Real Naked Food

I was so excited for this place to open but it has been nothing but disappointing and I have given it at least 6 tries. The store continues to be half empty-​I mean ½ the refrigerators had absolutely nothing in them and the back room of the store has about 10 items total in there, the prices are too high, the staff is not always so nice, it takes 5 minutes to check out with 1 item as you sit and watch them weigh the product, then search a piece of paper with the prices until they locate your item, then use a calculator to figure the price out and then recalculate it to make sure it is correct and lastly, they have 1 item of each product on display-​like they don’t have any more to put out? so it doesn’t seem like you are taking the last one? It has/​had the potential for being a great addition to the neighborhood, but it’s just not.

I really, really, really want to like this place. And I really want them to succeed! But they have disappointed me more often than not, leading me to fear that they may not make it.
I was thrilled when this store first opened, as it was really inconvenient for me to make the trek to Green Grocer Chicago or Dill Pickle Co-​op every time I need something that can’t be found at my Farmer’s Market. When RNF opened up, I was excited that there was an option in the ‘hood that I could walk to.
Alas, though, their biggest problem is a lack of items and inconsistency in availability. For example, after finding Kilgus brand milk in their cooler (local and organic brand), I’ve tried going back for refills a few times to find that not only were they not carrying that particular brand anymore (or at least not the subsequent times I was there), they only had the big gallon (or equivalent) sized milk of whatever brand they happend to be carrying, which is way too much for someone like me. I’ve also inquired as to whether they carry chicken breasts, and was told they do, but when I went in to buy some they said they didn’t have any right then and «might» get a shipment in the next week or two… but weren’t sure. This has happened with other items, too.
It’s hard to support a store that cannot consistently provide what I need to buy, and the convenience of their location does not really add up to much if I take the time to go over there just to leave a few minutes later empty-​handed. A grocery store, no matter how speciallized, should not leave their customers guessing what they may or may not have in stock. They need a more varied and certainly more consistent stock of items if they want to do well, and certainly if they don’t want this particular shopper to completely give up on them.

Nice folks.

I was trapped in a loveless marriage with Dominick’s on Chicago and Damen. As a card-​carrying co-​op member, I suffered nearly 5 years of Chicago corporate grocery store patronage.
(I know, I know. There’s Stanley’s and a hundred shitty Mexican and Eastern European stores around. But when you require Silk Light and don’t have a car it gets complicated.)
Naked is still fledgling, but aspires to real quasi-​co-​op greatness. They have (mostly) reasonably priced (mostly…) staples /​fresh vegetables /​fruit, bulk goods, a coffee and juice bar, friendly employees and an antiquated POS system. They have tempeh, seitan, soy yogurt, Daiya, and other things you can’t get at my ex’s.
It’s as close to a real co-​op as you’re going to get around here, with the added bonus of being extremely conveniently located. Go Naked.

Edit: Maybe I’m slightly biased because I think Lauren and her staff are so great, but I’m upping my rank to the full five stars. Great service and they’re super accommodating with requests!
Every time you walk in, you feel like you’re in a small town shop where folks care about what they have on their shelves. This can be something of an anomaly in a city setting and it’s certainly a welcome one!

I was hoping for so much more! Like what? Maybe more of a Kramer’s? It’s a cute little addition, its very expensive but along par with the other organic places in the neighborhoods near by.
The juice bar is awesome, though.

Disappointing. Have been there a few times since it opened, hoping it would be a great local option for produce. The problems are several fold. The cashiers can’t ever seem to figure out how to help you efficiently. They use an old calculator and a scale to figure out prices, and it always takes about 5 minutes to check out, even when you’re just getting 1 item. I don’t mind that they use a calculator, but if that’s the route you’re going to take, then train your employees to figure out how to use one. Employees are unfriendly and often seem like you are bothering them by trying to purchase items. I feel like I’m interrupting them every time I visit. The food itself isn’t fresh, probably due to lack of foot traffic. I picked up some potatoes there last week and they were wrinkled, soft, and on the verge of rotting. Finally, although they say they are open before noon on Sundays, they fail to show up and open the store. I went there around noon last weekend and they did not have the doors open to the public.
Note to new small businesses: have quality products, give good customer service, and open your doors according to the hours on the sign on the front door. One star from a guy who never gives one star.

I was in the area doing some errands, so I decided to drop on by and see what I could pick up. The produce selection here is small, but what’s available is very good. My onion was very good and the potatoes that I picked up have been excellent as well. The prices on the produce weren’t all too bad either, in fact they were pretty cheap. While we aren’t talking about jewel/​dominicks cheap, I thought that the prices were generally better than what I normally come across at whole foods.
I also got a small mocha berry smoothie. It was kinda weird to be honest. The quinoa grains in there were kinda annoying and I found myself picking the bits out of my teeth after every sip.
I’m going to need to come back in the future. The store is still a bit sparse and needs to fill in a slight bit. The smoothie took a bit to make, but it also had a lot of ingredients. I’m looking forward to seeing how they grown in a bit more

I think Real Naked Food is a good addition to the neighborhood, and I’m super into the juice and smoothie bar.
I’m always trying to get more fruits and veggies in my diet and I got the Red Ramp juice after a particularly grueling day at work. It tasted great! The prices are a little high for some people, probably, but I didn’t mind.
I don’t really see myself shopping for groceries there, since I am mainly Trader Joe’s kind of gal, but it’s great to have an organic grocery store within walking distance and I like to support local businesses when I can.

Not much to buy. Bought something, finished it. Recyclable container («We’re so green, weeeeee»). Me: Do you have recycling here? Clerk: erm… no, I guess not.
Me: Can I use your bathroom?
Clerk: We don’t have a public bathroom, sorry.
(no you’re not).
«Green is the new ethics of capitalism»? check.
Also, they sell food to consume here, they should let customers use their bathroom,
meh.

So far, so good. I’d like to see this place stay open, so I was happy to note that their prepared foods section was very small. I think a lof of money gets lost on prepared organic foods unless the shop is located in an area highly saturated with busy workers. 1909 W Division isn’t exactly the loop, and most people will be returning home with their goods, so I suggest not wasting a lot of labor on food prep. The demographic that shops at places like this has too many food restrictions anyway.
I haven’t compared their bulk section $ to others of the same type, but it looks like they have a well-​rounded selection. I’m really hoping they will start selling goji berries in bulk and will probably call and request they do so. I look forward to shopping here.

I have been here a couple times mainly for the juice bar, which has been perfect on a few of these warm days. They have a pretty good selection of juices & smoothies one my favorites being the raw berry cheesecake. Along with the smoothies they offer wheat grass shots for $ 2. It really seems like they are taking their wheat grass really seriously because last time I was in they were doing a wheat grass tasting. I for one didn’t even know there were different wheat grass varieties.
Looking forward to seeing where this place goes, it still seems like they are trying to find their groove.

Went for the grand opening with a friend and I am in love with this store. It’s not overwhelming but just right for basic (bulk baking goods, dried fruits, etc.) and nonbasic items. I’m trying to cook more and save some moola and they staff had great suggestions for the golden beets I purchased. A few of the vendors were at the opening incl cheap tart bakery which has the coolest pie pops in lemon ginger… delish! And the ice cream, I’m totally blanking on the name but the carrot cake flavor is amazing. I can’t even name everything I picked up but I’m def a fan! Thanks RNF for educating me on eating unprocessed foods and buying unpackaged items, at least as much as possible!

I was excited to welcome RNF to the neighborhood. I stopped by last week and picked up fruit and vegetables that were a really good quality. I even bought a raw sugar cane stick. This is so hard to find at your average grocer. I am a lover of granola, and it was nice to see the selection of raw granola mix, dried fruits and quinoa. I look forward to shopping at a store that offers Real Naked Foods! I guess I’ll see you all at the grand opening on Friday!

I will update this review after the official launch, but I’m starting to fall in love with this place. A frequent Stanley’s shopper and a periodic W Grocer shopper, I was excited to shop somewhere with such fresh selection of ALL organic produce. It was liberating to browse the nicely merchandised produce and not worry about whether I was selecting conventional products.
The prices weren’t too bad, either. I got a full bag of fresh, organic fruits and veggies for around $ 25. It included treats such as a perfect pint of strawberries, red and yellow bell peppers. I think those were the most impressive items since I have yet to find perfect organic peppers (other than green peppers) in the city. And, in walking distance.
Very excited to welcome RNF to the neighborhood. Looking forward to supporting this small business in the community.

I, too, will update with a proper review once they have their official/​grand opening on April 22^nd. But I will say that I’m so glad this store is here — I noticed the sign months ago and have been anxiously awaiting the opening.
I love the bulk bins with stuff that is difficult to find at Dominick’s — quinoa, amaranth, good quality dried fruit, etc. It looks like they plan to expand that section a bit as well. And I appreciate that they encourage people to bring their own containers for that stuff and for produce, instead of taking a throwaway bag every time. It might not carry every single thing I’ll need for groceries, but it covers the majority of things that I would otherwise have to get at Whole Foods. I’m not much of a meat-​eater, but it looks like they have some nice local meats and are setting up a deli counter. Check out the fancy-​looking ice cream as well. Also, they have a little questionnaire at the checkout counter, so you can suggest products you want.

Will be interesting to see how they flesh out the store as there is not much in here right now.
Deli Counter in the back should be a nice addition to the organic produce and green cleaning items currently in stock. I was surprised to see a review already as today is the first day I saw the doors open.
Official Opening date is Earth Day April 22^nd. I’ll come back and offer a proper first review on that day.