People around here really like that store. Favorites there--the coffees, frozen meals, nuts, wines.

Trader Joe's is awesome. Enough said.

We don't have one here but I'm familiar with it from back East. It was always kind of fun every once in a while, but I never did a "real" shopping there.

Can't speak to prices anymore, but (and this is a big but), they do carry a lot of close-outs. If you like something, you may never see it again.

I love it....lots of unusual foods, etc. there.

No personal experience, but have heard great reviews. We are getting one here in a few months...can't wait!

Love it for both price and selection of healthy alternatives. Wine prices are good as well. Nice selection of unique frozen food items. I shop at TJ's once or twice a week, it's one of my favorite stores. Also, good prices on fresh flowers (bouquets), plants and herbs.

I love Trader Joes! We have had posts before regarding what everyone loves to buy at TJ's. It is always a long and very informative post. I don't know what is meant by the person who said there are many close out products that you won't be able to purchase again. Maybe she has it mixed up with another store. I can't say enough good things about Trader Joes.

They have fantastic food, some cheaper than a regular supermarket and some higher. I purchase about 12 items on a regular basis. They have the best spinach salad bag and great corn break mix with real corn in it. Frozen eggplant all done Italian style, great frozen french onion soup, 8 grain breads and just a fantastic store plus the most beautiful flowers at very little money. You're going to enjoy it.

We had just gotten one not too long before I moved from Athens, Ga. I liked some of the products but it's not somewhere I would do my regular grocery store. We do not have one here in the Birmingham area but I sure wish we could one. I love their Lemon Pepper w/grinder. It has real dried lemon peel and I'm almost out.

We like it very much and it's close to home so we shop there about every other day.

Many people in Southern Oregon are watching anxiously for our new one to open in August. So many healthy products and reasonable prices. We use their "butter" exclusively, made with olive oil and canola and not the least bit fake tasting....not cheap....but worth it. Many organic canned goods, chocolate, fish, ice cream. I have a long list and the closest one is 200+ miles from here.

All you have to do is search KT and the Cooking forum for lots of information about Trader Joes.

Don't miss an opportunity to check it out.......Awesome.

It's good for the fresh stuff. Lots of organic meats and cheeses. Other than that, there's a LOT of pre-packaged, processed crap.

I used to shop there a lot, but now stick to the organic aisle at my "regular" grocery store.

Somehow, my TJ's seems easier to get in and out of quickly than my regular supermarket. That said, I mostly buy a few specialty items there like Pita Bite crackers, sesame crackers, toasted coconut cookies, s'mashing s'mores candy, blood orange soda and fresh flowers. I love when they get daffodils in the spring. You can buy bunches of 9-10 for $1.99. I always treat myself to several vases worth.

The two near us are mainly overpriced takeout stores. Very little produce and no fresh meat - just a lot of frozen and other packaged foods.

Okay if you don't really cook.

My daughters (one is vegatarian) and I enjoy going there. Not for regular grocery shopping but for a few items. Love their fresh flowers, humas, cheeses and vegitarian stuff not offered in our regular store. Most favorite item is.. the frozen peach pops. 100% peach and so yummy.

They do offer things that you don't see in the supermarket. My DD's like the vegetable dumplings, spinach dip, bean dip and pub cheese.
They have their own brand of frozen foods, cookies and chips. If for some reason you do not like something, you can bring it back for a refund. But, also keep trying things and you are bound to find some favorites.
Yes the prices are good.

Here's one of the most recent Trader Joe's threads:

Here is a link that might be useful: Trader's

Trader Joe's is awesome. Enough said.

Trader Joe's used to do a lot of closeouts years ago when it started back in So California, but after it was sold to a big foreign company, it went much more "corporate". So items are more standardized throughout their stores, though they continually seem to add new items. I think the first time I shopped at a TJ's was over 20 years ago.

We have a TJ's store quite close to our home, but only because the parking is horrendous, rarely go. No question, it is an interesting concept.

TJs is opening a new store in the Albany, NY area Aug. 3rd. Can't wait to check it out after the 9 year absence since moving from So. Cal. Of course, we can't buy liquor or wine there because of NY's stupid liquor laws, but that's another thread.

Love, love TJ's - not a full-size grocery store but lots of good food and a lot of things are cheaper.

Not cheap, but their quality is very good. My local TJ's has a huge produce department, offers free samples, they have an entire wall devoted to mushrooms. I don't shop there a lot, but when I go I have fun.

LOVE Trader Joe's. They sell a lot of the produce by the piece not the pound. One apple, one banana, one onion, etc. A while back, someone was complaining that their produce was too high, but if you go to a regular grocery store and take a banana and weigh it and figure out the price per one, Trader Joe's is actually cheaper. They also have some inexpensive wines that are pretty good and love some of their specialty items.

It's okay. I like their pizza crust dough. It takes about 30 minutes to get there, and the parking is the pits a lot of the time because there are so many people there. At least when I go. lol

The one thing that bugs me, is that I have NO idea where the packaged goods are made. like their cookies.. have no clue. I would like to know that. The nut prices are good. I don't go very often.

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).

Count me as another who doesn't understand the Trader Joes' mystique. Although it is fun to browse occasionally, about the only thing I've bought regularly there are their cut flowers--they are an excellent deal.

I haven't met a person yet who has walked out with A) a good selection of quality products and 2) a good attitude. They are all so friendly there, and willing to help with anything. I SO SO SO wish they would build one in our town!

As an example from real life. My local farmer's market sells corn at 60 cents an ear, TJ's had corn $5.50/dozen. Another mega-grocery had corn four bucks a dozen. Better for those on a budget,but certainly wasn't locally grown corn. I bought from the Farmers. Delicious at my Fourth of July BBQ.

I'd probably agree with most of what Cynic wrote.
The first time I was in a Trader's, I walked the whole store to see the variety. But not since then -- way too time-consuming.
There are just a few things I'd stop in there for if I were in the neighborhood and if I found a parking space (!): Triple Ginger Cookies (to take to the office) and the "Temptation" nut mix.

I love Trader Joe's. I do a lot of my shopping there. There isn't much variety but what they do have is generally safe to assume it will be good quality. I've only had a couple things in the last few years that I didn't care for, and they will take it back and refund your money, no questions asked.

Some things are better bargains than others. I can get tofu for half the price as the same brand in a grocery store, and I really like the tomato basil pasta sauce for $1.79.

I don't buy a whole lot of produce there as I think there are cheaper/fresher options but the organic baby spinach in a bag is a pretty good deal.

They have a lot of excellent and healthy vegetarian items, which I can appreciate as I have trouble finding those in stores other than Whole Foods. I like to cook but I am not a huge fan of cooking for one so I can get a healthy meal there for about $3.

But what I think really sets Trader Joe's apart is the customer service. I've never had to wait more than 5 minutes in a line, everyone has always been super helpful, even following me to my car to bring my cart back for me. I was shopping for Christmas gifts last year and couldn't decide between two different caramels so the kind lady helping me opened both boxes and let me try each one to decide. :)

The Trader Joes I go to has the same approach Chi. Their attire is cheerful, usually someone is around to help with my questions. Lots of produce, lots of everything. It's always clean and has things I can't find for 80 miles of my home. Luckly we never have a tough time with parking, the lot is huge. Although I don't have anything I HAVE to buy there my girls love going if we have extra time in the city, before we drive home. I wouldn't be able to introduce them to the freshnss of some unique items if TJ wasn't there.