Hope you all had wonderful Christmases!
I said I'd give you the rundown on Trader Joe's so here it is.
As someone said their business plan was aimed at an exhausted schoolteacher. The founder wanted her to be able to stop at the market on her way home and be able to put a good meal on the table in an hour complete with flowers and a bottle of decent wine. And all on her modest salary.
They've succeeded in many ways. The produce is all more or less ready for final prep and sold in pre-priced units to speed up check out. The canned and packaged foods are one-up. No dithering at the shelf on which brand is best. Those foods are the best TJs can get packaged in their own label from top manufacturers such as their Callebaut Belgian chocolate at Hersey bar prices.
Whatever they're selling is also really fresh. If stuff doesn't move fast, they dump it and give that shelf space to something else. TJ lovers all have long lists of things they just loved that TJs replaced because the market for them wasn't hot enough. One of the ones I miss the most was a package that had the ingredients for a fresh guacamole: one jalapeño, one small tomato, a couple ripe avocados, a peeled shallot and a single clove of peeled garlic, a small lime and a sprig of fresh cilantro. It also made a mean gazpacho with a bottle of tomato juice! I wish they would bring that one back! They try to reflect world culture in their prepared foods and you'll find European, Indian, Thai, Mexican specialties among others.
The cheese case is a sumptuous exception to their one-off rule. They sell their own label and established labels in an assortment that will make your mouth water. Their wine selections are exceptions as well. The backbone of their wine department is the 2 Buck Chuck that you can buy with the confidence that you'll be getting a decent wine for pennies compared to other vendors. The actual wine varies with whatever vendor will meet their price and quality demands at any given time but people swear by it! They also have wines from around the world in a variety of prices including exceptional vintages that are always a bargain. It's a matter of who will be able to supply the volume and quality TJs demands.
Christmas and Halloween are special times at TJs when they add a lot of seasonal things that vary every year. For Halloween it's pumpkin flavored things from baking mixes to pumpkin butters to pumpkin biscotti and candy and more. For Christmas you never can tell what will show up. Tons of chocolates in all forms including bundles of small bars from different geographic areas for tasting and comparison and all manner of treats. Special wine selections. And that baked ricotta lemon cheese that I mentioned originally. I still have some wooden boxes that look like small clutch purses that they sold cookies in one year.
One last thing, they offer very nice quality greeting cards for $1. They're always on heavy paper and range from beautiful images to witty puns and sophisticated greetings and the variety is sufficient that you'll find something you like. I stockpile them so I have them onhand for the right occasion. Don't know how Hallmark is still in business in areas with TJs!
Finally, the staff are always pleasant and helpful. My biggest complaint is I've never been to a TJs (we have tons of them here in SoCal as it originated in Pasadena) that has a big enough parking lot. They're always full. The stores are always busy.
Do try one out if you get a chance to. Most of us fall in love with them. They're the stripped down shopping experience only it's stripped down to what's excellent.
I said I'd give you the rundown on Trader Joe's so here it is.
As someone said their business plan was aimed at an exhausted schoolteacher. The founder wanted her to be able to stop at the market on her way home and be able to put a good meal on the table in an hour complete with flowers and a bottle of decent wine. And all on her modest salary.
They've succeeded in many ways. The produce is all more or less ready for final prep and sold in pre-priced units to speed up check out. The canned and packaged foods are one-up. No dithering at the shelf on which brand is best. Those foods are the best TJs can get packaged in their own label from top manufacturers such as their Callebaut Belgian chocolate at Hersey bar prices.
Whatever they're selling is also really fresh. If stuff doesn't move fast, they dump it and give that shelf space to something else. TJ lovers all have long lists of things they just loved that TJs replaced because the market for them wasn't hot enough. One of the ones I miss the most was a package that had the ingredients for a fresh guacamole: one jalapeño, one small tomato, a couple ripe avocados, a peeled shallot and a single clove of peeled garlic, a small lime and a sprig of fresh cilantro. It also made a mean gazpacho with a bottle of tomato juice! I wish they would bring that one back! They try to reflect world culture in their prepared foods and you'll find European, Indian, Thai, Mexican specialties among others.
The cheese case is a sumptuous exception to their one-off rule. They sell their own label and established labels in an assortment that will make your mouth water. Their wine selections are exceptions as well. The backbone of their wine department is the 2 Buck Chuck that you can buy with the confidence that you'll be getting a decent wine for pennies compared to other vendors. The actual wine varies with whatever vendor will meet their price and quality demands at any given time but people swear by it! They also have wines from around the world in a variety of prices including exceptional vintages that are always a bargain. It's a matter of who will be able to supply the volume and quality TJs demands.
Christmas and Halloween are special times at TJs when they add a lot of seasonal things that vary every year. For Halloween it's pumpkin flavored things from baking mixes to pumpkin butters to pumpkin biscotti and candy and more. For Christmas you never can tell what will show up. Tons of chocolates in all forms including bundles of small bars from different geographic areas for tasting and comparison and all manner of treats. Special wine selections. And that baked ricotta lemon cheese that I mentioned originally. I still have some wooden boxes that look like small clutch purses that they sold cookies in one year.
One last thing, they offer very nice quality greeting cards for $1. They're always on heavy paper and range from beautiful images to witty puns and sophisticated greetings and the variety is sufficient that you'll find something you like. I stockpile them so I have them onhand for the right occasion. Don't know how Hallmark is still in business in areas with TJs!
Finally, the staff are always pleasant and helpful. My biggest complaint is I've never been to a TJs (we have tons of them here in SoCal as it originated in Pasadena) that has a big enough parking lot. They're always full. The stores are always busy.
Do try one out if you get a chance to. Most of us fall in love with them. They're the stripped down shopping experience only it's stripped down to what's excellent.
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