Has anyone ever shopped there? I don't know that I have ever seen more than a few cars in the lot, and a couple of those must belong to the owners/manager/employees. How is this place surviving?
I stop in occasionally to pick up a few items. I don't know why nobody else does. The prices are reasonable and the products are terrific. If I don't NEED anything I just get some delicious snacks. I have not been disappointed.
I believe that they do a decent mail order business and that they run it out of that store. At least, I seem to remember that from the PR before they opened.
It's true you don't see a lot of cars there, of course, most people park in the back, I think.
If they added a few more "American" staples to the deli counter at reasonable prices, I'd probably go there more often. But I do like to stop in when I'm in the mood to try something new.
Historically, they've had a huge mail-order operation from their plant in Vernon Hills. There, they are a full-fledged butcher where they dehydrate and prepare Eastern European-style sausages. They distribute globally.
As for the retail store? I'm amazed they're still in business. With the exception of my mother, I didn't think anyone else shopped there!
Along the same lines, has anyone ever seen a single customer at the new Napa over by the Phil Rock center? There's usually about 3 cars in the parking lot, probably belonging to the store employees.
Originally posted by Nuts: I stop in occasionally to pick up a few items. I don't know why nobody else does. The prices are reasonable and the products are terrific. If I don't NEED anything I just get some delicious snacks. I have not been disappointed.
Absolutely, it's a very good place to find a number of diverse northern as well as central/eastern European products.
Try it sometime, sample a few of the items - we are actually pretty lucky to have this opportunity for these exotics - also stop in and try some of the asian retailers, it's far more difficult to select things there, but try the lychees and ginger candy to start.
These are never going to be places to feed a family for most of the village, but to round out and push the boundarys of our life experiences we are privileged to have the opportunity.
Posts: 2465 | Location: Glen Ellyn, Il | Registered: September 23, 2003
Napas sell and deliver parts to service stations which may be their core business, I'm not sure. But you'll notice at night that there are usually 3 or 4 Napa fleet vehicles parked outside there (usually white pickups with the little Napa baseball caps on the roofs). During the day you might see 1 at the store, if any. Which means the rest are out delivering parts to mechanics.
Napa is generally considered to be more pricey than Murray's or AutoZone but higher quality. I find that they are more likely to have obscure parts that the other places don't always have in stock.
