Penzey's--brick and mortar plans?

[Jenise]

Just got an email from a friend: "I put in a Penzeys order over the weekend. I don't buy any spices anywhere else. What have you done to me?"

Which reminds me, it's about time for my semi-annual order, which consists of 4 ounce bags of paprika, basil, cumin and oregano, and twice that of black pepper. Other things I buy/replace yearly, but these five I use that much of.

Penzey's actually has walk-in stores in the Chicago area and, I believe, metro Texas like Dallas, and possibly Houston. Does anyone know if they have expansion plans beyond those areas?

[Robin Garr]

Penzey's actually has walk-in stores in the Chicago area and, I believe, metro Texas like Dallas, and possibly Houston. Does anyone know if they have expansion plans beyond those areas?

I don't know about expansion plans, Jenise, but if I remember correctly, Penzey's expanded a fair amount - perhaps by franchise - in cities closer to its original home in ... Milwaukee? There's one in Dayton or Columbus, I'm almost sure. And at one point they had a big contest inviting residents of various cities to send in letters arguing why their city should be the next Penzey's location.

I expect their Website would reveal details ... http://www.Penzeys.com

I've been to a store of theirs in St. Paul. Nice place, with all of the goodies you'd expect from their catalogs.

It would be great to see more of their stores....


Mike

That's on the southeast side of Phoenix for you sophisticated types who pretend that Arizona is still the Wild West.

[Jenise]

Doug,

Texas, Airxona...places with chile-centered cuisines? Makes sense, and that caused me to think that they won't be coming to my bland state (Washington) any time soon. Then I noticed that they're already in Connecticutt and that Wisconsin is their home state, so all bets based on blandness are now off.

Penzey's has many stores, listed in their catalog. There is one in Appleton,
Wisconsin, about 10 miles from where I live. Appleton's population is only
about 50,000 but they must have had enough mail order customers to open a store. I love it because I can buy smaller quantities more frequently.
The first store in Pittsburgh was is Squirrel Hill but they closed it and opened one on Penn Ave in the Strip--It is doing three times the business and has expanded in size to be their largest retail space. Oh, I miss the Strip !

[Robin Garr]

Hi, Christina! Glad you found your way to the alternate forum!

I don't know about expansion plans, Jenise, but if I remember correctly, Penzey's expanded a fair amount - perhaps by franchise - in cities closer to its original home in ... Milwaukee? There's one in Dayton or Columbus, I'm almost sure. And at one point they had a big contest inviting residents of various cities to send in letters arguing why their city should be the next Penzey's location.

I expect their Website would reveal details ... http://www.Penzeys.com

Yes, there is one in Columbus Oh, And one in Indianapolis too. I visited that last one in March 2011 when we had the Indy offline.Surprisingly small footprint B&M operation, but smells wonderful.

Two in Portland. One off the 205, close to Clackamas Town Center, in a little strip shopping center. Another in over off I5 in the Beaverton area, but I've never been there, as the I205 store suffices for my needs.

[Jenise]

You're lucky. I'm trying to remember if one has opened in Seattle or not. If it has, obviously I haven't been there.

There's one in Montgomery Village in Santa Rosa. And yes, there was one a few years ago (2006) in Houston.

There's a small franchise spice shop chain called Savory, with a shop in downtown Santa Rosa. It's in walking distance for me, and I'm getting to know the people there. Nice fresh spices, too.

John

Still none in Louisville, the culinary center of, ummm, Kentucky?

We have one here in Austin. While I like Penzy's just fine I have found that I can get comparable spices at the specialty grocery stores and even some of the local co-ops, saving me an extra trip just for spices. So I don't really get all ga-ga over Penzy's anymore.

rwj

We have one here in Austin.

Robert beat me to it. One just opened this autumn. I haven't been there yet because it's pretty out of the way for us. When I'm in the neighborhood I'm either pressed for time and doing specialty shopping (Antonelli's Cheese Shop is not far away), or trying desperately to get out of Central Market without a) spending an entire paycheck, or b) committing an act of violence on one of their many clueless shoppers.

Oh, and let me add that Central Market is my favorite store here in Austin.

Two in Portland. One off the 205, close to Clackamas Town Center, in a little strip shopping center.

I didn't realize they'd opened a second one; I've visited the one off 205. Stopped for gas nearby and made the error I always seem to commit once when visiting Oregon: trying to fill my own tank.

Point B makes me wonder how close I am to getting fired. Antonelli's rules.

rwj

I have heard, but not been myself, that one is open near Pikes Place Market in Seattle.

We still don't have one anywhere nearby. My wife's boss continues to put together mail orders every couple of months, though, so we just add on to his orders. Penzey's has a much better variety and generally higher quality than most of what we can get at our grocery stores.

I have heard, but not been myself, that one is open near Pikes Place Market in Seattle.

This list of Penzey's retail sites does indeed show a Penzey's at 117 Pine St., which would be down by/in the market, I think. Also not two but three sites in Portland. I had no idea they've been expanding so rapidly.

There was a line at the Appleton store this past weekend. Very brisk holiday business. Still would never buy the oleoresin stuff

We have one here in MA, but I haven't been yet. It's closer in to Boston and I hate driving there. On a visit to our friends a few uears ago in Indianapolis. we went to the store there. The aromas were amazing!! Bought stuff I didn't really need because of the smells. I think I'll stick to mail order - less dangerous.