All About Trader Joe's

What is Trader Joe's, and what is all the fuss?

You may have heard of the indie neighborhood grocery chain, but unless you live in one of the 22 states TJ's has a presence in, you might not have had a chance to wander through one of their stores. The chain has a cult following who wait excitedly for the bi-monthly Fearless Flyer to arrive in their mailboxes.

What Is Trader Joe's?

It's a bit difficult to describe a Trader Joe's to someone who hasn't been to one. It's sort of a gourmet food store, but you find normal staples there too. It's sort of a health food store, but doesn't oppress or lecture you about health, and it does sell very unhealthy gelato and brownie mix (both delicious). There are a lot of organic foods, but plenty there that aren't. It's a bit of an ethnic grocery store, because you can find things like hummus, dolmades, and ready-to-go sushi. Like Whole Foods, you won't find any Coca-Cola or Oreos on the shelves, so you have to go to a second grocery store on your way home if your family are Coke/Pepsi drinkers.

You can buy ready-to-go items for lunch, frozen foods, desserts, baked goods (in some stores), breads, produce, wine, box mixes for banana bread, soups, pastas, sauces, cheeses, butter, milk, eggs, olives, olive oil, nuts, dried fruit, chocolates, cookies, pre-cut carrots, bags of pre-washed/pre-cut cauliflower and broccoli, and potato chips.

The produce section is a bit problematic. You can never quite be sure the TJ's in your neighborhood will have everything you need on the day you need it. One week they might have gorgeous grapefruit; the next grapes. You might be able to get zucchini one week but not cucumbers; cucumbers will show up the next week along with a gorgeous display of red, yellow and green peppers. TJ's produce generally comes in prebagged or preboxed quantities. You can buy a plastic box of four apples, or a plastic tray of grape tomatoes. Bananas come unboxed. You generally can get bags of potatoes at any given time. Sometimes they'll have onions and garlic, at other times, not. A frequent complaint, even by fans, is that Trader Joe's produce can go bad very quickly. That's probably because they buy produce with fewer pesticides or whatnot. Be sure to only purchase TJ's produce if you plan to use it that very day or the next.

Vegetarians and vegans can find a wonderful selection of veg-friendly items at Trader Joe's stores. Morningstar Farms fake soy-based meats are sold here, as well as Amy's organic vegetarian chilis.

Trader Joe's also sells environmentally-friendly cleaning products, bath and body hygiene supplies, and some pet items.

The store is known for its interesting, international selection of affordable wines. The popular "Two Buck Chuck" (Three Buck Chuck in some places) wine by Charles Shaw is sold here.

Trader Joe's have a smaller footprint than other grocery stores, but sell far more dollars per square foot than traditional chains. They are definitely busy and crowded; I really have to pick my timing when I go shopping at the two near me. People seem to spend more time reading labels at a Trader Joe's. Perhaps it's because they're unfamiliar with the brand, or more likely to be the type of customer who wants to read labels. I don't know. I do get frustrated when I just want to grab a jar of soup and some lady is standing in front of all the soups, blocking the tiny aisle with her cart, for what seems like 20 minutes.

Trader Joe's has very careful quality controls and employs its own tasters and developers when creating a new item to sell. Before a new soup comes to market, the taster has likely gone out to the field in Italy to observe the basil being grown, and stopped by California to taste the tomatoes in the field before they go into the soup.

You can never be quite sure if they are going to have the same item you bought and liked last month on the shelves today. Trader Joe's inventory fluctuates a lot - but I think that's part of the addiction! It makes you want to stop in often, to see what's new, or to grab a favorite from last week in case they run out and don't have any more for a month or two.

The prices are definitely very low compared to what I'm used to. I love it! The only way I could afford to make lemonade this summer was Trader Joe's $2.99 bags of lemons! I can get a huge bag of groceries to feed my two person family for a week for less than $50, if I shop carefully. Trader Joe's makes throwing weekly dinner parties for ten friends affordable, too.

Trader Joe's Employees

Employees wear festive Hawaiian shirts. They ring bells when they need a price check, another cashier, or managerial assistance. You'll never hear the quiet, unobtrusive music at a Trader Joe's interrupted by a call for a cashier over the speaker.

I've always been impressed by how cheerful, upbeat and positive TJ's employees (called "crew") are. Often they'll ask you about the food you are buying, or mention ways they've cooked a particular product and enjoyed it. I can go to any Safeway, Albertson's or QFC in my neighborhood and be helped by a disgruntled, grumpy, bored or only mildly pleasant employee. But at Trader Joe's, I've never even once had a bad experience. I don't know what the company does to keep their employees so happy, or to find cheerful individuals to hire, but I hope they are able to keep it up. It truly makes it a pleasant experience to shop there.

History of Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's was founded in the 1950s by entrepreneur Joe Coulombe. On a trip to Tahiti, he came up with the South Seas/Pacific Islander theme Trader Joe's employs. Today, there are just over 250 stores in the US. California has the highest concentration of Trader Joe's stores so far.

Trader Joe's Resources

Google Trader Joe's for the official webpage, and visit Tracking Trader Joe's and Trader Joe's Fan for some informative Trader Joe's blogs.

I hope this guide to Trader Joe's has been helpful. Please visit my other Trader Joe's guides for more information.

A Typical Visit to Trader Joe's