Pik-Kwik Foods

The best quality beef, pork and chicken from any grocery store in the area and believe me I’ve tried them all. When I shop here I feel like I am at home.

It is everything you would expect from a store called pick quick. It has enough of a selection to live off of, but not all the novelties you would find in a bigger chain store.
The décor is straight out of the 80’s, but has been well maintained and is always clean. The produce section is slim pickings for anything more than an apple or orange, but there is a a good selection in the meats and deli department. Their liquor section rivals any corner drug store and has decent prices. The staff is always very friendly and willing to help. The prices are what you would expect from a small store, but it is a great place to pick up those quick last minute ingredients for dinner or whatever.
All in all, its a great place to pick up a few things or doing your grocery shopping if you aren’t a wonder chef and enjoy Top Ramen. I will be back I’m sure.

Dear Pik-​Kwik,
When my husband told me I should check you out, I was excited because I love local grocers — especially local grocers I can walk to. So, one late night not so long ago, I came by to visit you. Then I came again a few days later. I need to be honest. This isn’t love at first sight. I don’t know about you right now.
I love the old-​school charm that you ooze as I walk in the doors — few shopping carts, few registers, smiling employees, an aura of quietness, a lot of yellows & browns, and all the local flyers tacked to the bulletin board. My infatuation with you kind of stops there, though.
Your produce department disappointed me. The shelves were nearly bare and of the fruits and vegetables you had, most of them were getting old or had bruises on them. I understand that you’re a small store and probably can’t get a large shipment of produce, but please do something about this. I know people would like to make this a regular grocery stop but it’s hard to do so when they need to seek quality produce elsewhere. And if they go elsewhere for the produce, they might as well go elsewhere for the other things too. You know what I mean?
I didn’t really have an issue with anything else other than not really finding anything I loved. Sure, you have pastas and soups and staples that I like to have on hand in my pantry, but I was overwhelmed with all the bags of potato chips and other processed foods. Just so many. The deli area was small, and the baked goods are cool but kind of small too. I did stumble across one thing that I was amazed to find: my favorite brand of vanilla almond milk! I definitely did not expect to find this here and it was a good find. But, over $ 4? Hmm.
The frozen foods were kind of pricey, too. In fact, a lot of things in this store were kind of pricey. I totally understand, though. You’re independent. You need to set your own prices and pay for things yourself. That’s cool. I have no problem supporting places like you. I do find it kind of hard to offer support when I’m not in love, though.
I don’t know what to make of you. Are you just a pit stop? Are you supposed to be a grocery store? You’ll see me when I need to pick up some bread or some baking supplies that I’ve run out of (and my husband seems to love you), but other than that, I’ll just wave at you as I pass on by.
Cheers,
Laura
PS: I do love that your candy is cheaper than the Walgreens across the street!
PPS: It’s cool that you have a beer & wine section too. It’s small, but good.
PPPS: OK, I’ll come by when I need sweets and liquor, too. There we go.

Sure. Pik-​Kwik.
Pik-​Kwik is an enduring icon of Roselle– it’s a small local grocer where you can go buy the dinner you forgot to get on the way home. Will you be happy to go there? It depends what food you forgot to pick up.
Did you ever watch «The Price is Right» when Bob Barker was the host? Did you notice that basically nothing ever changed from the 70’s? That was something, right? OK, well Pik-​Kwik is kind of like that. Basically nothing has changed since the 70’s– OK, well, prices, product, and employees have. And they just got a Red Box a couple of years ago. But other than that, you’ve got the same décor, the same pleasant but ambiguous smell in the air, and the same «shopper» elevator music that stores in the 70’s and 80’s used to play before someone in a corporate supermarket chain thought customers would rather hear their favorite hits from 5 years ago playing over the intercom.
Personally, I find Pik-​Kwik «antiquatedly pleasant.»
So, as far as food goes, there’s some good and some bad. Here’s my 20+ year analysis:
PRODUCE: The produce section of the store is pretty lame. The produce is largely sealed in shrink wrap and doesn’t seem super fresh. Some items, like baby spinach, are available sporadically. You will do fine if you are looking for potatoes, onions, and occasionally watermelon.
DELI: The Deli is… small. They might have what you’re looking for, but they likely will not. The deli is about a quarter of the size of a deli almost anywhere else. Target has a bigger deli. Seriously. The people at Pik-​Kwik are super nice though.
BAKERY: There’s no bakery at Pik-​Kwik, but they have great coffee cakes available.
BUTCHER: There is no proper butcher shop at Pik-​Kwik, and occasionally some meats, like lamb chops, are unavailable. There’s no selection of seafood to speak of. BUT. I can attest to the fact that the meats, especially the steaks and chicken are some of the best you can buy at a market in the area. Jewel, Dominic’s, Food For Less, etc all have spotty records with their meat, but Pik-​Kwick, for some reason, has fantastic meat. Consistently. If you need a reason to get over there, that is the reason.
DAIRY: Milk and dairy are pretty cheap. If you’re looking for soy milk or almond milk, or free range organic cow milk you will suffer the wrath of premium prices. There’s not a huge selection of cheeses, so don’t go looking for brie or anything at this place.
OTHER STUFF: As far as everything else goes, it’s like any typical grocer; sometimes prices are outrageous (see: cereal) and sometimes they are great (olive oil and pasta sauces). Weirdly, I’d also argue that they have a great selection of popcorn. There is a liquor section too which is adequate if you drink Miller Lite and/​or trashy wine.
Over all, the Pik-Kwik’s name does not advertize falsely. It is a place to pick out what you want for dinner and get the heck outta there. This is a blue collar market compared to a Whole Foods, but it’s got great value in the right places, friendly employees, and an old school charm– all of which make it likely that this Roselle icon will serve the people of our fair village for years to come.

If I had to sum up Pik-​Kwik in a few words, it’s literally a smaller version of Caputo’s. This is both a good, and a bad thing.
It’s a great place to stop in and pick up a few things without having the hassle of going to the grocery store. Pik-​Kwik carries everything from deli meats and cheeses, pre-​made salads, toilet paper, fresh meats, produce, frozen goods, and cleaning supplies. There’s even a decent size booze room where you can pick up all your partying needs.
Here’s the good and the bad…
Good:
+ Quick service. You’re in and your out.
+ A wide variety of all your grocery store type needs
Bad:
— I question the freshness in the meat section.
— Very limited organics
— Produce isn’t very fresh
If you’re looking for fresh and quality ingredients, Pik-​Kwik might not be the place for you. Your best bet is to stick to Whole Foods. But if you’re in a pinch, Pik-​Kwik serves as a band-​aid for your pantry, dairy, and toiletries needs.