Joe's Food & Liquors

Staff is always very friendly and helpful. Great neighborhood shop.

This place has a decent selection when it comes to groceries but the store itself has a tremendous variety of products. Candles, pots and many imports from plenty of countries from South America. The place is run by a highly noble and friendly guy along with his wife. The employees are extremely friendly and have such a contagious vibe as well. It has a pretty decent selection of beer and liquor and the prices are reasonable. My go to spot whenever I need a cold one a quick snack or imported products from South America. P.S. They also have a restaurant next door and the food is superb. The empanadas and chicarron are so flavorful and delicious with the semi-spicy green sauce. Hands down my favorite store in the Albany Park area.

Best Columbian empanadas for the last 20 years, excellent food

Really cool selection of pops I haven't seen anywhere else. Good empanadas and the people that work there are very friendly. Great place to stop if you are out for a walk in the neighborhood.

It's a great corner store

Good place to buy anything u want liquors and food ...

Visited during the Flavors of Albany Park tour. Wow! This is what I call a hidden gem. The store is packed full of hard to find Colombian specialties. The empanadas are bursting with flavor.

Love this store. Subtracted one star because current coffee selection is poor. No Colcafe, one container only of Juan Valdez, waaay over priced. Larger selection of mexican coffee than Colombiano. Really??

I was introduced to this store a few years ago and I thought it was amazingly awesome. However my last 2 visits have made me make the decision not to return. The owner was always very pleasant but my last visit he was anything but that. He was very condescending. The back story: I always buy coffee there. I could buy this brand on Amazon but I liked the shop and the owner. About 2 months ago his cashier cheated me. She charged my $11.99 for the coffee that had a tag of $9.99. But I left the store. I have mobility issues so I didn't return to the store because I was in too much pain. I did however take pictures and thought when I return I'll let him know. (If I do it right the pictures will be included in this review). November 12th of this year I returned to the store and went to the back where the coffee is and picked up my coffee. Now the coffee cost is $9.99 just like 2 months ago. The cashier rings it up for that cost. Afterwards I requested the owner who was right by the hot food. I'm so sure he heard me calling but didn't answer. Also, this visit he was not pleasant throughout my entire visit, seemingly bothered by my cordial conversation. Anyways, when I explain the error in charges for the coffee he blew me off. Stating prices go up and down. I've bought this coffee from him for over 5 years and that's not happened before. Yes he can raise his price as he wishes but the bag price was $9.99. Btw, it's gone up once in this 5 years from $8.99 to $9.99. This is about being heard and not the money. He just blew me off with a terrible excuse. He could have been a bit more pleasant. I drive from the far south side of Chicago to get to his store. As I said earlier I can get this coffee from Amazon but I like doing business with the local stores but not at the cost of my respect. I'm sure he doesn't care anyway. To be clear I won't be returning for the café or any of his products.

Tasty and inexpensive Colombian empanadas. I definitely recommend this place and will be back!

Amazing! This dish is perfect for a family or large gathering. The large one can feed soooo many people.

Amazing little market if you want get Colombian food Specially candies and traditional ingredients for Colombian dishes Staff very kind and friendly Everything clean and organized Nice Thanks for give Colombian flavors

Columbian friends of mine told me about Joe's. Had been looking for "SuperCoco" candies and "bola roja" red beans all over Chicago. Joe's did have what I was looking for. Although I didn't realize it at the time, Joe's Food & Liquor inflates their prices significantly. Later last week, I found the same package of Super Coco candies for $2.99 at La Unica on Devon. Joe's charged $3.99. The Goya brand Bola Roja beans were 85 cents higher for the same 16oz package. I enjoy supporting smaller local businesses, but not to the point of being ripped off! This is not a place to shop for perishable items. Numerous produce items were past their prime/wilted. Butcher/meat counter had dried out pieces of sausage and cuts of meat that were discolored in spots. Minimum expenditure to use a credit card is $15. Bottom line. If you're looking for Columbian products on the north side, check out La Unica or Cermak. Higher quality, fresher meat & produce, and fairly priced.

This is a combination grocery and restaurant on the ethnically diverse Lawrence Avenue. I saw a sign in the window touting the jibarito and went in to order one to go. Unfortunately when I took it home, I found a steak burrito instead. The burrito was not bad, and it certainly was filling, but I had my heart set on the jibarito (sort of like a plantain sandwich). Perhaps my rating will go up when I continue my quest for the elusive jibarito.

This store has everything Colombian...except Pablo Escobar, cocaine, the guerrillas, and the FARC! My man is Colombian and he just came stateside a few months ago. This store/restaurant is a Godsend for those of us who have a l'il South American import this side of the equator! Del putas! Bacanisimo! Ricisimo! Seriously, despite what some non-Latino's think, they are not all Mexican! While there are plenty of Hispanic grocers in Chitown, I believe this is the only one that caters to Colombians, offering chocolatina Jet, arequipe, aprepas, lulo juice and even guaro! The only slightly negative thing is that the papaya that I so desperately search out during the winter months is usually sold out when I get there. Have no fear bc just down the road is a store called Fiesta Market where you can get some damn good papaya and mega avocados like the ones I get on the roadside in Colombia. And, for those of you expat Colombians who who are jonzing for some comida tipico, the grocery store has a restaurant attached. Once you try Colombian, you won't go back. En serio.

I gave this place a 3 because of how rude the owner is. The lechon is really good, but one time we ordered it and got really sick. I mean horribly sick to where we couldn't move. That happened once and I have had the lechon many time. The lechon is really good and that is the only reason I gave a 3. The owner is a complete jerk! I ordered a lechon but they would not honor the price advertised on their site. The owner told me it was wrong, but that is not my fault! Take it off your site if it's wrong. I told him he shouldnt advertise it and he then accused me of calling him a fraud! He had absolutely no customer service skills! I would've cancelled my order, but it was too close to the day of my daughters party. The lechon was good after all, but the manager was a jerk and clearly has a a huge ego with the way he talked to me. I won't be ordering from here again just because of how ignorant he was.

This place is somewhat ok when your in need of expired groceries. Just come here to buy chips or a Gatorade but that's it. I bought some cheese once and it was hard on top and ok at the bottom. Bought some other food items that look like rats chewed on the packaging. I mostly do shopping at tonys on Elston and Hamlin.

Friendly staff and fresh empanadas. What more can you ask for? Conveniently located in the heart of Albany Park. No ice cream.tho

We had a good experience trying to find Colombian things we can't find elsewhere. There are a lot of small kitchy items that are fun for my friends and my brothers but most importantly foods for me and the hubs!

I loved the homemade Colombian sausages from the meat department. Put them on the grill and are fantastic. VA typical Latin American grocery store with lots of items

I love this store. It seems random to me to get a delicious hot empanada and coconut sweet treat at a convienience store, but this place makes it normal. They also sell this crazy funky sparkling apple juice that rules.

Not enough variety.lacking some key liquors that you would normally see in most liquor stores.has some decent beers but most are average.

The grocery store is ok. If you are Colombian, you'll be happy to see things that you don't see in a typical grocery store (chorizos, arepas, chocolatinas jet, etc...) Now, DO NOT EAT IN THE RESTAURANT NEXT DOOR. What a horrible experience! I ordered a "bandeja paisa" (oh sorry, they call it "Plato paisa") and I got sick afterwards. Big mistake. The chorizo tasted like rubber, the steak (I think it was steak) was inedible, the platanos maduros tasted spoiled... I'm getting sick again so I won't continue. Oops, got to go to the bathroom....

My girlfriend is Colombian and this place has everything she wants from back home... Harina PAN, Pony Malta, Anise, Sello Rojo, etc...

My wife is from Colombia. I'm from the South Side. We love Joe's for the things we need to cook an authentic Colombian meal.

i love joes to get some good ass empanadas. they r beef and potato and the bomb. the arepas r ok because the arepa is frozen they dont do the masa there. my dad tried the bandeja paisa and he said it was alrite. if u r broke want good food and not mcds. get ur self two empanadas a side order of white rice and a pop. all for like 5 buks. seriously. the empanadas r the bomb. the best in chicago and guess how much they cost a dollar.the milkshakes r one of the best they give u awhole effin pitcher for only 2.50. try the strawberry bananna milkshake. the salsa is also the best salsa i have ever tasted it is such a different taste i dont think it is aji or chimichurri either it definately isnt mexican me being half and all. they give u good tortilla chips. q viva colombia hue' puta. the people theyre the young waitress w black hair is real slow. but they bring ur food fast enuf. the older lady that is darker w wavy short dark hair she is the cook and i feel like i am in her kitchen the owner is always there too. he looks arabeh to me lol they accept credit cards with 15 dollars or more they r usually closed by 800 or 830