We recently found out that Lucia—one of the Customer Comments’ biggest fans—is especially fond of Nicholas OConnor’s responses to Deli and Bakery questions. To celebrate her birthday, Lucia enjoyed a behind-the-scenes tour of our Production Kitchen with “Nicky OC,” as she fondly calls him. Enjoy this Nicky OC Customer Comments takeover!
Sweet & Hot Chicken
I always enjoy the sweet and hot chicken. The last two times I have had it for lunch it has been extra “hot.” Is that the new way it’s being made?
Oh I love this dish; I was just talking to one of our Kitchen Managers about how awesome this recipe is! That said, we don’t want it swinging between too HOT and not hot enough. We will check in with the cooks this week and remind them to measure out the chili flakes! -Nicholas OConnor, Prepared Foods & Cheese Category Manager
Veggie Corndogs & Staff Picks
I love the mini veggie corndogs on the hot bar. I would love to see them more than once a week. I also want to thank you for bringing staff picks back. I love the new format and how you emphasized them around the store. Thanks again. PS I also love the empanadas you sell at your store. they are the perfect after school snack!
Thanks for writing in to let us know what you like! I am passing along the feedback about the veggie corndogs to our East Prepared Foods Manager to see if he can find a way to get them out there a couple more times a week! -Nicholas OConnor, Prepared Foods & Cheese Category Manager
From our Communications Director, Brendon: We’re happy to be able to bring them back as well! Our staff members have tried more products than many of our customers, so we appreciate when they make recommendations.
Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
Vegan PB cookie dozen (made without gluten) has barley flour in it which has gluten. Please make these but without the barley. I was so excited to see them come back and without chocolate chips.
I received your comment about the peanut butter cookies. I’m sorry about the confusion, it’s definitely not being used in this recipe. It looks like a line from a different ingredient list got entered into the ingredients of the PB cookies. I have now removed that from the ingredient listing and this will get updated shortly. To help ease any concerns, I’ll add a little more information, we don’t currently use barley flour at the kitchen. The only recipe it’s in is our Gingersnap cookie we make, which is not on the menu, and has not been on the menu for years. This is not to be confused with the Vegan Ginger Molasses Cookie we do currently sell. I’m not exactly sure how it got in there, but I’m sorry for giving you any concern about it! -Nicholas OConnor, Prepared Foods & Cheese Category Manager
Pies
Hello! I was just wondering if you are still doing the cherry and pecan pies or if they are done for the season? My husband is obsessed and was buying at least one pie a week so I was hoping to find out if he should change is expectations since we haven’t seen them in a couple weeks haha! Thank you!
So happy to hear this! We stopped making them for a couple weeks because historically we’ve seen the sales drop off during this time. That said, I just approved our poster for holiday pies yesterday. You will see the pies return next week, specifically Cherry (6in and 9in) will be in on Tuesday, and the Pecan (6in and 9in) will be in on Wednesday. Our last delivery to the stores (from our kitchen) will be Wednesday the 24th. After that pecan will likely be off the menu until October 2026, but Cherry pies will remain on the menu throughout the year! -Nicholas OConnor, Prepared Foods & Cheese Category Manager
Chicken & Wild Rice Soup
I got the hot deli soup yesterday. The chicken & wild rice one. On Friday December 12th I got the chicken & wild rice soup for lunch. WHOEVER(S) MADE IT NEEDS A RAISE. I work outside, and that soup did a better job than my coat at keeping the cold out. even my soul was warm. The chicken & wild rice soup that I got for lunch yesterday, December 12th, carried me on wings of lightly chewy rice to an eden of rich, hearty flavor. Then I said “unfortunately I’ve gotta get back to work” and it carried me right back. I wish I could be in souptopia the way I was yesterday, December 12th, at lunchtime. My deepest thank yous to the deli kitchen. When, oh when, can I have the chicken & wild rice soup for lunch again.
We love love love hearing this kind of feedback! I am forwarding this onto our Kitchen Managers. Good news is, this has long been one of our best selling soups, so we keep it on as a “core menu item” year round! -Nicholas OConnor, Prepared Foods & Cheese Category Manager
Nashville Hot Sandwich
Thank you for making the Nashville Hot sandwich actually spicy! It was just enough to make the bridge of my nose sweat.
Thank you so much for writing this! I’m really glad to hear it’s being appreciated. My first crack at this sandwich I made the sauce part too complicated and it was prone to coming out not hot enough, and we struggled with consistency across the stores. But we really wanted to be able to offer this because it’s a really fun sandwich! -Nicholas OConnor, Prepared Foods & Cheese Category Manager
Zucchini Bread
Hello, I’m wondering if you changed the recipe of your zucchini bread? A couple weeks ago I actually requested a refund for a slice I purchased. Although it was only 2 days past packaging (well before expiration) it was dry and had a stale texture. I figured someone left out or measured an ingredient wrong, or left slices siting in the open for a day before wrapping. Since I thought it was a one-off situation, I went ahead and bought a whole loaf for a family gathering. But again, it’s dried out. It used to be as good as anything I made at home and we frequently bought it as a treat. If this is a new recipe though, I’ll go back to making it at home because what I bought from the co-op is just a waste of calories (treats should taste like treats-not 2 week old bakery). Please tell me this is an aberration?
This is DEFINITELY an aberration! I am forwarding this to our Kitchen Managers right now so they can dig into this. We have not changed the recipe recently though so something must be happening with our process. I will get back to you once I have an idea of what’s going on. -Nicholas OConnor, Prepared Foods & Cheese Category Manager
Lasagna
“Meat lasagna good today”
Thanks for sharing your positive feedback! I’ll send your compliments to the chef! -Nicholas OConnor, Prepared Foods & Cheese Category Manager
Cookie Sale
Thirty years without a cookie sale is a feat of endurance that would make a marathon runner weep, suggesting the Willy Street Co-op (the Coop) views its snickerdoodles less as snacks and more as high-yield financial assets. In a world where entire empires have risen and fallen, and the “Guerilla Cookie” recipe has actually been taken to the grave, the Coop’s house-made cookies remain the only constant, perched on their shelves with the stoic, unmoving dignity of a local monument. To finally witness a “Milk and Cookie” bundle would be such a glitch in the Madison matrix that parents might drop their kale in shock, suspecting that some artisanal “black magic” has finally overridden the store’s legendary price-tag stubbornness. If that day ever comes, the resulting celebration at Olbrich Park would likely be visible from space, marking the moment the Coop finally decided that cookies deserves a day in the discount sun.
I am the Chief Cookie Officer at Willy Street Co-op, and I received your obiter dictum on my cookie hedge fund. I am digging your comment vibe! Thanks for reaching out to us and asking. Speaking of the famous Guerrilla Cookie, which was originally used as the mortar for Willy East, while the recipe was once lost to time, a powerful necromancer has come to our sanctum of hippiedom. These cookies can once again be purchased as a three pack. After pouring over the books, my records show that cookie sales have indeed occurred with some (albeit intermittent) regularity over the annals of time, with the latest taking place the second week of October 2025. I had almost all of the Willy Street Co-op made non-gluten free cookies on sale at that time. I believe one of two things potentially occurred: 1. You were away on vacation, perhaps on a pilgrimage to another cookie merchant. 2. These are not the cookies you’re looking for (Madison Sourdough cookies were not included). We’ll rally the fellowship of the cookie and prepare for the walk to Olbrich because this corporate sellout has had a change of heart, I’m finally trading out my blazer for a hoodie. Look out for a cookie sale in the next couple months, I will perhaps call it the cacophony of the cookies…WIP -Nicholas OConnor, Prepared Foods & Cheese Category Manager
