Valli Produce — Local services in Rockford Township

EDIT: My previous review was years ago, and I have to append it to include the following.

Every time I go into Valli - either location - I find moldy food. Moldy olives at the olive bar several visits in a row. Multiple bags of moldy pita bread and wraps. Packs of straight-up grey “fresh” meat labeled “reduced”, with the clingfilm bulging out from putrid outgassing. I find mislabled meat - chicken parts labeled as beef short ribs (at over three times the price of the chicken). Every loaf of “Valli’s Own Italian Bread” I’ve purchased has a huge air pocket in the middle of it, so much so that there’s a good four to six inches of bread that’s essentially useless for sandwiches. The fish departments always smell like chlorinated fish - not clean, but almost like, “well, they tried”. There’s not one fresh fish in the whole place; everything is a solid block of ice.

A lot of the butcher department items seem kind of iffy to me - lots of bone-in cuts where the meat is red, but the bone is grey/black. In my experience, "fresh" meat from Valli also tends to spoil MUCH faster than meat from anywhere else, as quickly as the day after purchase. Very disappointing to buy steaks and upon opening the package, the underside of the meat is blotchy grey and smelly.

Liquor department is still bangin. Non-perishable ethnic goods are still alright. Produce is still hit or miss; you better eat that stuff quick before it goes bad. But in all honesty, unless I’m planning on cooking it that night, I don’t shop Valli for meat or produce anymore.

I’ve also noticed their prices are above average for average things. Four dollars for a gallon of milk I can get at Meijer for under $3. The five-pack of Kraft Mac & Cheese is over a dollar more as well.

I won’t even get into what a joke the Valli smartphone app is. Difficult to use, no search function; it’s basically a coupon app for very few items.

Such a shame that one of the area’s biggest ethnic stores has gone downhill. Is it because they’re HQ’d in the suburbs and don’t care about what happens...

Valli Produce on E State Rockford.

The Employee's are some of the most Helpful i have EVER had the pleasure of meeting. If i dont know where an item is, i ask someone, and they bring me to its area.

The meat here is also so fresh, and delicious that i always buy my meat from here. whether it be, Ham's,Turkey,Chicken's. Ground Chuck. its always A grade Quality.

why not 5 star?

1 Major Flaw.

Items Stocked on the Shelves are not always in a good area, i was looking for udon noodles 1 day, could not find them by the Oriental NOODLES. i found them by the SUSHI stuff. Why are noodles, not with noodles? at the end of isle B2 around the Fruit and veggie section. i seen alot of noodles. looked everywhere for these udon.

The udon where towords the deli side ABOVE the Sushi Stuff. and, not even standing up in a box, they where laying down. so if you want udon. you have to be looking from above.

Once more, Valli Should Create an app, to list every item in each isle. it may be a bit of a Task to do so, but then people can look up on the valli app. and find the items they need easier. like if i search "udon or Soba noodles" it should say Udon/Soba noodles Isle B2. When stocking the Shelves the Manager/Stocker in charge of that. should follow the apps placement or be in charge of updating the items and where they go.

For the app. Even Take Pictures Panorama Style of the Shelves and have it show what side it is. in what isle. this will allow people to zoom in and out. daily. and all you have to do then is update the picture. with a list that tells you what items are there and their prices.

The Stockers Work hard as it is, and when a customer takes time from them, it puts them behind. they can still be out and about helping, and stocking, but this will help them in the long run.and you know what? heck pay them more! they bust there buts to make sure people are happy, and their job is WELL DONE!

Best idea for Valli 2016!...

I try to stay away from this store, because I spend to much money. They have such a large selection of products from around the world. The store is clean, and the staff is awesome. Yesterday, I had seen some rice chips online and after being in the store for over 2 hours 😂, I made me way to the checkout line. The cashier called an associate over to look for the chips, he couldn't find them and said they carried then at one point and time. His name was JORGE, and he deserves a metal for his service. 😘 This is an update on my review from a week ago, I bought some Bob red Mill buckwheat pancake batter and it expired in March! I brought it back today and the manager of the store and the general manager or whoever the hell he was told me that there wasn't anything he could do about it except give me my money back or replace it! He said there wasn't anything more he could offer me! He acted like I wanted some kind of a handout! I've been in retail all my life I'm 67 years old, and I don't care if you are a family-owned business, and not a big corporation like Walgreens you should still offer some kind of compensation besides "oh it's nothing I can do about it, it's the person who put it on the shelf's fault." Well I guess I'll spend my money somewhere else where I'm appreciated. After all this is...