Cosentino's Grocery downtown

[KC-wildcat]

Where's trailerkid?

[beautyfromashes]

Loved it! Loved it! Loved it!

People buzzing, the Midland out the window, great food.  This is such a huge milestone in the revitalization of downtown.  And to the guy complaining about the parking garage, he will change his mind when he's having to walk 5 blocks to his car pushing his cart through the snow.  Me, I'll be parked in the clear, semiwarm garage a block from the door.  Some people will find a way to complain about everything.

[Angel]

I went mid morning and picked up a few groceries.  It was packed with people (and a couple of news crews), and there were so many employees there making sure everyone found what they were looking for.  Someone even came up to me and asked if there was anything that was missing that I wanted stocked.  

I think the packaged food area (aisles) is smaller than the Brookside location.  They really focused more floor space on the prepared food area and salad bar, which makes sense.  I found most everything I usually get.  There were just a couple of things that I usually get that weren't there.  I picked up some lasagna to take to work for lunch and it was delicious.

The checkout was really quick...I used one by the front door.  Overall, the place looks great and I'm so excited to have it a block away from where I live!

[PumpkinStalker]

I drove all the way from waldo, just to check it out. Didn't even need groceries but I bought a latte to drink while perusing. Gorgeous store. I loved how it was departmentalized. As a 7 year former employee of Hy-Vee I was very pleased with flow and customer service. The credit cards were down at the coffee bar but the lady ran over to customer service to ring me up. I thought it was awesome that the sushi bar had it's own 5 stool bar seating. One thing I noticed is that they had an awesome selection of coffee and teas. I will be doing some shopping here just for the atmosphere. It was THE place to be downtown tonight.     

[SWFan]

You're making it sound like Las Vegas has just relocated to KC.

I think the point is, getting a grocery store downtown IS the equivalent of having Vegas move to KC. At least for those folks living downtown or considering living downtown.

[snarf]

Anyone know if they serve breakfast in the prepared food section?

[geeman68]

Anyone know if they serve breakfast in the prepared food section?

YES!!  They have a breakfast buffet!

[AllThingsKC]

YES!!  They have a breakfast buffet!

Wow!  So, it really is like a little piece of Las Vegas in KC!

[geeman68]

Wow!  So, it really is like a little piece of Las Vegas in KC!

LOL. Well, I'm not sure about that. I was talking to someone about the grocery store and they mentioned that with the proximity of the store to where they live downtown, now they could just walk and get fresh food, produce, quick meals, meats, etc. without needing to buy a week or more worth of food at a time.  Walking to the market every few days for fresh foods will allow them to get more exercise, eat better and fresher foods and not keep so much junk and things that will go bad in the house.  She commented that it would be like living in Europe which is what many people do.  Most Europeans have small refrigerators so they can't really stock lots of food but most markets are within walking distance or an extremely short drive.  When I was in Germany visiting a good friend, we went to the market several times and it wasn't a short, flat walk but it was close enough to enjoy the weather and grab necessary items for a couple days.  Anyways, it was remarkable to see so many people today at lunch and a mix of folks buy prepared foods and groceries. I look forward to patronizing the downtown market.  Now lets get some more apartments/condos/lofts built!  The 1006 Grand building should hopefully start its conversion this spring and not sure where the Reserve is on its schedule with the economic downturn.  I would love to see the several P&L condos go up from the original plans which flank the district on the south and West.  Enough babbling from me.  Nite! 

[GRID]

Take a deep breath...

You guys realize this is just a grocery store right?  You're making it sound like Las Vegas has just relocated to KC.  The rest of the metro thinks the celebration of a grocery store is something out of a Beverly Hillbillies script and I have to agree.  Act like you've been to one before.  Wifi?  Unless you're over 80, who wants to squat at a grocery store?

This will do more for downtown than the sprint center and performing arts center combined.

It is a big deal.  A very big deal.

You want to make a downtown resident of Denver, Minneapolis, Dallas, Phoenix, Atlanta etc jealous as hell?

Just show them Downtown KC's Cosentino's....

[trailerkid]

This will do more for downtown than the sprint center and performing arts center combined.

It is a big deal.  A very big deal.

Cosign. This is definitely a quality of life issue for downtown to have the best grocery store in the metro.

So are the other lunch spots now going to close and blame it on Cosentino's? Someone call the Pitch...

real exchange i had with my friend on facebook:

friend: did you see the racial issue surrounding the grocery store?
dave:oh god. what now? can't we all just get along?
friend: someone was saying that Cosentino's was racist for putting the checkouts by the parking garage because that catered to all of the white suburbanites who will be shopping there and the black urban who walks only has a couple of checkouts by the street doors. What??? I'm pretty sure that suburbanites are going to shop in suburbia....it's so silly.
dave: yeah, that's silly. when i was in there this morning the checkouts facing the street were full of white people. hardly anyone was in the lanes at the back of the store.
friend: lol...that's so funny! I guess it came out that this guy raising the ruckus lives in Lawrence.
dave: strangely, i think i know exactly who that is. it doesn't surprise me one bit.

Cool. Sounds like y'all lead busy, bourgie lives.

[AllThingsKC]

This will do more for downtown than the sprint center and performing arts center combined.

Well, I don't know how it can be quite that big?!?!  But, it is huge deal because of this:

You want to make a downtown resident of Denver, Minneapolis, Dallas, Phoenix, Atlanta etc jealous as hell?

Just show them Downtown KC's Cosentino's....

Exactly.  KC may be behind other cities about our size in some areas.  But, this is one thing that KC can brag about!  A lot of other cities are wishing they were KC right now (maybe even Las Vegas  ).  Awesome.

[IraGlacialis]

Wifi?  Unless you're over 80, who wants to squat at a grocery store?

Um, if you have actually seen the plans for the place you would notice that there is seating with tables around the front of place and in a mezzanine overlooking the area. The idea being that besides being an upscale supermarket, the downtown Consentino's is part cafe as well. It's not like you are having people sitting in the middle of the dog food section with their laptops out.

Went there today. Pretty cool setup they got there.
Normal staples area understandably smaller then what is found at most supermarket, though they have the essentials and make up for the size by having a lot of harder-to-find type staples (such as a selection of real maple syrup). Using Rosterie coffee for the grind station was a nice touch.
The staff was also quite friendly, informative, and able immediately to point the way towards even obscure items.
Of course, the prepared foods section was outstanding (the fresh sushi, pizza, and gelato stands being especially nice additions). Due to the crowds and limited amount of time, I wasn't able look at it more in depth (though I got some nice desserts).
Frankly I wasn't sure if the produce and meat section was any different from the Brookside location (as impressive as that was is anyways). Spirits section seems a tad more extensive (though it could just be the way the shelves were set up), with the ceiling being a nice touch.

Only personal qualm I had while there was that it was a crowded madhouse at the time (the shorter, basket-type shopping carts were helpful in such an environment), though this is probably just due to opening-day frenzy and it being around lunchtime. It will probably be a lot calmer in later days. Plus, my qualm is at the same time a positive thing for the store; it shows that word got around and definitely piqued interest. And snippets I overheard about the store itself were all positive. One thing for sure, I don't see bad business for this place in the horizon.

Since I don't live in KC or even in the suburbs, that place definitely will not be place for me to go often. However, if I am in town and need something that can't be found at the local Price Chopper, this will be a definite destination.

Several quick shots I took:

[AllThingsKC]

^ I see an AllThingsKC in that set of photos.

[GRID]

Well, I don't know how it can be quite that big?!?!  But, it is huge deal because of this:

Well, you can build all the big venues you want and those venues are needed and are part of the puzzle.

But when it comes to building urban fabric, that grocery store will do far more.

Sprint and the PAC are large footprints and have a huge parking demand and most people that attend events at the sprint center are not going to move downtown just so they can walk to see AC/DC or the Symphony.

A grocery store like this on the other hand says Downtown KC is ready and welcoming to residents that want to actually live there and make the area a 24 hour city.

It will bring more people into the city 24 hours a day.  The Sprint Center and PAC are amazing, but the store is at least on the same level of importance.

It is a big deal and so far, I think the entire sprint center and power and light district have been very well done.

The city could have really botched that up, but they really pulled it off.  The walkability of the area, the parking, the density, that way it all just falls together is more than I ever expected.

Now we need to see it spread to the rest of Downtown and the Crossroads.  I don’t mean more canned entertainment districts, but simply investment, be it private or public.  We still need to throw everything we can possibly afford at downtown till it’s ready to take off on its own.

We have a long way to go and the city has one hell of an investment to protect and validify (something that scares me).

We can only wait and see what the next year or two brings us...

[IraGlacialis]

^ I see an AllThingsKC in that set of photos.

Moral of the story: stick your camera in a crowded DT locale, especially on a notable occasion (such as opening day), and there is a good chance of capturing at least one KCRag forumer.

[Critical_Mass]

I LOVE THIS!
As a downtown resident, this IS better than the Sprint Center & Performing Arts Center combined, in my mind.  The grocery doesn't look as flashy from the interstate as those icons do, but it has drastically improved my quality of life.  I've already been to this Cosentino's as many times as I have been to the Sprint Center.  I went there around 6:30 pm after work and I felt like I was in another city!  This place has just about anything I could need, and being only a few blocks away this will simplify my life.  Finally something worth walking to!  The parking garage is super convenient & free w/ validation.  It's like any garage on the Plaza, complete with a backdoor connection to the store.  I am going to be living at this place!  I seriously was buzzing earlier off this...  Downtown finally was feeling like a neighborhood.  I can imagine actually meeting my neighbors now while running errands, instead of driving out to other parts of town to run a quick errand.

[rxlexi]

  awesome.

  stopped by the store tonight around 6:00 and it was packed.  Cosentino's went far above and beyond what most people had in mind, I imagine, using top notch materials to create a beautiful space and filling it with an almost perfect mix of downtown-friendly prepared foods, real, affordable grocery staples and harder to find gourmet items. 

  I was most impressed by the fresh and attractive produce section; I was worried they might skimp on produce at a DT location but everything looks great.  The store seems comparable in size to the BKS market, with a bit more emphasis on prepared foods and liquor.  I'm extremely impressed at the product mix and the way they've catered to both neighborhood residents and office workers/conventioneers/event goers.

It really has everything most folks could want, and is far more attractive than just about any other grocer I've seen.  It's an honest to goodness grocery store, with a ton of frills.  This place makes you want to eat.  The prepared foods looked good, including the giant salad bar and pizza oven.  I also loved the well-stocked magazine rack and pet supply area, which included such loft-dweller friendly items as Three Dog Bakery treats and a variety of dog bones and cat stuff.  I managed to find everything I wanted for my usual short grocery trip (milk, veggies, deli meat, etc.) and getting in and in out was easy.

  The parking situation works surprisingly well, although from the second level (Main Street entrance) where I parked the entry and exit is a bit convoluted (into the store, after parking) and could be a source of complaints (down a hallway and then stairs or elevator).  On the first level you walk right into the garage, and validation seemed easy enough (although mine was somehow botched).  The street entrance seems to function well and yes, this place adds a ton of life and pedestrians to this corner.

  All in all, anyone that would say this is not a big deal for DT could not be more wrong.  As Grid said, this is the biggest thing to happen to DTKC since the Sprint Center, and frankly much more impressive, to me.  There is no surface parking!  It's right in the heart of downtown!  It's big and beautiful and stocked to overflowing with great looking food!  It has walls of glass windows and the Midland Marquee is practically a store feature, and it has a giant neon sign on the corner!  I'm smiling right now thinking about the place.  Cosentino's and Cordish should be commended.  Now I just hope we keep this place open...and surround it with the new apts, condos and offices that it seems to beg for.

 

 

[scooterj]

The parking situation works surprisingly well, although from the second level (Main Street entrance) where I parked the entry and exit is a bit convoluted (into the store, after parking) and could be a source of complaints (down a hallway and then stairs or elevator).  On the first level you walk right into the garage, and validation seemed easy enough (although mine was somehow botched).

Thanks for the tip.    I haven't done a real shopping trip at a grocery store since probably at least last summer and I have a lot of stocking up to do, so I was planning to drive there tonight.    So it sounds like the Walnut side is the side to enter on for that?

[LenexatoKCMO]

^ I see an AllThingsKC in that set of photos.

Is that you holding the bushel basket of produce over the stairway?