Berkley Finer Foods

I love this great family owned grocery store in the heart of down-town Batavia, IL. They have a wonderful deli that has delicious, freshly made salads. They are so tasty and you just don't find them at other stores. They have the best fried chicken. It is always juicy and full of flavor. YUMMMM!!! The meat dept. has a variety of sausages that we have always been pleased with. The meat manager can help you with any cooking questions you may have. He must love to cook. They carry a lot of specialty products and they are always willing to help you find anything you can't find on your own. The staff is very friendly. One time, I bought a wrong ingredient for a recipe and they took the exchange with no hesitation. They even helped me locate the correct item that I was looking for. I wish there were more stores around like this one. Great job to the management and staff!! A job well done. Pros: everything Cons: nothing more

I have seen the owner take cheese that expired in March 2006, shave off the bad part and use the rest in the deli. He does the same for butter that expired in May 2007. That was in April and May of 2008. They have had bacon and hot dogs that were over a year old, re-wraped with their own expiration date. I have personally counted the milk crates of damaged and expired food in all the back rooms and there were over 300. They're running out of room for all this stuff so now they have shopping carts filled with expired stuff up front by the registers . The owner is a complete hoarder. he can't throw out anything, even if it has mold on it. I have also seen the health dept. come in and do nothing. He cheats his customers and his employees, thats why I don't work there any more. They don't like it when employees clean or straighten up. They apparently like lazy slobs working for them. I just can't believe the health dept. lets them get away with this. more