I've now been inside a Trader Joe's and....I don't get it.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

Last edited Tue Oct 28, 2014, 10:32 AM - Edit history (1)

Sorry, I don't understand what's with all the hype about the place.

The place was barely larger than a 7-11. The food selection was rather limited.

Granted, the prices seemed okay and they do have some decent frozen food items, but people pined and pined for these down here for years and for the life of me I honestly don't know what the big idea is.

To go there on a regular basis, I'd have to pass at least 3 Publix stores before I get there, and for the life of me I don't see what Trader Joe's will give me that I can't get from a Publix with a much larger selection of food.

[Sweet Freedom]

1. There's one around the corner from me.

I went there once. Meh.

[antiquie]

2. We don't have Publix, whatever that is, in SoCal.

TJ's sources their products so we don't worry about GMOs. They search for deals so we get to eat better than we did buying from Stater Bros. For a two-person household, it is a wonderful store. Artisan breads at normal prices. Vegan foods no more costly than their counterparts. Non-union, only drawback for me, but as far as I know, they treat their employees fairly.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

9. Publix is the No. 1 supermarket chain in Florida.

I'll admit, they are fairly nice as regional supermarket chains go. Most are clean and bright (one of many reasons I will never use Wal-Mart for food shopping purposes, no matter how cheap the prices are). Good selection. Prices are okay, not bargain basement but not Whole Foods break your bank, either. They're ubiquitous enough that whatever one nearest to you, you'll get to know the people working at them pretty well. I have several literal neighbors working at mine.

Apparently, the big thing for a lot of people are the subs at the deli department. I've had them and they seem okay to me, but some people swear by them, and if they are ever forced to move out of Florida, they bemoan the loss of the Publix subs around them.

[A HERETIC I AM]

31. Publix = Stater Brothers....

in that they are both privately held and good companies, except Publix is non-union.

Based in Florida, Publix Supermarkets has done quite a bit of expanding in recent years and they are now in many southern states.

(I used to live in Palmdale, CA and shopped at a Stater Bros all the time)

[antiquie]

34. Thank you.

We get some staples and paper goods from Stater Bros. and always support their organic Circle goods. Most of our produce comes from our backyard or farmer's markets. I can walk to TJ's, that is part of their appeal for me. We aren't into prepackaged meals but do get a lot of ingredients there.

[NRaleighLiberal]

3. Like most things, it is a matter of personal taste and shopping habits

We love ours, and between it and the Farmers Market, we rarely set foot into a traditional grocery store - but I am lucky to have the time to do lots of cooking and we are mostly veggie. There are some things we get at the Joe that we love and are great value and quality - big bars of Belgian dark chocolate, a cheddar like cheese, frozen Indian entrees and bread, their soy "ice cream", a few of the wines, some of their cereals. It really does depend what and how you eat and what one's typical purchases (and grocery budget) is.

One other - it has a good vibe - people who shop and work there are pretty upbeat all the time, which is the opposite of the big grocery stores here.

Also some really good wines and great prices.

[TreasonousBastard]

4. I used to have two close to me but now...

the closest one is about 35 miles away. And I really don't miss going there that much. I never depended on them for staples and it wouldn't be easy to get three meals a day out of them on a regular basis. It could be done, but it would be more work, and more expensive, than a supermarket.

The selection seems small, and it is, but you don't have 40' rows of cereal boxes, sodas, and detergents to deal with. Or that huge deli. More to the point of the smaller selection is the quality and/or uniqueness of what they do have.

They are sort of part of the Aldi's empire, which is based on a similarly small selection of quality goods, largely house branded, and highly efficient to stay under boutique prices.

[Sanity Claws]

5. Great prices for great food

Yes, the selection is limited but what's there is choice.

Organic Basmati rice, Wild Salmon, Wild Blueberries, organic chicken --- these things are not available at your ordinary grocery store. They may be available at Whole Foods but the price will definitely be higher.

[Miles Archer]

6. It's a vibe thing. Some people love the vibe, others are repelled by it.

There have been a few items here and there that I have purchased at Trader Joe's but I never make a point of paying a special visit. It's probaby been at least two years since I've set foot in one of their stores.

Their frozen entrees, like anything else, are hit and miss. Some were OK, some were a waste of money...just like the food you'd purchase from any other market.

And yes, Whole Paycheck does charge more for similar items.

I went to Trader Joe's when I lived in Silicon Valley, and it was a stone's throw from Whole Foods. Problem was that they were also close to Zanotto's Family Markets (http://www.zanottos.com/), which...if you have the greenbacks to be shopping at Trader Joe's in the first place...was a vastly superior option, IMHO.

[Le Taz Hot]

7. I'm there.

I not only agree with everything you said, I'm huge a advocate of "buy local" and Trader Joe's is the anti-buy-local. Food coming from thousands of miles away, raised/preserved under conditions about which we know nothing. No thanks. I like knowing the farmer that grows my produce. I know under what conditions my produce is grown and by who and since I do my own canning/preserving I know what ingredients and under what conditions the produce is processed.

[PennyK]

8. Well, I love TJ's

It sounds like yours is too small to have many of their products. When I first set foot in one, about 15 years ago, it felt like an oasis, like a zone of NPR people who actually cared about the quality of what they put in their mouths.
I like it for the unique stuff and for the low prices on "gourmet quality" goods. My daughter in Manhattan loves the frozen meals. And my sister and Brooklyn daughter love the treats!

[hedgehog]

10. One word:

Wegman's

[Tommy_Carcetti]

11. Went to a Wegman's once in New Jersey.

It wasn't bad. They obviously took the time to decorate the store to set it apart from your normal looking supermarket. Not sure if all of them are like that, or just that one particular one.

They were the first supermarket I saw that had you shuck your own corn. Publix soon followed.

I was more impressed by Wegman's than I was with Trader Joe's. I heard Wegman's gets a little pricey, though.

[hedgehog]

15. When i first started shopping at Wegman's, I was buying all my usual items and my bill dropped.

Then I started branching out into the organics, and my bill went back up to where it had been. I know I could lower my food bill, but I'd rather put good food down on the table in front of my family.

[tabbycat31]

29. I shop at both

And I have a list of what items are cheaper where. I particularly like TJ's for frozen fruit (pineapple and mango for my smoothies).

[Kali]

12. I like to go there,

but it is really more of an urban semi-upscale sort of place. I see it as in the European model of shopping every day for one main meal. I suspect the folks who shop there also eat out a lot.

It sure as hell isn't a place to go stock up with a month's worth of provisions to feed hoards of hungry people that work hard and have simple tastes (or no taste LOL) requiring a lot of protein and carbs.

[OriginalGeek]

13. We got one in WInter Park recently

but I haven't been in it yet. The best thing about it is they also built a Shake Shack next to it at the same time and I DID go in there - that may have been the best hamburger I've ever had.

I thought TJ was a big grocery store the way people were talking about it. I probably won't make a special trip out there but if I'm in the area again I might stop in and see what's up. And go to Shake Shack.

We only shop at Publix and their subs are good but I like Jersey Mike's better. Publix is just more convenient. We get them occasionally when we don't wanna cook. I think their bread is too hard but at least it is fresh and you can get Boar's Head meats.

[Kablooie]

14. It's the poor man's Whole Foods.

and they offer alternative choices to the big chains.

They also offer employment for artists who hand draw their signs.
(I note this because an artist friend of mine lost his regular corporation job and found TJ signs to be a pretty good alternative.)

[NightWatcher]

16. We're getting one at Jax Beach soon. Boutique grocery stores are all the rage

We've got trendy, organic, orgasmic, over priced, boutique grocery stores falling out of the sky around here.

I just want to get my few things and scamper back home. I do like that the quality of meat that is available is getting better. I don't eat a lot of red meat, but when I want a bison burger, damnit I want it to taste good.

[riderinthestorm]

17. Agreed. I have one close by but I never go there.

My usual store is a local, employee-owned chain called Woodmans. Fantastic diversity, huge, and the prices are incredibly cheap.

Trader Joes has zero appeal because I cook pretty much everything from scratch daily including bread. It seems TJs big specialties are their prepared frozen items, baked goods, and wine. Since I get my wine by the box load I'll stick with Woodman's where even that's cheaper.

[bikebloke]

18. Our local Trader Joe's is 7-11 sized.

When I lived in Seattle, it was sized like a regular grocery story. I never bought much in either.

[orleans]

19. i've been in one a few times and am very unimpressed

the selection is horribly limited--i think i only purchased one time from them and it wasn't something i really wanted; i settled for it.

my opinion? trader joe's -- no big deal.

[kwassa]

20. I shop in Trader Joe's every week. The poor man's gourmet store.

Many of their products are fabulous, at much lower prices than anywhere else. Great place to buy interesting sauces, for instance. I could run down a whole list of great items.

They have a unique retailing philosophy, which is to sell one kind of an item that is very high quality at a low cost.

It all depends on what you like to eat and cook, of course.

We shop there, and in a local ethnic supermarket, and some stuff at a regular grocery chain store, and sometimes Wegmans.

I've been shopping at TJs since 1979, and the quality and quantity just grows and grows.

[KamaAina]

21. You must have very large 7-11s down there

or a very small TJ's.

And remember, most of the country does not have the awesomeness that is Publix; I think Atlanta is as far north as they go.

[ohnoyoudidnt]

26. They are out as far as N. Carolina now. nt

[CottonBear]

32. I LOVE Publix!

Publix is in Northeast Georgia. They may have a new store in Chattanooga, TN.

We shop there almost daily. We can walk there via sidewalks or even ride bikes to it on bike lanes!

[KamaAina]

22. TJ's has awesome specialty items

like house-brand frozen Indian dinners.

And, of course, Two-Buck Chuck.

[Skittles]

23. I don't get it either

their stuff is very hit and miss and nothing special

also I've noticed the workers there are new every time I stop by - I never seem to see the same worker twice

[kwassa]

35. TJs holds on to their workers here forever.

They have better wages and benefits that most food chains.

[blackcrowflies]

24. interesting, unusual stuff at low prices

Can't be the only store of course, they just don't stock enough.

The Whole Foods where I used to live had a fabulous deli section. The ones here, they don't seem to employ anyone who knows how to cook or who has functioning taste buds.

[LiberalElite]

25. The Trader Joe's in NYC

are all large (at least for NYC) and have a wide variety of food mostly with their own label and also pet items, paper goods and some toiletries. The good news is their prices are lower than practically anywhere else but the bad news is that draws CROWDS. I can only shop there on off days like today. Weekends, fugeddaboutit.

[Trajan]

27. I live 2 blocks from TJ's ...

And about 1800 miles from the nearest Publix ....

I have an idea - don't go to Trader Joe's ...

Go to Publix, and try to avoid discussions about stores ...

There ... better ....

[Tommy_Carcetti]

37. I had heard people rave about them, but had yet to visit one firsthand.

And so I did.

I came. I saw. I meh'ed.

[zonkers]

28. Free coffee. Produce kinda sucks. I like some stuff they sell but be warned...

if you buy nuts from them -- they could be last years harvest. I like their yogurt cheese, chocolate, wine's OK.

[ailsagirl]

30. They have wonderful cheesecake

Very reasonably priced.

[WinkyDink]

33. You say "Publix" as though it were a national chain; it is not.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

40. It's ubiquitous enough around me....

...substitute whatever the number one regional supermarket chain is in your area, and you get my point.

I can be at my nearest Publix literally within a 2 minute drive. It would take me at least 20 minutes to get to my nearest Trader Joe's, in which time I would pass at least three other Publix on my drive.

If I saw something at Trader Joe's that would justify a 20 minute drive, I'd gladly go there instead. But there was nothing there that I saw as so appealing to justify going there on a regular basis.

[MountainMama]

36. I like them....

but I don't go there very often.

I love their 21-seasoning salute mix. I use it all the time.

There's one near my in-laws, so I pop in there occasionally.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

38. I don't know about others, but the one nearest me donates

food to my church's meal programs.

[shenmue]

39. I liked it just fine.

It's just a store. You'll like it, or you won't.

[tabbycat31]

41. I shop at TJ's for some items

And Wegman's for the others.

Things on my TJ's list

Coffee (and they sample coffee all the time)
Frozen dinners (if I'm in the mood-- some good Italian meals frozen)
Frozen fruit (for my smoothies)
Frozen kale (for my smoothies)
Produce (depends on season and price)
Chips (very good when I buy them)
Baking mixes
Organic sugar (I use this in my coffee)
Meats (which I don't eat often)
Yogurt
Milk (when I'm out, I get this wherever)

The frozen mango alone (used to sweeten my smoothies) is worth the trip. I used to buy cat food there, but sadly the kitty passed away so I don't have to buy that at the moment.

Most other things I get at Wegman's.