I agree that price and quality matter. To a degree because my budget will have limitations!
I think what makes TJ’s attractive is more layers than just the basic products. It’s their staff, their niche items at good prices and quality (if not the best, YMMV), the atmosphere, etc. I’ll enjoy the experience more than a big box store like Kroger - but they all have a purpose in my buying agenda.
I have heard having a TJ’s nearby increases the value of a home. I like that the store is small and that their selections are different from a big grocery store. I love their flowers and cards. I like that they constantly have new products coming out almost every month or season. The latest product I’ve tried is their inside out gnocchi which is good. I end up going early mornings or late at night when the parking lots are not congested. I like that I can have my shopping done is at most 20 minutes. BTW Aldi sells Kerrygold butter for $2.85 which I believe is cheaper that TJ’s.
I like Trader Joe’s but don’t love it. I generally get my produce and proteins from Wegmans, buy packaged foods on sale at Giant, and my bulk purchases from BJs. Just to offer another contrarian opinion, I recently terminated my Costco membership a few days short of its expiration and got back $112 in membership fees - it just wasn’t that great (don’t stone me please).
“I have heard having a TJ’s nearby increases the value of a home”
^^^I don’t know about that, but recently I visited the largest TJ in the USA I know of. Its in Brooklyn, NY and it has 26 checkout counters. A flagman has to stand on the podium to direct three lane traffic to one of the check out counters and another traffic director is at the end of the line to flag down new checking out carts to follow the line. It is insane, and the condos around that area is selling around 2 million.
@artloversplus there are 2 Trader Joe’s in downtown Brooklyn, only about 5 blocks from each other. Were you at the one on Court St. or the one in the Fulton St. Mall with the fancy food court surrounding it? I think TJ’s is a symptom rather than a cause of the ridiculous real estate prices here.
I have heard about the home values going up from a few real estate agents in our area. Some people consider have a Trader Joe’s in the neighborhood a bonus. We have a Wegman’s coming up across the street from us and heard the same thing.
People say the same about Whole Foods, too. I think it is a bit of a chicken & egg thing. Homebuyers like having proximity to amenities. Also, businesses like TJs, WF, Wegmans are very careful about where they decide to expand. They choose areas with growth potential, certain demographics, and disposable incomes.
@oldmom4896
Its the Fulton Mall location.
Brooklyn has transformed to become the old Manhattan. I was held under the gun point not too far from Downtown Brooklyn 40 years ago. I thought I would never visit it again in my life, let alone paying $2M for a condo, until my D is moving there for her residency.
What the difference.
@artloversplus, that’s the second TJ in Brooklyn. It’s a 10-minute walk from the original, on Court St. and Atlantic Ave. With the original, most weekend afternoons you had to wait on line to get INTO the store. On weekends both stores still have a line that runs around the store but it’s much better with two locations.
I have lived in Brooklyn since 1978 so I know what you’re saying. Ten years ago I said to myself, where in the world will they find so many rich people to buy all those apartments? So far, I guess they are still coming. Of course Paul Manafort had a few NYC real estate holdings, including a brownstone in Carroll Gardens, all now property of the U.S. government.
Congratulations to your daughter!
I love Trader Joes! I don’t think it is overhyped or overrated at all. Their fries are extremely delicious. If you ever get the chance, I’d suggest you try them! Just thinking about them makes me hungry for some more…
I have been to Whole Foods once and have never had the incentive to go back. My thought was that the store was made for an upscale consumer vs TJ’s which is more for the average family. Isn’t Whole Foods much more pricier? With TJ’s I am more willing to try new items because they are reasonably priced and I know if I am not happy with a product they will accept my return even if the package is opened no questions asked.
As an extreme couponer, I don’t like shopping at Trader Joes, but my pups love it. For them, the allure is the simple fact that they DON’T have anything on sale with a manufacturer coupon. They spent too many of their formative years shopping with DH and me getting piles of free stuff with coupons, they hate shopping in stores that take coupons. Since we still get all my cleaning supplies and personal care items free or for pennies after coupons - they come to shop from my stockpile - or we’ll drop off a few bags when we visit them.
DH and I have taken them to TJ’s when we visit them - I remember MIL buying us a couple bags of groceries when we were in our first apartment, and how nice it felt when she paid the bill. It meant a lot to her then, and as DH says, it’s our way of honoring her tradition.
We’ve visited a number of TJ’s across different parts of the country, and it’s clear that most people who shop there know what they are doing, and love it. But we have also seen a wide variation in the selection and quality of produce. So I get why some people could be unimpressed.
I love Trader Joes but have zero interest in talking someone else into it. It is the best combination of price and quality I know. If you want to keep mentioning brands that cost more, sure, go ahead, but I can’t afford them. (Full disclosure, I haven’t read through whole thread. Just keep seeing such n such more expensive brand is better. Fine. I’ll enjoy wallowing in my mediocrity, lol). Also, as others have said, I’ve never seen more enthusiastic, better supported by management, employees. And that goes a long, long way for me.
I love Trader Joe’s but like most don’t do all my shopping there. Agree that they are known as a great company to work and mostly promote from within. I once worked with someone whose daughter was a longtime TJ employee. She was ambivalent about moving up to the next position as a buyer because it would require travel to Italy.
“She was ambivalent about moving up to the next position as a buyer because it would require travel to Italy.”
Now that sounds like a huge perk to me!
Interesting read from Buzzfeed.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/samstryker/trader-joes-is-the-bomb-dot-com
It’s nice that they hire an artist in every store. That’s why walking into that store feels not so sterile.
Wow, I never realized that an artist painted some of the walls of the store. That’s really cool!
The only person I know who is a Trader Joe’s employee is one of their artists. She has an art degree.
As I understand, that job is only part tome. She works as a cashier for full time hours (hope that makes sense!)
Trader Joe’s is phasing out single use plastic, and has already gotten rid of styrofoam in the produce section. Their produce bags are compostable too.
https://www.livekindly.com/trader-joes-phase-out-excess-plastic/