Tony's Fresh Market — Local services in Jefferson Township

We used to shop here at least 3 times a week, now more like once a week tops and even then it's usually for one or two items on an emergency basis (milk for the kids). To be fair I do want to highlight a few areas where I think Tony's exceeds expectations.

The prepared hot foods - especially if you catch it right after it's put out - is really exceptional. Their roasted chickens especially are flavorful/well seasoned.

The salsas/guacamole etc are excellent as well but they don't go a good job of rotating stock so be mindful to check best by dates.

Employees. I see a lot of ppl complaining but honestly I like businesses that give younger folks opportunities. And to ppl annoyed bc the cashier wasn't extra friendly, newsflash....teenagers and young ppl hate EVERYONE, don't take it personal LOL

Heavy discounts on some items that never go on sale anywhere else (Rao's pasta sauce, Lille's bbq sauce).

The bad

Fruit. No other way to put it. Whatever department or manager is responsible, and I'm assuming this isn't controlled by individual stores, needs to do a top bottom review of their suppliers/distributors bc I have this nagging feeling that quality is simply not prioritized. There is nothing worse than going home ready to open up a mango or snack on some berries etc and seeing it black inside or half the pint already moldy. All of the other fruits lack the sweetness or crisp texture that let's you know your produce is fresh. This is evident for instance when you compare the freshly squeezed orange juice at Tony's vs what you'll get at Mariano's - it is night and day even though your prices are comparable.

Meat. I'm not going to blame Tony's for meat prices bc those have gone up everywhere. But I only buy meat at Tony's if I'm going to cook it that day or the next day at the latest. I've had multiple instances of meat going a little funky well before even the sell by date.

Drinks (sodas etc). Incredibly expensive. Price tags will show a reasonable price but fine print states that price only good if you buy many multiples. Not sure who is out here buying that many 12 packs of pepsi.

Lines. I'm assuming some of this is staffing related so I won't belabor the point but sometimes it's a bit ridiculous when you have multiple lines stretching all the way back into the aisles where ppl are...

The deli counter is a MAJOR problem at your Belmont store.....you can't have 3 people behind the counter with 1 person serving the customers while the others package food to sell....i asked one of the employees behind the counter(in Spanish) if they could help the one person since there was 5-6 people waiting and getting increasingly frustrated at the obvious lack of attention and service.....she said she couldn't and continued with the packaging while everyone waited...you can also see the frustration in the young guys face who was actually helping the customers... peolpe left after she said no... instead of efficient service and sell food to make a profit, it was wait 10-15 min ,then leave with nothing and no profits for you while we have to go to another store to be serviced.that was 15 min and 2 people left,,multiply that by days and months and so on....a few of the younger people at the deli have been kind and efficient, but you definitely have a problem with some of the older staff that's been there a while... Obviously painful.... why is it that when the owners are around doing their little walk thru , you can guarantee that you will receive the best service at tonys...by everyone in the store, I've seen it several times in multiple stores....but once they're gone...ohhhohhh.....that's BAD MANAGEMENT..... I've shopped at tonys since they open but the last year has been a headache and I've been going to the new Cermak on Pulaski and Diversey.... Luckily other options available in the neighborhood now....maybe the owners can do some customer service training instead of these military walk thru's....then the customer can get what we deserve and ownership can get...

It is a shame that grocery stores have lowered the m.j selves to the look level they have. With tut he inflation that we have it is very hard to pay for groceries. Even the luxury of beer. Tonys puts beer on sale with the s tut population that you buy at least two cases. I bought two cases of Bohemia and after checking my receipt I discovered that I was charged regular price and not the sale price. I had to go to the service counter to get my refund which was a substantial amount. After getting home I decipher the rest of the items on my receipt and discovered that I was charged around $8.00 per pound for Krakus Ham. When I was at the deli counter I asked if the Krakus was on sale and I was told it was and the price thhey told me was not the price they charged me. I am going to call them and ask them what the price was on that day. I have gone through this experience on other occasions and had to go to the service counter to get the money they over charged me on several occasions. I have been charged twice for the same item before too! Peoe make mistakes, but I don't think these are always mistakes made by the cashier, especially when their computers know what's on sale and what isn't. If you shop at Tonys always check your receipts before leaving the store. Very unhappy with Tonys and...