The Spice House — Attraction in Evanston Township

SO extremely disappointed in my visit to the Evanston store today. I received a beautiful popcorn spice gift box as a holiday gift. Unfortunately, two of the jars contained cheese, for which I have an allergy. Since I am an avid-spicer and health nut, I was really excited to make the trip to the store for an exchange and to do some additional shopping. Was thrilled to arrive and find the other two popcorn spices were sold separately, so that was going to be a must. My husband and I immediately started shopping all the many spices. The sales associated then said returns could not be issued without a receipt. I was only interested in a credit to be applied towards my purchase, which for certain would exceed the value of the gift box. She checked with her manager and nope... without a receipt, no exchange either. I am so confused... why not apply toward my immediate purchase?? If it's sold as a gift box and receipts are required, why not include a gift receipt with purchase?? Maybe I could see expirations being a concern, but nothing is marked and even the customer has no way to ensure a best by date. I was really looking forward to shopping in person, seeing their entire selection and finding a local resource for clean, delicious spices. But no accommodations, no discussion. Such a huge bummer as I'm pretty sure I am the ideal SH customer demographic. I was really hoping to fall in love with the experience and company. Unfortunately, did not and with great disappointment put our shopping spices back. Seems like store is missing the big picture and lacks customer service. I never submit reviews, but in this instance, feel like I must. Definitely...

Have been coming to this spice house since I was too young to ride a bike, my parents rave about their variety of essential spices but also their Unique Contingent of spice blends. The four spices in this picture were purchased as a gift, sort of a starter pack for a few dishes I know my friend cooks already. I would actually recommend the spiced sugar for just about any person who wants to add a little kick to their buttered toast or waffles or even as a topping for cappuccino. The back of the yards rub is perfect for skirt steak or strip steak, my father swears by it and I do as well. Honestly one of the more surprising items is dried porcini mushrooms, Which can be added to Olive oil with salt and basil to make one of the best marinades for filet mignon or chicken breast Or even grilled mackerel. They reopened this is store for in-house shopping, they used to do customized boxes of spices in 4, 8 and 12 packs, But I think they are moving away from this procedure in favor of pre-assembled spice pairings. The young woman who helped me put this collection together, Chastity, was very helpful and agreed that a variety of different flavors would enable more experimentation in the kitchen as well. It's a little pricey, but quality usually is. If nothing else, the variety and combinations inside this place will make your interest in trying different dishes and sources of cooking a little more adventurous. Also, try the dried sweet corn and candied ginger, great stuff.Thanks...

So disappointed in my once go-to spot for spices. I got many wonderful spices here over the years, but lately the experience has been unpleasant and even more expensive after a few price increases.

A recent terrible experience when ordering spices online: the website says nowhere that their free shipping offer means that your order is fulfilled at the lowest priority in the shipping queue. We ordered a large batch of spices from their site in April - with same-day free shipping on flatpacks. We waited for two weeks with no information and no packages arriving. I called the 3rd week, and they said they were backed up with orders and it should go out within a week. Called again in the 5th week to follow up and I learnt that the free shipping orders are the lowest priority on the orders. A customer’s order with paid shipping gets shipped out before a free shipping order, despite being pending for over 5 weeks - hence there is no knowing when my turn would have come!! After a 6 week wait, we cancelled our order:( and if I had known, I would have paid shipping!

I haven’t been super happy with the changes they’ve made since the owners changed a couple years. Their employees don’t seem happy with the changes either. They increased their prices even on low-cost basics (and spend money on unnecessarily fancy labels), and they aren’t producing any more of the...