OK, so Fredric likes Schnucks sour cream doughnuts but he calls them Seessel's, and Fred's accusing him of really longing for Seessel's ladyfingers. It just makes me long for a good all-purpose grocery. The three things I miss most about Seessel's are the turtle cookies, the petit fours, and the Canasta cake. And the really rare roast beef in the deli. Why, oh why, can't we have a Seessel's? The Kroger or the Schnucks in my neighborhood are both fine for all-purpose shopping, but I make a lot of side trips to The Fresh Market. I've found rare roast beef in the deli at Super-Lo, but it's not the same.
I know we all want a Whole Foods, but I'd be happy with a Harris-Teeter. I shopped at one in Charlotte last year and it was a fabulous grocery. If we can't get Seessel's back, I'd love an HT (there's one in Nashville).
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Responses to “Gimme back my Seessel’s!”
August 23rd, 2007 at 6:35 pm
I would vote for a Harris-Teeter too. I also miss Seessels, especially some of the bakery items you mentioned, Jennifer. I could always find veal cutlets in there without having to make a special request. But the Seessels by Albertsons concept just wasn’t working & at least the Schnucks people got Seessels to share some of their best loved bakery recipes. I loved some of the special things Seessels used to have in stock around the holidays, like the cute cheese in the wax covered shapes of snowmen, candy canes, & Christmas trees. They were nice to have for parties & to add a festive touch to a gift basket.
August 23rd, 2007 at 7:10 pm
I miss the fresh, HOT french bread baked fresh every afternoon. It was half gone before I could get it home
August 24th, 2007 at 1:07 am
Anyone ever been to a Trader Joe’s? It sounds like a great place, but they’ll never come here as long as the legislature keeps wine out of grocery stories.
August 24th, 2007 at 7:43 am
My first real (non summer job) out of high school was at Sessel’s on Union. What made the store work was that Mr. Sessel, and sons Art and Jerry ran the stores as a small family owned store. They kept items in stock that no one else had. Their Bakery was on par or better than all the major Memphis specialty bakers (Broyles, Radifeld’s, and Carl’s)
I still stop there with a plug-in cooler and buy the prepared deli items. They still have the best selection and longest deli case of any store.
To me the The Schnucks on Union, Poplar and Germantown Road are Sessel’s. They carry a much better assortment of items and are more like personal grocers than the other Schnucks stores.
BTW, their chocolate cake is still the best, even today!
When I am in Nashville, I go to the Harris Teeter on 21st near Vandy. It reminds me of a Sessels.
You guys should be thankful. All we have here in Jackson is 4 Kroger (soon to be 5) stores and 2 Wal-mart Supercenters. We would love to have even a Schnucks over here!
August 24th, 2007 at 10:42 am
While I was one of the five people who actually PREFERRED albertson’s to Seessel’s, let me say YES to anyone who wants a Harris-Teeter. I’ve been to their charlotte stores and they rock.
August 24th, 2007 at 11:29 am
I still mourn the loss of Seessel’s. Oh to have fresh ladyfingers again and turtle cookies, chocolate butter pies and that wonderful thinly sliced bread with the aforementioned rare roast beef. As good as the bakery and deli were, the best thing about Seessel’s was the service and great personnel. At the old Perkins store, they had the best butchers, Paul and Albert who positively beamed when they were called upon to butcher a special cut of meat. The cashiers knew customers by name and when they eliminated the special sackers, that was the sure sign that it was just another foreign owned chain with no heart.
August 24th, 2007 at 11:41 am
Isn’t it funny how we always say “The” Schnucks or “The” Kroger? I think it’s a southern thing. Anyhoo, I’d love a Harris Teeter or a Publix in Midtown. Speaking of The Schnucks, I have a peeve with them. Has anyone noticed that the Midtown store seems to have only a few of the small carts and a bunch of those huge ones these days? I know the stores prefer people to use the big carts because they think it encourages people to buy more, but that store is so small, it’s hard to maneuver the giant carts through it.
August 24th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
Oh, I miss Seessel’s too! Although I’m glad Schnuck’s is able to make some of the good ole Seessel’s bakery items, it isn’t the same, is it? I’m going to dream about that canasta cake tonight. And that’s sad, cause it’s just going to be a dream.
August 24th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
Tiffany I think people must steal the small carts, cause they had a zillion of them after the recent Shnucks re-design (good Lord, do they really think they solved the problems?) and now they’re all gone again…
August 24th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
I won’t get on my soapbox again about Schnucks Midtown because they inherited the store. There is obviously no way to correct the overcrowding without tearing it down & starting over. It’s my neighborhood store, but I only go there when I’m after one or two things. I need a handicapped cart to accomplish a full grocery shopping trip, & the aisles are much too narrow for those. The aisle with the soft drinks & bread across from the frozen food cases is the worst, followed by the aisles behind the checkouts. And I won’t even start about the parking lot. Every time I go in there, I leave mad & swear I’m never going back again. I brave it no more than three or four times a year due to the annoyance factor. The Poplar & Perkins store isn’t a whole lot better, & they seem to have a problem maintaining their handicapped carts in working order. I went as far as writing to Schnucks corporate office about it, but I couldn’t tell any difference & got no response. That’s why I pass up two Schnucks & go to the one on Truse for most of my major grocery shopping. I try to shop at off-peak times so I won’t be in the way, but there are hardly any off-peak times at the Midtown store. And the people there seem to be even more impatient than I am, which is nearly impossible.
August 27th, 2007 at 1:57 am
I recently realized how much I missed Seessel’s when I needed a dobosch torte. Not only did no bakery in town make one, they didn’t even know what one was.
Anyone know where to buy a dobosch torte?
August 28th, 2007 at 12:13 am
Why doesn’t the Memphis Schnucks have the meat selection of the St. Louis Schnucks? Schnuck’s is known as a meat market up there - famous for its site-made sausage.
In response to Allie’s question about the dobosch torte - I would counter with this question - Is there a even bakery in Memphis that is not part of a supermarket? Where indeed can you go to get a torte or a loaf of fresh bread?
I just got back from another trip to a town with a Trader Joe’s. Meaning that I had to spend some quality time with the TSA explaining that while 1-pound blocks of Tillamook Vintage White Cheddar have the same density as C-4 explosive, I am not a threat to national security.
Jamie is probably right that TJ’s is not going to be inclined to open in a state with such archaic liquor laws but there is hope - Cost Plus World Market did open in Collierville despite not being able to have a wine section and Costco managed to get around the TN requirement of a local liquor license owner with some creative co-location solutions.
Part of the problem in Memphis - in both food retail and in wine retail/restaurant service - is that the wholesalers dictate what the retail establishments can offer. If restaurants can’t source the ingredients/wines they desire to serve - no matter how much they would like to offer something, they can’t. From the prior blog entry, it sounds like Circa is really pushing the distributors to get the wines they want but unless they can do the volume, they will not be able to get the wholesalers to continue to offer small lots. MaloneHyde/Sysco is the dominate foodservice company so must restaurants are just going to order within the Sysco inventory.
September 23rd, 2007 at 3:49 pm
I worked for Seessel’s for years as a member of the management team of several locations. I have to say I truely miss Seessel’s. It was not only a pleasure to shop there but also a great place to work. In my opinion no other grocery store offers the selection, service, quality and pleasant environment that Seessel’s did. The deli and bakery were the best in town. If Art Seessel would open another store I would work for him again and be honored to be a part of the only REAL grocery store in Memphis. How do we get in touch with Art or Jerry Seessel and let them know we are ready for anoher Seessel’s!!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 21st, 2007 at 4:23 pm
Seessel’s stood out as a great store due to the bakery. As a child I could always get a free lady-finger. Every birthday cake from Cookie Monster to the really cool cake with the reindeer wonderland (December birthday) came from Seessel’s. If at any other time I only wanted ONE cupcake I could get just one (and not 6).
As a young adult I delivered Seessel’s Christmas cookies to my college friends, and they always asked for the name of the fabulous bakery. Few believed me when I told them I picked up the cookies with fruit, milk and dog food at Seessel’s Grocery Store.
I still travel to Schnuck’s for fresher produce at a better price, but the store is not the same without the old Seessel’s bakery.
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