About this location
A few stories people tell about this place
1. One morning, as customers were stocking up on groceries, an announcement came over Jewel-Osco's loud speaker: ‘Attention shoppers! The store's mascot, Mr. Osco, has gone missing. Please return him to customer service immediately.’ Soon enough, a delivery driver named Joe walked into customer service with a small dog under his arm. 'Found this little guy wandering around,' he said sheepishly. The manager looked at the tiny pooch and exclaimed, 'Why that's not Mr. Osco!' It turned out that Joe had mistaken the friendly mutt for a stray and brought it in. Everyone laughed, and Mr. Osco was reunited with his adoring fans.
2. One day in Jewel-Osco’s produce section, a regular asked aloud, ‘Why does that banana keep winking at me?’ A nearby delivery driver overheard and laughed, replying, ‘That’s not a wink—it’s just those bananas smiling their little banana smiles!’ The regular nodded with a smile, realizing he’d been talking to himself again. From then on, whenever anyone saw someone chatting to the fruit, they’d whisper, “Ah, it must be another visit to Jewel-Osco’s Banana Chat Club.”
3. At midnight, when only the night janitor remained, a strange humming sound echoed through Jewel-Osco’s empty aisles. Curious, the janitor followed the sound and found an old refrigerator door ajar. Inside was a delivery driver fast asleep, snoring like a chainsaw. ‘Must’ve dozed off,’ he muttered, waking up the startled man with a friendly slap on the back. The next morning, everyone in town joked that Jewel-Osco had hired its very own overnight DJ.’
4. While unloading boxes of canned goods, a delivery driver noticed something peculiar: every fifth can seemed to be singing 'Happy Birthday' softly. Curious, he opened one can and peeked inside—it was filled with sparkling water. Turns out, the factory had accidentally labeled some cans as birthday wishes. Word spread quickly around town, and soon everyone stopped by Jewel-Osco for their ‘singing’ drinks. A regular even started calling them ‘Happy Cans,’ making it a friendly nickname that stuck.