Review: Brocki Limmattal

Right across the street from the Esprit, Schild and Dosenbach outlet shops in Dietikon-Silbern is the "Brocki Limmattal" at Riedstrasse 8.

Otto's is the landmark directly across the street from the Brocki Limmattal

One could be forgiven to having been to Silbern and not having seen the brocki - it's on the 2te Etage (3rd floor to N. Americans) of a non-descript office tower across the street from Otto's.

Not the most welcoming of entrances, eh? (Right side). Perhaps there's a sign in the window, when it's not under wraps?

How did I know it was there? You may recall an earlier post on "Atelier 23" in Dietikon - a notice on the door said that it had moved to Riedstrasse 8, and I luckily stumbled across the nearer Lucky Store while wondering what to do with myself that day. It was awhile ago, but then I don't often get out to Dietikon.

Today, I wanted to see if the former Atelier 23 (now, presumably replaced at that same address by Brocki Limmattal of the Dock Gruppe) still existed.

That's the thing with Brocki's - they're occasionally hard to catch. Take the brocki in Dübendorf, for example; went all the way out there only to discover that while Emmaus was open (as stated on their website), the Dübendorf Brocki was closed for vacation for a month and a half. And no mention of such a lengthy closure anywhere on its website! Argh!

I didn't want the same thing to happen to me today, so I hedged my bets and figured the trip out to the industrial quarter of Dietikon would still be worthwhile so long as the Silbern COOP was selling the Bio Tortilla Chips that my local COOP has been out of for weeks (probably due to my twice-weekly consumption of nachos for dinner).

The Brocki was open. Success!

Overall, not a bad little brockenhaus. Bright, airy, full of interesting things (oh my goodness, the BOTTLES! Apothecary iodine-coloured, spice rack sized clear ones, glass-lidded "Bülach"-stamped green glass swing-top bottles... there were more of them, matching, than one person could ever find a use for!).

I bought a jean skirt for 4 Fr. They even had a change-room (it looks like a yellow Sultan's tent, near the entrance), and while I was tempted by the copper cauldrons and inscrutible forged-iron chains with various hooks, I managed to make it out with just the one purchase.

The summary, as I see it:

Pros:

• Clean, bright and airy, as the website boasts!
• Nicely arranged in a series of well-cared-for rooms (love the zwetschge coloured purple room - wouldn't have thought I'd like purple walls!)
• Prices are reasonable (jean skirt 4 Fr., weighty copper cauldron 30 Fr., plates on special for 1 Fr. each in any size, and whole dining sets for 10 Fr.)
• Nice knick-knacks; small things not under glass or inaccessible (I hate to say it, but they probably don't get many elderly people in there, so they probably also have less petty-theft issues!) 
• Has a change-room (though a paltry selection of clothing - I can't believe I found something in such a small rack! Apart from the jean skirt I just bought, there wasn't much else worth investigating)
• Friendly (enough) staff - the man was very nice, the older lady with the glasses drooping down her nose was a little.... gruff? But not mean. :)
• Social work charity! (Read about it here - for people who have been out of work for long periods of times; a subsidiary of der Sankt Galler Stiftung für Arbeit)

Cons:

• Middle of nowhere (unless you're at the outlet stores). 
• The 309 bus (Dietikon Bahnhof-Silbern) comes every 15 minutes, but it came 8 minutes earlier (or 7 minutes later?) than the posted timetable said. Not wholly reliable, was my sense.
• Hard to see (and then, hard to find - building currently wrapped in scaffolding, and entrance obscured)
• Safety issues...? A very sketchy man, who materialized out of thin air, followed me closely and suddenly into the lobby. It *seems* as if he changed his mind about cornering and assaulting me (I'm serious!) because rather than being a lonely lobby (which from the outside it appears to be), there are open offices operating on the ground floor (and other floors, too). Haven't had that sort of interaction yet in Switzerland, but it was unmistakably a mugging or a sexual assault foiled (sadly, I have prior experience...). Startled by the presence of others, buddy was forced to change his plan, and did a rather unconvincing show of... well, it was more of a rebellious dance and weird jerking (meth-induced?) walk back out of the front door, confirming in my mind that whatever plans he had were suddenly written off. (Can I just say to him, "F*** you, a**hole, for perpetuating negative stereotypes against your ethnic minority group!"? It bothers me that he was a man of colour. Way to make life harder for everyone else in your ethnic group, jerk!). Admittedly, nothing happened (and nothing I could report to the Police, sadly), because there were many other businesses and customers around. So maybe safety-wise, it's not so bad. But it is a slightly dodgy part of town, Dietikon already being noticeably more dodge than downtown Zürich to begin with.
• Small selection - nicely laid out, but you can see it all in a short time (not worth the time spent on the trip out there, really).
• I have a feeling Atelier 23 couldn't afford the rent, and I wonder if Brocki Limmattal will be able to sell enough to offset it, too. There was another customer in there at the same time (and she was a weird one - came over to push through the clothing rack while I was looking through it. Aggressive, and odd - when I came in, she was already searching through that rack! You can see her in the photos - looked 'normal', but wasn't). She bought something (clothing), but I would guess that between the two of us, the shop gained less than 10 Fr. There was no one else there when I left. (Synopsis: this is one of those brocki's that has a good chance of being here today, gone tomorrow. Be forewarned!).

Tips:

• Kids' things. BABY WORLD is in the same commercial area - if you're looking for little-people things, the Brocki Limmattal has an entire room dedicated to such. It's very nicely arranged. And you can take an elevator up to the Brocki, if you have a stroller (not sure about the front steps at the entrance to the building, however!)
• Watch your back as you enter the lobby, and perhaps opt for the stairs rather than the lifts (elevators) - I doubt that same guy will be lurking around there, but just in case... don't get into an elevator with him!!!
• If you collect vintage glass jars, you may be interested in trekking out this way! What a selection! I wonder how they got so many?!

Overall, not a Brocki I would go out of my way to, unless you were already visiting the outlet shops (they get an overall rating of 'meh' from me - bought nothing, despite combing every square inch of the Esprit shop!). 

I wish the Brocki Limmattal good business, but somehow I think they'll struggle to pay the rent, even in what has to be a pretty low-rent area to begin with.

Another review coming up! Fresh off the . . . brain?

TiZ