Many people are mesmerized to nearly cult status by Trader Joe's and I've never understood the attraction. It's interesting to go there though so go and check it out and see if it is for you. I don't know anyone who can say they do the bulk of their shopping there. It's a store to pick up a few things. They're not cheap though at least on things I've considered buying and have bought there, but I'll say quality is generally very good from what I've seen and experienced. They don't wear the Hawaiian shirts around here nor do they do the schtick that made them so famous with some people years back. They're not a big store and accordingly have a small selection overall. They simply can't stock as much as a larger store. They're comparable in size or slightly larger than Aldi but do carry more SKUs. If you're envisioning a megastore, this isn't it. Picture a decent sized convenience store (they're often stripmall residents) and actually "convenience store" is a pretty good description. (Actually, that's how it started.) You get a few things there now and then, but that's about it, at least for me and everyone I know that goes there. That's one of the reasons I won't be going there much. I don't like shopping and don't like having to go to multiple stores to get my list filled out. But I used to go there for a couple things, plus I was just trying to figure out the attraction. FWIW, TJs sells about twice per square foot that Whole Foods sells. They do a big business (why, I don't know! LOL) but I give them credit, I've never stood in line long. They're efficient on the checkout process. But they should be. People generally more tote baskets there rather than a cart as at a bigger store. As I recall they have a thing where you'll get a credit if you bring the bag back and reuse it and possibly if you bring your own bags. For wine lovers or winos, Three-Buck Chuck (formerly Two-Buck Chuck) is carried out by the case and cartload. I wasn't impressed with what I tried but in fairness I'm not a fan of red wines so a grain of salt tossed in and again, lots of people love it. Oh, and (at least here) you don't buy the wine in the same storefront as the groceries, so essentially you're going to two different stores and have two different purchases. Yes, they change stock a lot. Do not count on a certain item being there all the time. The nature of the beast. (And people complain about Malwart discontinuing things! LOL) However, like any store, they have their staples but keep in mind, especially with a small store like this, they *can't* keep stuff that doesn't turn so if it doesn't sell, it'll be out of there, you can be sure. It's common business sense. I can buy a single banana at most any store that sells them. This is not unique to TJs. Some stores price by the banana and some price by the pound. If you want bananas cheap though, I'll bet you can't beat Aldi unless you only want one. But who knows, a pound might cost less than one! LOL There were only a few things I bought there regularly and I can get them at other stores so I don't go there anymore. My sister goes there because they have a gluten free pasta that she likes and she really likes 3bC. She even bought one of their 6 bottle carriers to carry the wine out! They had a good variety of unusual cheeses. Better than the cheap grocery stores, but I doubt it'd rival the upscale markets. They had a good variety of good quality nuts, but again, expensive. They had a nice but very limited (therefore, very expensive) meat counter, make that, cooler. A vast majority of their items are their own brand names so obviously you won't get the exact item elsewhere but not everything is unique to the store. Again, it's a dice throw whether it'll be there again. They can be outrageously busy. They're small. They do not have wide aisles. So I'd suggest checking it out when it's not busy and see what you think. You may like it or not. I don't agree with those who say it's nirvana for everyone. Good for some, not for others. One good thing about it, they don't charge you to walk in the door if you don't buy something! No Samsco/Cost Club cards to mess with. They've always been quite clean when I've been in there and there's usually a lot of people working there (relatively speaking) when I've been there, but they've never offered help. I do imagine if you needed help you could get it without too much trouble. They've been well-stocked and organized. The few times I've been in there I haven't had to fight pallets blocking aisles like some stores we know! :D I'm not a fanatic about where things are made, processed, packaged or the like but do like to have an idea. I do not like the idea of just saying packaged for TJ's USA. Even Kmart says where things are made, but that's part of the Aldi/Trader Joe's business plan is secrecy. They don't like to let people know much about it, even their vendors. Trader Joe's has an interesting history. Started as Pronto Market (a convenience store) by a guy named Joe and the name changed over time to Trader Joe's. It was bought out in the late 70s by Aldi Nord (north), part of the Albrechts conglomerate, this division owned by Theo Albrecht (who owns part of the Aldi stores but not in the US). His brother Karl owns Aldi Süd (south) (who controls the Aldi stores in the US) and the Aldi history, well that's another albeit interesting story. TJs has a very controlled growth plan. They only open a few each year and are vigorously recruited by both vendors and communities. They buy some things locally (often things like eggs) and some things are made by huge corporations (pita chips are made by Frito).

Twenty-five to thirty years ago, in SoCal, TJ's would definitely save one money over Ralph, Vons, etc. on certain items. By far the best prices on frozen fish (and better quality -- but I am not comparing to buying fresh at the docks, mind!), dried fruit/nuts, wines, cheese, chicken sausage (a rarity then), jarred condiments, cookies and chocolates and crackers. I adored the Crystal Geyser brand pink lemonade and key lime drinks (never seen anywhere else but no longer made, sadly -- I would even pack several bottles in my luggage when returning from a visit after I moved to the Midwest). At that time their baked goods were good but not awesome and a more limited selection, but increasing steadily. There were many things that I would put in the junk category, like the European cookies and chocolate, that they carried that just weren't available in mainstream stores and were also less expensive than the standard US brands. Those were my indulgences! I had to drive about 10 miles to get to one, so it was always a planned trip to stock up. I was so excited when TJ's opened here about 8 years after we had left SoCal. But, the price differential really is not so great anymore -- in fact the big local chains are highly competitive -- many of the once unique items can be found in many stores. Many of my favorite items were gone (I learned that the west coast and east coast stores have some differences) and I find the fruits/veggies actually more costly so I don't buy there. I drop in every 3 months or less now, or maybe a quick stop if I go past and am craving their tart d'Alsace. We do have a tradition of buying a selection of their frozen appetizers/munchies for our Christmas tree decorating.... mini quiches, mini samosas, that sort of thing, and usually find them quite tasty. Yep, Aldi far from upscale here either, and I buy my haricots verts and organic greens there (same product, different package) for less than at TJs.

I buy TJ's salad's sometimes, but usually not the ones with much lettuce. The other day, I got a GREAT salad from there, a jicama, papaya salad. Also has some green cabbage and a slightly spicy dressing. Yum! It says it is 3 servings and that's about what I got out of it, over 3 days. I even added the whole packet of dressing the first day and the jicama and cabbage stayed crunchy until I ate it the last day. Highly recommend. I also am not crazy about most of their produce, except they have great organic Persian Cucumbers and really good organic sweet red peppers, both the mini bells and the full size. They are always better than the grocery store's because they don't mist them with water. I buy their organic cherry tomatoes in the winter. They aren't like summer tomatoes, but are passable in a salad for me.

blubird, the orange chicken has not been discontinued. It continues to enjoy a popularity that I fail to understand. I finally bought it last week and tried it. So disappointing after reading all the rave reviews. Favorite Overall Product and Favorite Entree: Mandarin Orange Chicken There are few items at Trader Joe's as iconic as the Mandarin Orange Chicken, so it's no surprise that the product won in both the Favorite Overall Product and Favorite Entree categories. The brand's Vice President of Marketing, Tara Miller, noted in the podcast that this item has received an award every year since the Customer Choice Awards were founded, so it just may be deserving of a Lifetime Achievement Award. https://www.eatingwell.com/article/7943813/best-trader-joes-products-2022/