Anybody from California might be familiar with Trader Joe's. It's a grocery store that sells nothing but non-GMO, no preservative, no chemical food (health food). Most health food stores sell their goods at prices well above the cost of "normal" food, but not Trader Joes. We just got one outside of Houston and a friend of mine kept telling me to go there. He made it sound like they had everything under the sun. Well, I finally took the time to drive out there (1hr) and when I got there I was almost pissed off. I was expecting something the size of Walmart, but it was nestled in a little shopping strip. My opinion was slowly reversed as I toured the store. First thing I noticed was that half of the ~30 people in the store were employees. I kept wondering "whay does a store half the size of Walgreens need more employees than Walmart?" Then I realized why. They really do have just as much food as any other mega-grocery, but they pack it all into this small space. They need a team of stockers to make sure there's always some of everything on the shelves. Where Walmart pays to build and climate control a 5 acre store full of 20ft shelves packed with the exact same item and one guy to stock it all in the middle of the night, Trader Joe's pays a fraction of the price for real estate and employs 10X as many people to keep the place stocked. They do more with less. They do it with less SPACE, as opposed to everybody else, who thinks efficiency is only achieved by less PEOPLE. And some how, despite their "inefficient" business technique, they are able to sell their healthy goods for the price of the food in Walmart, despite paying all these people.

and the food is really good. I'm eating a TV dinner right now, on par with home cooking (it is home cooking, frozen) and it was only 3$.

 

I had a friend tell me about Trader Joe's. He was lamenting the fact it was sold to a large corporation, and they were changing everything. I have no way to judge myself, but it is interesting hearing you talk about it and his description of it.

 

well change isn't comfortable, usually. This one just opened up, so I assume I'm experiencing the post-sellout version. This is good, since I never experience it in pre-sellout, I'm not missing anything.

 

There slowley making their way to Central FL. They have a few in N Florida already. Were all excited waiting for them to open. What I've noticed is they win a lot of "Best of" competitions. If I remember they won the best canned tuna, a soup, and a couple other thinks. Till then we have Fresh Market which is pretty dang good. Love thier clam chowder.

 

I lived in the Los Angeles area from 1980 to the mid 90's. I used to shop at Trader Joes quite frequently, and yes, they did have a wonderful assortment of things. Their frozen New York Cheesecake was killer. They had a fantastic selection of wine; much of it surprisingly inexpensive. The ready-to-eat food was better than almost anywhere else, except for expensive delicatessens.

Thanks for reminding me about them; it's been about 18 years since I've been in one. Just found they have TJ's in both Kansas City and St. Louis, and I happen to be going St. Louis tomorrow...

 

I like several things I can only get at Trader Joes, good quality and good prices. However, it is about a 20 minute drive each way for me, and I probably pass (literally) 20 other food stores on the trip.

Lately I'm eating very simply, some meat and a salad for dinner. I get all the fixings fresh at (believe it or not) Target. Their food is exceptionally inexpensive (comparing same items from other stores) plus with my REDcard I get an additional 5% off everything.

 

Thanks for reminding me about them; it's been about 18 years since I've been in one. Just found they have TJ's in both Kansas City and St. Louis, and I happen to be going St. Louis tomorrow...

So, what did you bring home?

 

I think there is a Trader Joe's somewhere here in Vermont/New Hampshire--it sounds familiar. There's also a Trader Fred's, which sells guns

 

There's about sixteen Trader Joe's in Massachusetts...

 

All this talk about the place got me looking. Apparently there is, or will be, one here in Omaha. I may have to go check them out just to see what all the fuss is about.

 

I'm in the LA area and we've got one TJ's within about 5 minutes of our house and I've got two near my office -- one within walking distance and the other perhaps a 5 minute drive. They're ALWAYS packed here in the LA area -- every one I've been to.. Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Torrance,etc.. Try their Apple Walnut Raisin bars (aka Force Primeval Bars) toasted with either butter, jam or cream cheese..Yum!!

 

I had a friend tell me about Trader Joe's. He was lamenting the fact it was sold to a large corporation, and they were changing everything. I have no way to judge myself, but it is interesting hearing you talk about it and his description of it.

Judge away, Bill! Plano, TX opens Sept 7. Lower Greenville in 1Q13.

Sorry to hear that they were sold out. Hopefully, a good thing will get even better but who knows? Black bean soup in the bric-pak is a favorite and who could complain about 2-buck Chuck? (Charles Shaw - $1.99 wine).

TJs is always on the list when we visit the fam in Calif. Lots of unique stuff there.

 

Well, I had a trip to Nashville planned today, so I have added TJ's to the itinerary. I'll then be able to post my opinion. (I know you all are waiting with bated breath. )

 

I went. It's a grocery store. Not a semiconductor in the joint.

 

I do some work at one of the local house for TJ's distribution. They were bought by a company called World Class Distribution, (WCD) for those who go around Middleboro, Mass. The title still stay with TJs I believe but the distrubution is handled by WCD.

 

Bummer! They seem to be a decent joint..

 

So, what did you bring home?

A BUNCH of stuff! Holy cow.... they had some baby Jarlsberg Swiss cheese that was about 2/3 the usual price of Jarlsberg. Scored a NY Cheesecake - yay!! They had some wines for $2.99/bottle (hard to beat that price) - got some frozen Atlantic salmon patties that were really good baked, a big jug of Vermont maple syrup, interesting crackers, some Phad Thai (yum!) and a bunch of other stuff. Could've spent another few hours in there going over everything in the store, but had a long way to go to get back home.

The store was larger than I remember the California stores being, not quite as much wine selection, and set up as aisles instead of the hodge-podge the Cali stores had. The Cali stores were more fun because of the way they were set up, but I was still plenty happy with just finding a TJ's.

 

A BUNCH of stuff!

As you may have noted, I went to one in Nashville last Wednesday; it was my first time inside a Trader Joe's. In all seriousness, it was an interesting grocery store, but I suppose that my food interests are not very sophisticated. I (my wife, actually) bought a bag of sesame sticks. And in Tennessee, grocery stores are not allowed to sell wine.

 

A BUNCH of stuff! Holy cow.... they had some baby Jarlsberg Swiss cheese that was about 2/3 the usual price of Jarlsberg. Scored a NY Cheesecake - yay!! They had some wines for $2.99/bottle (hard to beat that price) - got some frozen Atlantic salmon patties that were really good baked, a big jug of Vermont maple syrup, interesting crackers, some Phad Thai (yum!) and a bunch of other stuff. Could've spent another few hours in there going over everything in the store, but had a long way to go to get back home.

You're making me hungry, Sgt.

Vermont maple syrup, huh? Chances are a friend of mine helped make that stuff--he's a 5th or 6th generation sugarhouse owner and has a huge role in the Maple syrup industry up here

 

The store was larger than I remember the California stores being, not quite as much wine selection, and set up as aisles instead of the hodge-podge the Cali stores had. The Cali stores were more fun because of the way they were set up, but I was still plenty happy with just finding a TJ's.

The local store by my house is setup with the street signs at each register named after local streets in our small city.. Each store is decorated a bit different.. I forget what the ones in Oregon are like -- I've been in one near Portland (or was it Salem?) and this past Friday I drove past one in Corvallis, OR -- but didn't go in.. while visiting my mother ~1k miles from home..