I love Trader Joe's! Anyone shop there?

[Gothic Sponge]

They have many veggie friendly foods.

http://www.traderjoes.com/

[Trent Steele]

Trader Joes? Never heard of 'em. ;)

Until I moved 4 months ago, I was never far from a TJs and it was great. Now, I'm about a 45 minute busride from one, so I don't go anymore. I have a Whole Foods right around the corner, but it gets a bit expensivo shopping there.

But yeah, TJs rocks. I hear they sell Premium Stash teas now. That stuff is delish.

[Jinga]

I have one within walking distance, but I don't like it :( ... I'm used to the big stores like Wild Oats (my favorite) and Whole Foods. The selection at Trader Joes is less than I am used to and the packaging on the produce is rediculously overdone. I tried to shop there, but couldn't force myself to buy all those 'fresh' fruits and veggies that had several layers of plasticy, cardboardy badness. They don't even have bulk grains! Bah! I was so disappointed :cry:

[PortableKitten]

Here in Western New York we don't have Wholefoods, TJ's or Wild Oats. I envy those of you that have them near you. I usually drive an hour and a half to Rochester and go to the co op and the natural foods store there. It is a great big pain if I don't plan ahead and keep stocked up.

[rincaro]

I miss my TJ's. I loved that place. But I'm finding that my local HFS (in my new town) is much better than TJ's ever was. They have an amazing bulk section. We even got vegan *picnic* food from their deli yesterday. Plus it has that whole "mom & pop" feel. The owner will be stocking the shelves, asking if you've found everything. The cashiers know me and the boys. It's cool.

[FalafelsRule]

I have shopped there. They have some good prices on certain items. Now that I get a 15% discount at Wild Oats, I buy everything from there.

[vggiegirl]

I LOVE TJ's. A secret santa sent me some of the vegan Truffles from there :drool:

But yea I shop there regularly, but not for produce. Their produce stinks.
I prefer my 3 local markets, then Whole Foods, then Wild Oats for produce, in that order :)

I am still on a quest to find out if the $3 wine at TJ's is vegan :p I wrote to the company with no answer

[Trent Steele]

I have one within walking distance, but I don't like it :( [...] I tried to shop there, but couldn't force myself to buy all those 'fresh' fruits and veggies that had several layers of plasticy, cardboardy badness. They don't even have bulk grains! Bah! I was so disappointed :cry:
:rolleyes: you Whole Foods elitist bourgeouis anti-packaging hippie. :angel: kidding!

The quality of produce and lack of bulk foods is a common complaint, and ligitimate one - TJs stinks in those areas. Here's what I miss about TJs: good coffee beans on the cheap, cheap "fancy" water, a few of their canned goods, and a few of their frozen items. And cheap protein and vitamins.

[Amy SF]

I've got a TJ's about 20 minutes away. I go there about every two weeks and stock up on certain things. I admit that their produce isn't the greatest, but the produce at Whole Foods can get expensive.

[remilard]

I have shopped there. They have some good prices on certain items. Now that I get a 15% discount at Wild Oats, I buy everything from there.

Are you a senior citizen?

[Jinga]

Are you a senior citizen?

Haha! The discount is because he works there. :p

[FalafelsRule]

Haha! The discount is because he works there. :p

Yup, I do, I do! I love it. After one year of service, it goes up to 20%. :guitar:

[CaptainSwab]

I love TJ's. They have really cheap teas, dried fruits, and nuts. I still need to go to the heatlh food store though for things like the bulk bins and other ingrediants to make vegan foods that they don't sell at TJ's.

[Hansbos]

I love TJs too. No better place to get wine, beer, soy milk, pet food, cliff bars, bread, olives, pasta, frozen vegetables and berries, etc. Whole foods (AKA "Whole Paycheck") probably has better quality products, but I cannot get over the price and attitude issues there. I also never get produce or bulk items at TJs; for those we have an excellent CO-OP here in SF. It's interesting how people either love or hate TJs.

[shagginabit]

We dont have em here.

[Amy SF]

Trader Joe's started out as a single store owned by a man named Joe (I forget his last name) specializing in gourmet food products. It was especially heavy on wines and cheeses and other fancy versions of items such as preserves. Then the stores starting expanding into a small chain which started offering low prices on stuff like healthy snacks and frozen meals because they could be bought in closeout deals. Then the chain was eventually bought out by a German company. Gradually produce and other regular supermarket type items were brought in and the chain kept expanding, and expanding, and expanding... Now they bill themselves as "a unique grocery store" and the quaint, quirky little gourmet store that I discovered a century ago no longer exists.

[Jinga]

Trader Joe's started out as a single store owned by a man named Joe (I forget his last name) ...

Its 'Coulombe', Joe Coulombe. I ... er ... knew that off the top of my head ... *cough* * cough (http://www.traderjoes.com/about/index.asp) *... *cough*. Really ... I did. :|

[veggiesrule]

I like Trader Joe's for some things, they have some good stuff. One thing I don't like though is how they overpackage all their fruits and vegetables. I don't buy those items there. Ever notice how they do that? It bugs me, like they will take bananas or tomatoes or any fruit or veggie and put it in plastic containers and shrink wrap, etc. They use a lot of packaging on the the stuff and they don't need to.

What I do like there are their little pita pizza's. They are a really thin flat vegan pita that is pizza flavored, their really good. A lof of their non-dairy frozen deserts are cheaper there too than at Wild Oats.

[nkuvu]

As I mentioned in the Arizona thread, TJ's is okay, but I still shop 98% of the time at the local co-op.

[Gothic Sponge]

Its 'Coulombe', Joe Coulombe. I ... er ... knew that off the top of my head ... *cough* * cough (http://www.traderjoes.com/about/index.asp) *... *cough*. Really ... I did. :|

You must be psychic! :dunce:

;)

[sickofitall]

Trader Joes was bought up by ALDI. Since we have many ALDI stores here we'll never get Trader Joes. :(

[DanaJ]

Trader Joes was bought up by ALDI. Since we have many ALDI stores here we'll never get Trader Joes. :(

They were? When did that happen? I love both stores. We have both in this area.

[sickofitall]

ALDI'S took over in the early 80's or so.

[tearhsong2]

I love Trader Joes. :smitten: I don't usually buy produce there, but I love their canned goods, frozen stuff, snacks, and bakery items. It's the only place around here that I've found that carries Double Soy Rainbow ice cream (though they only carry two varieties). Whole Foods and Wild Oats are good, but I've found that they're too expensive--I tend to just go to those places to stock up on bulk bin items and a few items I can't find in TJ's or the supermarkets around here. I do most of my produce shopping at a local produce & deli stand and a little bit at a local Asian grocery.

[Bunny Hugger]

Actually a Trader Joes just opened in my city and I was a little dissapointed..I expected it to be vegan heaven but it's nothing compared to health food stores.

The only thing I buy there is soy cream ice cream (the BEST vegan ice cream ever)
and some garden burgers...The rest of my food I get from my health food store.

:smitten: