While in Chicago, we stopped into a Trader Joes grocery store. I hear all the time “why doesn’t Grand Rapids have a Trader Joes?”, “West Michigan needs a Trader Joes”. I have to be honest: what’s all the fuss about?
Besides the fact that they had nice-looking produce (which was no less expensive than here), a wide variety of private label items (including beer!), and Two Buck Chuck (supposedly decent wine for $1.99), it was kind of a tiny, dingy store. What am I missing here??
What is so appealing about Trader Joes?
The products are natural, organic, and you can read the ingredients on them! When you look at that, and then the pricing on things, it’s impressive! Also, their pricing on AppleGate Farms lunch meat is almost half as much as it is at Harvest Health. Same goes for a lot of their products.
I do understand the desire for more attainable & lower cost, natural & organic foods. I’m just saying I wasn’t overly impressed by my first visit to the store. Granted, I didn’t do a serious “investigation” because we weren’t actually grocery shopping. I thought the article that Lisa posted was interesting: http://bit.ly/cxBPRB
I don’t know either. I’ve been to some in other cities when traveling for work, and I can get just as good of deals by buying direct from farmers and the bulk section of Harvest Health. Maybe their processed goods are cheaper, but I try to stay away from those anyway since they cost more overall.
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Completely agree that processed goods are processed goods. Where do you find the best off-season deals on produce? Or do you simply stock up/can/freeze/etc during growing season?
I use a lot less produce in the winter, but I do freeze and can. If I don’t have enough I just buy frozen or canned (like tomatoes, corn, the basics). For fruit I stick with apples or citrus (which is in season in FL).
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Gotcha. I do the same. Just wondered if you had a secret year-round farmer’s market source I didn’t know about. I haven’t heard anything recently about the one rumored to be developed in Grand Rapids.
Trader Joe’s is my version of the Target euphoria people often feel by simply walking through Target doors. I can’t explain it other than I LOVE Trader Joe’s and the atmosphere (ease of shopping maybe? don’t have to question what I’m buying too hard) it provides. The one’s I’ve been to have a fresh flower market when you enter and that pretty much makes me feel like I’m at a street side vendor in Spain, so that will always do it for me.
I’m starting to wonder if all Trader Joes are created equally? This one was not warm, welcoming and inviting at all. No flowers.
Maybe I’m just not excited about center-store in general — whether it’s Trader Joes or anything else? I usually only shop it when I have coupons that make it nearly free (canned beans, spices, pasta, etc).
Or maybe I just need your ability to see the beauty in shopping :)
This is refreshing. I have had this mindset for a while; yes the processed stuff is cheap, the stores are cute but I wouldn’t stop there. Organic Gorilla Munch Cereal? I can get it at Meijer and I don’t really care if cereal is organic or not – all of the good stuff has been extruded out of it anyway. I have started shopping at Kens Fruit Market, it’s how a grocery store SHOULD be. The center is full of fresh produce – very inexpensive, very high quality, and the perimiter is bulk snacks, a great deli, and one wall of processed/boxed/canned stuff. One wall!! It’s perfect.
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It really does sound like a great model. It’s the kind of store that appeals to me, too. The hard part for me, right now, is living so far out of town. That reminds me of a similar store in Chris’ neighborhood I’ve been wanting to check out. Think I’ll do a post…
I’ve never been to a Trader Joe’s either. BUT I can comment on Two Buck Chuck. Totally awesome wine with a great back story. Apparently Two Buck Chuck is from a vineyard that was awarded to a wife in a divorce suit. (The husband’s name is the name of the wine) In an effort to constantly stick it to her ex-husband she sells the wine for $2 a bottle, even though it is worth $10+. Funny.
We can’t get it here in Texas, but I have this little old dude that picks it up for me in California when he goes there.
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I love the back story. I also love little old dudes that help a girl out.
Sounds like I need to find my own personal bootlegger. ;)
Maybe the downfall was that it was in downtown Chicago. It seemed more like a frenzied affair than a laid-back grocery store. I did enjoy seeing all of the private label beer however.
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Wish we could have brought some of that back with us! I heard the Bavarian Hefeweizen is good…