J J Peppers Food Store

The workers are all very polite, and they remembered me now after 2 months of shopping inconsistently. The area can be a little rough and gruff, but walk with purpose and determination and nobody has bothered me. Its well lit and there is a police camera on the opposite corner of the intersection. There’s a good liquor selection and non-​alcoholic beverages, but just a little pricey on some bottled juice drinks.

My new neighborhood liquor/​convenience store!
Decent selection and cool peeps that work here
I go for a lot of BYOB brunches so I can always easily grab a bottle of Andre’ for some mimosa action.

OK I live very close to this JJ Peppers and the mall has managed to remove the hanging out crowd… so I frequent the store especially for convenience and if it is all that is open. LIke this morning I needed something and it i s15 °F BELOW ZERO (feels like minus 30 – 40 F) so nothing else was open or closer. I am paying with my debit card which last time i was there the employee had to manual enter my card info (their scanner cant read my stripe). He informed me that my card may need to be replaced but was polite and logically defaulted to manual entry of card information. Right I want to spend money at the business and i have money make the sale. Well this morning, when I was making my purchase they had just opened two employees (2 ladies over 60 yo) no other customers in store. I mention that last time their machine couldnt read the stripe and so it was done manually. And the one behind the counter about to ring things up sighs and proceeds to let me know she does not know how to do that .but then calls over employee #2. Who clearly is not listening as she swipes the card and tells me the card stripe wont read. It is clear to me (the customer… spending $$ at their place of employment) that I am now being considered a bother. I am not sure how having to press about 15 buttons which requires max 30 seconds to complete appears too burdensome or unreasonable to complete the transaction. Both claim they do not know how to do it… how can that be… I mean they can read right? I bit my tongue and mentioned it is fairly self explanatory if they would follow the prompts on the LCD of card machine. And referenced the severe weather conditions hoping that might help them be helpful. Well, no luck as they continued to be careless hence they told me my card was declined. Which was impossible and i told them so and expressed my frustration by asking if she entered my card info in correctly. To which Simone, now all worn out and fingers sore, said to me: «listen we tried to help you your card was declined… what do you want?!!» I wanted to tell what I wanted was basically unchanged… i wanted to purchase a few items and sadly that required her to do her job. Although, they both have no business collecting a paycheck and when I am in their shoes I handle these normal issues totally differently and successfully. Wait sales person declares a customers card as no good with one half ass try? So now i have to walk 2 blocks to a Chase atm and bc nothing else is open back to the store. Of course my card worked and had plenty of cash. When I returned I was not rude but I did point out that what they just did was terribly inconsiderate and simply no way to treat any one. Which Simone was not having none of my bullshit and she told me as much. And she is upset and telling me that she tried and what do i want from her coming around starting all this bullshit. I will go back and talk to the owner but will never step foot in there again. These ladies are not new employees and not only are they lacking the knowledge to perform their basic duties they are careless and unapologetic even when made aware of their mistake. Sadly, she believes she tried to help me as that is all she could say!

Decent people and service, okay prices.

This J.J. Peppers Store/​Location is one scary place!
So. Before you even get one foot in the door you are
hit up for money by about 3 scary looking guys.
And. if that’s not bad enough you walk in and it is
just as scary inside, dark, cramped aisles, dusty looking merchandise.
So. why do I shop here you may ask?
Well .if I had big bucks to spend and I needed something other
than a convenience type item I would shop elsewhere.
And. when you get to the counter heads up people if you plan on using
your debit/​credit card for any purchases no matter how small the amount
you will need to show your I. D…
And then when you head out the door you will most likely get
hit on for money by the same 3 guys who are semi blocking the
door as you leave.
Oh J.J. Peppers. Never again. not in this life time!
Nor the next…

i’ve never been here but my roommate goes here to get her occasional malt liquor or 6 pack. so it is good for that.

I spend more money here on booze than I do on my meals.
Nice little neighborhood corner store that isn’t heavy on the crazies like the place across the street. The staff are sometimes high, which makes for a fun experience. Always friendly and smiling they treat you well even if you don’t want ‘scratch offs on Friday!“
The selection of beer is amazing considering if this place were back in my hometown of Detroit it would have nothing but malt liquor and Wild Irish Rose.
I like it

Best place that I’ve found to buy beer in Uptown. They go through their stick every week and they have a beer selection near as good as whole foods or binnys. I only go here now since I had multiple skunked beer experiences from Jewel.
I live in the neighborhood too, so I don’t have a problem with the homeless as they are completely harmless.
I’m taking away one star because the prices are a bit high at $ 12-​$ 13 for a 6 pack of three floyds.

Every single time I come here there is some homeless mofo standing outside the joint!
Anyways, on my latest lakefront BBQ I was in a bind and badly needed some Matchlight charcoals and did not want to waste my time with lighter fluid.
Lo and behold, they came through and came through in the clutch. For $ 13.22, I got myself two bags of charcoal and was able to keep my BBQ alive. Thanks, JJ Peppa

This is a nice little corner store at the intersection of Lawrence & Sheridan. Although the area can definitely be sketchy at times, it has nothing to do with this grocery store. They have all the basics, a good stock of beer (including Delirium Tremens), liquor and wine and a HUGE selection of ice cream. Like three freezers full. Of ice cream! The staff is very friendly, albeit a few have a chip on the shoulder from having to deal with the random crazies.
One note: there is a blind gentleman who stops in occasionally and the staff hunts around the store to get all of his stuff including hot coffee which they pour for him. They package it all up in a special bag and send him on his way. I’ve seen this several times and it’s always kind of touching.