a sketchy place, it had been gentrified since then.

@storewanderer I’m not sure if you went to the Cub at 1104 Lagoon in Uptown, that store has been in operation since 1970 under five names. Originally a Del Farm (Loblaws/National discount banner), then National, then Applebaum’s (predecessor to Rainbow), then Rainbow, before being sold to Cub in 2014.
Before I did my research, I thought this was an old Buttrey as the exterior was pretty similar to one. Buttrey’s easternmost extent was Moorhead, MN; across the Red River from Fargo.

Twin Cities grocery market is similar to Portland or Detroit, being a metro where Walmart has competition that gives them struggle (this is Target’s home turf). UNFI (and historically Supervalu) supplies nearly every grocer out there.