[Editor’s preamble begins]: Dear readers, Colleen started this article because she thought a simple price comparison was in order between the Italian Center and the new kid on the block - L’oca. Then I got cocky and controversial and wanted to make it all about Go Auto’s connection, how L’Oca’s website seems like a glorified click funnel, and the disparity between their social media portrayed realities and real life in this day and age where “influencers” have way, WAY too much (paid, vapid, and annoying) influence. Oh, and I thought, obviously, she should do a Master Chocolatier’s eye view of their Chocolate section(s). But, she gently reminded me (at volume), it’s called The Food Explorer Podcast Substack… so I am editing her fine work here but not co-authoring this. She’s right - that’s a different article and I should write it myself. Therefore, this post is a bit late - my bad. [Editor’s preamble ends. JMC]
A new grocery shopping experience for foodies has come to our neck of the woods and it’s called L’Oca Quality Market!
Now, you may be wondering, “Are you even excited about this? Should we be excited about this? What is it?” All great questions, wonderful readers. We’ll dive into these questions and more. But first “What is L'Oca?" should be our first question. To answer that, you can head to their website and find that they tag themselves like this:
Adventures in Food: L’OCA Quality Market is changing how people experience food. We Do Food Differently, and that starts with Quality, Scratch, Theatre, Service, and Love.
Hmmmmm, okay then. I like the enthusiasm and I am a sucker for a new food place. They have on their website the current specials, info about their restaurants and then this:
STORE AMENITIES
In-House Coffee Roaster. L’OCA coffee beans are selected at their origin, are fully traceable, and are purchased sustainably.
Floral Arrangements. Beautiful fresh flowers, ready-made arrangements, and customizable bouquets for any occasion.
Meeting Space/Events. Host your next meeting or event inside the L’OCA Labs Signature Kitchen Suite.
Butcher Custom Orders. Looking for a specific cut? Talk to one of our in-store butchers.
Housemade Gelato. Everyone’s invited to sample one of our 14 flavours of housemade gelato.
Custom Gift Baskets. Spoil someone special in your life with a selection of basket sizes and styles.
Plus, they also have a statement about:
L'OCA QUALITY PRODUCTS
We’ve searched the world to source the best ingredients for our line of L’OCA-labelled (sic) products, and with over 45,000 sq. ft of space, you can follow your nose, eat with your eyes, and fill your cart in every corner of the store.
Now, you may be thinking - okay okay I see this; I’m liking what I see; it’s a play on local and having from scratch made products - that sounds good! Then the next question would be - Who are the people behind this concept and bringing it to Alberta? No idea! There is nothing on their website that says anything like “About Us”. I personally love an About Us section because I want to know who is behind it all. From speaking with people, I had the idea that this would be like Whole Foods or Eataly which now has 40 stores worldwide. Check out their website and their About Us section and you’ll see what I mean. Seriously, I want to meet Oscar Farinetti after being on their website (their 9 point manifesto makes my heart happy! )
Walking into L’Oca I was immediately struck with 2 thoughts - there’s a lot of concrete and a lot of staff but I’m not seeing any experiences, theater, or love. Yes, the “flower shop” is at the entrance, it’s vibrant and pretty. There’s a coffee shop/gelato bar and bakery/chocolate shop right there too but there is a lot of concrete. Now, I only mention this because when I was drooling and gawking over all the social media posts I had a very different impression. I thought it would be like walking into a carefully curated specialty grocery store. If I’m honest, I was hoping it would be like Whole Foods which I know is so expensive, but damn - I miss that store. Sometimes I want to just go back to where I lived in Vegas just so I can walk through all the lovely spaces while taking in the neverending prepared food sections where you can literally get any kind of food you could imagine and eat something different every night of the week. After excitedly watching all the YEG influencers post all their videos and photos that is what I wanted but … that’s not what I got.
(Yes you are seeing this correctly, that is 50g for $57.99 - we’ll be discussing this in another post because I have a lot to say about why it’s this price but also, what regular person that isn’t a chocolate connoisseur is buying this?)
Don’t fret though! There are many aspects to L’Oca that shoppers will find appealing and we’ll get to those but first impressions were not great. My first visit was with Jason and then I actually went back without him so I could look at every single shelf, space, offering, and all that was there without him because my computer brain needed to do some computing.
Sidenote - Hi, I’m Colleen and there is nothing I hate more than Country music. Every kitchen I have worked in, whether I was in charge or not, if I was working you did not put that on or you’d get the stink eye from me. So it was with great annoyance that when I went back by myself there was a Country music playlist, and it was loud! I have no idea why the music was so loud. Did they want people to get fed up with the noise level and shop fast and leave? There are actually studies that show people will eat more when the music in a restaurant is loud and also studies that say people will eat and run just to get away from the racket. I thankfully never go anywhere without a pair of headphones and even though I had them snug in my ears and put a murder podcast on because I was suddenly feeling murderous, I could still hear the music. Le sigh.
On to what is at the store - there is a lot to be sure. Besides the aforementioned flower shop, coffee shop/gelato bar, and bakery/chocolate shop there is:
- butcher shop
-deli (with a selection of cheese, meats, olives, and really anything you could want to make your own charcuterie)
-grab and go section
- prepared food section
-fast casual restaurant
-full service restaurant
- regular pantry items
-freezer section
-produce
-dairy
-small bulk section with the food being packaged (so not one where you can choose your own amount but only prepackaged bulk items)
-small health section
-kitchen goods/gadgets and cookbooks.
For sure, there are a lot of spaces to shop from but what we found weird on our first visit and more so on my subsequent solo second visit was the sheer amount of staff on the floor and in the store but then a distinct lack of staff where they were actually needed which was the busy coffee/gelato bar and the bakery/chocolate shop.
I wanted to do a price comparison of the essentials a home may need from the grocery store plus a few extras randomly selected. To compare L’Oca to a place like Superstore would be unfair but to compare it to the Italian Centre Shop is a much more comparable comparison LOL!
Now, L’Oca is new but the Italian Centre Shop is not; it’s an Edmonton homegrown grocery store now turned multiple grocery store chain started by the Spinelli family and currently run by Teresa Spinelli. She’s done an incredible job of creating a welcoming community with all her stores and just recently was awarded the 2024 Canada’s Best Managed Company award! For me (someone who actually really doesn’t like grocery shopping - there are too many people) I do love going to the Italian Centre. You walk in and it’s cozy and it feels like today will be the day you discover something new. And, I typically always find something unique and interesting there. When I put together my charcuterie boards or I have a Tasting event, I go there and wander around looking at everything. The staff is knowledgeable and I never feel rushed at the deli counter even though there is always a line of people. No one is fussed about it, your turn will come and then you too can take your time carefully selecting your items and they will be cut to your specifications and the amount that you want.
Oh, and L’Oca is already planning on expanding - the rumour has it that they will take over the IGA in Crestwood (142 street/91 ave) and that they are looking at possibly 4 more locations. I would hope that they get their feet under them first with the Sherwood Park location before they do that. I understand the desire to get into all the places you want to be but as we saw a few years ago when my dream of a Whole Foods in Edmonton was almost realized, the market may not support stores if the perceived prices are too high. Yes, some people will spend a lot to be that person that spends a lot on groceries but more and more people are realizing that as incomes are not rising at the same time as the cost of goods is, not everyone will want to pay the higher prices. Of course time will tell what happens, personally I think L’Oca will need to do more community creation before people will flock to other locations.
Before this article becomes unwieldy, we should get back to the store comparison. I just wanted to start with price comparisons. To be fair to L’Oca though I have realized I would need to go a few more times and I should try something at their fast casual restaurant (no, I will not be getting the $200 steak at their full service restaurant). But just for a simple, everyday comparison, at the Italian Centre we often get their Italian sub to eat; Jason and I will share the hot (spicy) one. We like to bring it home and add to it - we start off with meat ends from their deli and then I, of course, put arugula on mine and typically Jason will put mustard all over his half. (Really we need to do an article all about Jason’s obsession with putting copious amounts of mustard on everything. Never have I ever met someone that consumes as much mustard as this man, it’s truly a sight to see!) For reference - the Italian sub at the Italian Centre is $10 and it’s big! A sandwich at L’Oca was priced at $18 but not having eaten one I can’t say if it was good or worth that price tag so we’ll come back to that once it’s been open longer.
Here’s what I gathered so far and as you can see there are a few items where L’Oca is cheaper and some where they are not. When I couldn’t find an exact brand match I found the closest thing and noted the different brands to make it fair. (I did these prices on May 29th, 2024 so as things are coming into season there may be changes at each store).
So, now the question to you dear readers is, have you gone to L’Oca yet? Will you go? And, if you shop at the Italian Centre shop what is your favourite must buy item? Mine is the chocolate walnut brownie (divine), the wild arugula, and the meat ends! Tell us all the things and as always, stay awesome!!
From one of our subscribers who sent us this message on Instagram:
“I found this store beautifully presented but very underwhelming when it came to what it offered. I’m not quite sure who they are trying to attract?
Everything is more expensive and not that unique. Veggie and fruit section is a no-go for me.
I did like their house made dressings and sauces. That is a cool feature. They spend a lot of money in packaging. Meat is well sourced but very expensive. I like the juice bar and the outdoor patio. I personally cannot eat at the pizza restaurant and I have heard that the restaurant is very expensive and not worth what you get. I didn’t have a good experience at their coffee shop…but that was 1 week after they opened. I know they are going through a trial period. I don’t know how they are paying for that all.
Total mixed feeling. I want it to succeed but they need to work on things.”
Thanks for reading and sending such a thoughtful message!
We hit L'Oca after a chiropractor appointment a couple weeks ago. Holy hell everything is 3x the price. A frickin fruit pie was $30! We left with a bag of overpriced chips and an equally overpriced bag of dark chocolate covered sponge toffee. Won't go back.