Pinch Spice Market

Toast crack is the work of gods.
I love Pinch and was sad to see their store close but I’m glad I can still buy their spices online. «Shoebocks» is hilarious and super knowledgable. He’s got a real passion for his business and it’s fun to talk with someone who’s such an expert and always engaging.

Two words: THE BEST. We have an entire spice cabinet full of their goods, and we’ve even had some custom blends made, and all have been AMAZING.

This place is great. I came here looking for Indian spice blends, high quality organic whole spices, and some gifts for my culinarily-​inclined friends. The quality was fantastic, prices were reasonable, and there were some exciting and unexpected spices on the shelves. On top of that, the guys who work there are super helpful and great to talk to about spices. My only suggestion is that they stock some coffee beans or something to cleanse the shnoz. I got overloaded with smells after taking a whiff of practically everything in the store.

I could (and have) spend well over an hour in this store talking with the owners and discovering new spices and blends. The customer service is phenomenal and the price you pay (reasonable!) is a bonus. I discovered they closed their physical location at the beginning of the year but have already placed an order online. They are also at the Logan Square Farmer’s Market which I am very happy about! If you love cooking and trying new flavors and dishes… please pease give Pinch spices a try! Special plug for the Jamaican Jerk. Amazing on chicken wings!

This market has been a life saver on so many occasions. I once was looking for All Spice in peak «Pumpkin Pie Season» and oh boy was every place charging an arm and a leg, I ONLY needed a ¼ tsp. I called on a whim to this place and was told «we sell it by the ounce for $ 2.85» mind you McCormick sells it to you for $ 7 for half of an ounce… just saying. Sold!
Was just in here today looking for «Saffron» aka $ 15.99 for a few strands at every store I went to. I was afraid, but I called here anyways and to my surprise «we sell it for $ 8/​gram» All day. I was all over it! We also scored ORGANIC Non-​Mexican Vanilla Pods for $ 4, considering the Non-​Organic Mexican ones are $ 3 – 5 per pod at most stores, I’ll take it. It just sounds fancier.
In the end, Pinch has REALLY saved me money and also has provided me with high quality spices for some of my most important get togethers. Since I know everyone is DYING to know (right?) my complicated Italian dessert that absolutely required the pod came out outstanding. I’m going to credit Pinch for that.
Even more importantly, the people in here are so nice. They are so willing to tell you all about that powder in the jar that smells good that you don’t want to stop touching and they will tell you what it tastes it and how to use it in your cooking. They rock. Go there now, if you need to you’re allowed to stop in a bookstore and figure out a recipe to try.

This spice market is terrific! Their spices taste and smell so pure. And organic. I felt extremely welcome. They gave me a quick suggestion on a dish. I made it tonight and WOW! I could hang out for hours with these guys. They’re very knowledgeable and passionate about what they do. Definitely worth the stop!

I love this place and I love these guys. They know & love spices and are more than willing to impart that knowledge and share the love. I never feel like I’m being oversold or taken for a ride. And the variety is great — went today for cinnamon sticks and discovered they have not one but two kinds. This is «slow retail» — you have to wait as they weigh and measure the spices — and it makes it all the more fun. Like it’s fun to wait while someone makes you an ice-​cream sundae. All in all happy to have Pinch a 2.5-minute walk from the house. Sure makes cooking easier.

My husband LOVES spices. so this store is like a dream come true. As soon as we came in we felt very welcomed. The store smells delicious, it’s very clean and organized. You can buy as little or as much as you need of a great variety of spices for a VERY reasonable price.
Someone was there to help us and answer any questions we had. Nice and helpful staff… we work down the street so now that we have discovered it, we’ll be back all the time!
THANK YOU Pinch!

FREE SMELLS, SO SPICE UP!
Have you ever been to a grocery store and you wished you knew what «allspice» smelled like. You hold the jar up to your nose and take a deep breath in. Only to realize you have no super sniff sense to penetrate two seals and a container.
That problem does not exist here. Every spice on the shelf also has a sample jar which you can open and sniff. Yes! I love this! Except after about 20 hits of spice, I’m on smell overload. So chose wisely.
While checking out the store, I met Mike, who I believe is the owner. He was really nice and helpful when it came to spices. I also loved that they had organic and free trade spices too. The store is very minimal which gives it a comfy feel. You can walk around relaxed and just enjoy the many different spices available.
I really enjoyed my visit here and it gave me a bunch of ideas for some upcoming meals I plan on creating. I can hardly wait to come back and Spice Up my life! Oh wait wasn’t that a Spice Girls song? I knew I should have laid off the Yellow Mustard Seed Powder!

Friendly and knowledgable staff! It’s in an accessible area for me as we’ll and saves a trip to the Spice House. While the selection is not as large as Spice House, they do have a variety of spices. They are also starting to make spice blends, but you can only purchase jars and not in ounce bags.

If you think you have good spices, you don’t go here and your food will just pop! We went there when they had an event with live music and microbrew beer during Halloween. It was freakin fun! We got some saffron and nutmeg — TOP NOTCH spices well worth the price. Go check em out!

This place is the Apple store for spices. They have a good selection of spices, the ones you would expect as well as proprietary blends, all private-​labeled and sitting next to a glass sample container for you to smell and see the spices.. When my friend and I came in on a Saturday we were the only ones there, and two very friendly and helpful employees were ready and able to answer all of our questions about the spices and how they could be used with different dishes and types of cuisines.
There is a very good selection of canned and bulk spices, and they are laid out with lots of space in between for a very uncluttered store appearance. I am not a sophisticated spice buyer so I can’t speak to the prices charged but my friend (who is more in the know) said that they are on the high side of moderate — definitely more than the off-​brands that you get at the grocery store, but probably comparable in price to McCormick or other name brands.

I came here one evening to pick up some saffron. Turned out to not be the cheapest saffron I’ve ever bought (~$ 8/​half gram), but it was very flavorful, and the staff at the store were incredibly helpful. When I arrived, I was the only one there, so I had all of their attention (take that, peers! I have all the attention! Me! ME!). They would answer all of my questions in depth as I walked around and browsed everything else they had.
As other customers came in, the staff would divert their attention towards the newcomers, but I never felt ignored because they were always around and available when I needed them. I ended up buying a bottle of aleppo pepper (it smells like a mix of paprika and cayenne. Awesome.) and dried rose petals. There was a nice array of salts that I had to pass up only because I was on a budget, but I want to go back for them some day. Some day…

more spices than i know what to do with!

Well, I’ve now done it. I have officially found my new vice and it’s in my neighborhood.
Looks are deceiving and one would expect Pinch Spice Market not to have all too much based on the more sparse furniture and fixtures. Well, you’d be wrong as they have loads of spice jars for you to choose from. The spices are also very diverse with some of their own blends (both of the savory blends smelled great). It’s also nice as they have smelling jars sitting next to the spice so you can have an idea as to what you can do with it.
The best thing is that the jars are ridiculously well priced. I was able to grab 4 jars and pay a shade under $ 19 with tax included. There were a lot of jars for $ 4 and less.
Needless to say, Pinch will soon become very familiar to me. I was doing my best to hold back, but it just means that I will be in again very soon.

Exceptional service. Very clean, tidy, and well organized store. Prices are reasonable. Will now be my sole source for spices.

Love this place! what a find! I have travelled through spice markets from Andalucia to Sri Lanka and Pinch in Bucktown gives a lot more wholesome organic satisfaction than any place in town.

Excellent spices that reasonably priced. The owners are very knowledge and welcoming.
So excited to have them in the neighborhood.

Gorgeous space, unique and reasonably priced spices, and WONDERFUL service. Those guys are so nice and knowledgeable. They are environmentally conscious, too! The spices are organic. And those lovely shelves that hold the spices? Made from trees that fell during storms in Chicago.

Pinch Spice Market is certainly located in Bucktown, just inside of my comfort zone :) This shop is a beautifully realized vision of two local entrepreneurs and their love of cooking and eating.
These guys are happy just to talk spices or recipes with you as they are to open up jars and let you examine the fresh scent of their organic spices.
i never gave much thought to where my spices and herbs were sourced, but as I try to hone my cooking, they are invaluable for making things taste better, giving them more health benefits, and requiring less use of fattier flavorings like butter, milk, and oil or cream-​based sauces.
Fresh spices are much vastly superior to old stale spices, and these guys specialize in organic.
Their prices are totally reasonable, particularly for their saffron, which is incredibly vibrant, flavorful, and cheaper than anywhere else in the city you’re likely to find it.
They’re just getting started, so I look forward to stopping back in and checking on the new stuff they seem to have coming in all the time.
They’ll get their 5-​star review from me after they realize more of their potential, I think this is their first month open!