Uptown Grocery to the Village

[OKCDrummer77]

We went last night, too, about 8:30 or 9pm or so. It briefly crossed my mind to walk in the door and shout "Any OKCTalkers in here??" Like most posters here, we were impressed with the brightness and cleanliness of the store. Since my wife does 90% of the grocery shopping, I left the price comparisons to her. She grabbed a few things that were significantly cheaper than she had seen elsewhere (although those were doubtlessly Grand Opening sale prices).

Since this store is just around the corner from my office, I will likely pop in a lot to pick up a few needed things before going home.

[AP]

We went last night, too, about 8:30 or 9pm or so. It briefly crossed my mind to walk in the door and shout "Any OKCTalkers in here??"

Same time I was there.

[LocoAko]

Went this morning and really liked it. I couldn't get past how bright the toiletries section, especially the toothpaste. Bright lights shining on each and every row on toothpaste made for quite the impression lol. Also the employees were extremely friendly -- had multiple people ask if I needed help, help me put something back, even somewhat aggressively try me to get to try a sample of their homemade Caesar dressing. Definitely a good add to the grocery store scene.

[Brett]

In my ideal world, we'd plop one of these Uptowns right next to Byron's and call it a day!

You're getting warmer. Head east just a bit. The Binkowski's have promised to renovate the Buy 4 Less at NE 23rd St & MLK Ave. and turn it into an Uptown Grocery Co.

[gamecock]

My wife and I did a little shopping here today, and I was very impressed. It's not as large and impressive as Wegman's or Central Market, but it is the kind of grocery store you see more commonly in other parts of the country. It's great that they have so many prepared foods and places to sit and eat. I hope they continue to expand. I would love to see one of these open in Norman, although the grocery market here seems to be getting crowded. A Whole Foods would also be very welcome.

[ljbab728]

As I said previously, if your main interest is in prepared food, I can see why you would prefer this over the nearby Homeland. So far, that is the only reason I would go there over the Homeland.

[soonermike81]

There is a pub upstairs that will also be used for special events. I spoke with one of the employees this morning who told me they would do wine tastings, have live music, etc. I was also told you could purchase a protein (steak, chicken), take it to the grill counter, and have it grilled to order for free. Then you could take said steak upstairs and have a beer with your food.

This sounds awesome as they seemed to have some fairly cheap prime steaks in their meat dept. I was actually a little shocked at the price difference between their choice and prime cuts. Can't remember the exact price but it was around $15.99/lb for choice ribeye and like only $18.99/lb for prime. It was only $2-3 difference for New York strip as well. I'll be honest, I don't buy fresh steaks enough to know the normal pricing. But shouldn't the prime cut be much more expensive than the choice? Also, I remember my wife buying prime ribeye from crest a few years back and it was $24.99/lb. So this seems to be a good price to me.

[Pete]

As I said previously, if your main interest is in prepared food, I can see why you would prefer this over the nearby Homeland. So far, that is the only reason I would go there over the Homeland.

It's not just prepared food.

Their meat, cheese, organic and produce sections, for example, seem to be much more extensive. And that is all in the atrium portion of the store.

They carry a bunch of things I care about that Homeland doesn't have.


To each his own, but this store seems to be a clear cut above any other mainstream grocery in OKC.

[Mississippi Blues]

Agree with you on this one, Pete. I have nothing against Homeland, especially their flagship store — which has been my primary grocery store for a couple of years now —, but I definitely prefer Uptown Gorcery.

I know ljbab728 has said before that he doesn't care for organic and that's the great aspect of the free market, but I prefer organic and Uptown meets a lot of my preferences.

I probably sound slightly meticulous and maybe even pretentious, but I have horrible stomach issues (mixed with some unfortunate genes) that require me to be very selective in what I eat. I don't have the money to shop at Whole Foods for everything, so Uptown is a much nicer option as far as budgets go.

[Pete]

I've never liked Whole Foods.

I'm glad OKC has one as it's another nice option and helps raise the bar, but there was a huge, elaborate store near me in California and I literally never shopped there. It's not only expensive, I just don't care for their variety of offerings, including their prepared foods.

That's why Sprouts is so great and a place like Uptown Grocery offers many of the same things but also all the regular items and at least competitive prices.

Plus, I am a single person and hate having to shop at multiple stores. I could shop for virtually everything at Uptown other than bulk dog food which I buy at Sam's. And when Trader Joe's opens, I'll shop there for specialty items when the mood hits.

[Pete]

BTW, even though this store is over 10 miles away, I'm considering making a weekly 6AM run when there is no traffic on the streets or in the store because it's just so much nicer than everything else and also has a better selection of the things I want. And all in one place.

Going that early means most the prepared food places won't be operating but I don't indulge in that stuff very often, as I'd rather sit down in a restaurant than get things to go.

[bchris02]

Do you know when they are supposed to start on the NE 23rd and MLK location? While that still won't be super convenient from downtown, it will be a lot easier than driving all the way up to Britton and N May for groceries.

[Pete]

There have been all sort of issues and delays in that development and I'm not sure it's still even going to happen.

[ljbab728]

It's not just prepared food.

Their meat, cheese, organic and produce sections, for example, seem to be much more extensive. And that is all in the atrium portion of the store.

They carry a bunch of things I care about that Homeland doesn't have.


To each his own, but this store seems to be a clear cut above any other mainstream grocery in OKC.

Your absolutely right that everyone has their own priorities when shopping for groceries. I've never had a problem getting anything I need in the way of meat, produce, or cheese at the Homeland. And as Mississippi Blues mentioned, I have no interest in organic so I don't worry about that. The stores are only a block apart so using both of them at times requires little effort.

[foodiefan]

. . . no Boar's Head by the pound or Farrell Family Breads (Tulsa) so I'll still be hitting Sprouts. Bakery looks very nice. . . but La Baguette is on the way. . .even so. . . a VERY nice add to the grocery mix and a great selection of almost everything!!

[Lafferty Daniel]

I went for the first time on Sunday. Very nice as everyone has stated. I jotted down the prices of some of the regular items i buy at Homeland and I'll compare once I go to Homeland next week.

The only thing I noticed was how much more expensive the steaks were. The Prime Filets at Homeland are $24.99/lb and here they were $39.99/lb.

[d-usa]

It's not just prepared food.

Their meat, cheese, organic and produce sections, for example, seem to be much more extensive. And that is all in the atrium portion of the store.

They carry a bunch of things I care about that Homeland doesn't have.


To each his own, but this store seems to be a clear cut above any other mainstream grocery in OKC.

I think that one of the main benefits of Whole Foods coming to OKC is that it has forced our other grocery stores to step up their game. I like to joke with people that Edmond was mad that OKC got Whole Foods and decided that they will just build their own version of Whole Foods and that's how they ended up with Uptown Groceries.

My main complaint with Whole Foods is that unless you are buying stuff from the peripheral areas, produce/meats/cheese/bakery, it's just like a really fancy Akins in the actual aisles. There really isn't anything there that would make me go up and down the aisles. And it's the produce/meats/cheese/bakery areas that our other stores, at least some locations, have upped their game.

I think that Uptown Market has one of the best balances between the peripheral selections of Whole Foods and the "normal" aisles of a grocery store.

[oklip955]

Its nice to see more grocery options for more parts of the metro. I rarely shop the one in Edmond. I'm more of the Sprouts type of shopper. Meat, produce and whole grains with some dairy. I'll drop in Aldi's for some of there sale produce and a few other items. Its just nice that everyone has options to suit their shopping taste. I'm hoping that we continue to get more shopping options. I'm looking foreward to Trader Joe's. Hopefully we can soon get a Costco also.

[Pete]

We are now to the point were there are lots of good alternatives to the Walmart / Sam's stranglehold:

1. Uptown Market in Edmond, N. OKC, future NE OKC and Midtown
2. Sprouts expanding and doing fantastic business
3. Whole Foods
4. Trader Joe's coming soon
5. Aldi
6. Natural Grocers
7. Crest's newer stores are a step up
8. Winco should start construction on all 4 sites this summer (just learned this)


Those are all pretty darn good options, all within the last couple of years.

[Dustin]

8. Winco should start construction on all 4 sites this summer (just learned this)

Fantastic!

[bchris02]

We are now to the point were there are lots of good alternatives to the Walmart / Sam's stranglehold:

1. Uptown Market in Edmond, N. OKC, future NE OKC and Midtown
2. Sprouts expanding and doing fantastic business
3. Whole Foods
4. Trader Joe's coming soon
5. Aldi
6. Natural Grocers
7. Crest's newer stores are a step up
8. Winco should start construction on all 4 sites this summer (just learned this)


Those are all pretty darn good options, all within the last couple of years.

Homeland could also be a good option, depending on what store you are near. The only really bad one left is the 18th and Classen location. The rest of the worst ones have closed or have been converted to Cash Saver.

At this point, the lack of quality grocery stores is still the biggest deal if you live in central OKC. Once one or more grocers decides to invest south of NW 63rd, a lot of what people complain about with the grocery stores here will be a thing of the past.

[Pete]

^

I meant new movements in the market, not things that have been in place for a while.

[bchris02]

^

I meant new movements in the market, not things that have been in place for a while.

Homeland has upgraded a few of its more profitable stores during the past few years though, likely in response to changes in the marketplace. In addition to May and Britton, the newly remodeled store at 122nd and Rockwell as well as the others that have been converted to the same format is acceptably nice. It's not amazing, but its acceptable. It's a far cry from the 18th and Classen location.

[Pete]

That's true!

[Lafferty Daniel]

Random thought: What kind of impact does a store like this have on property values in the area?