Trader Joe's

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franksdad

franksdad

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 21, 2010
Messages
881
Location
Greenville, South Carolina
Do any of ya'll (I refuse to say you guys) shop at Trader Joe's? My wife has a lot of allergies and for years we would shop at Garner's in Greenville and make an occasional Saturday trip to Atlanta to shop at Harry's. I had heard of Trader Joe's via another board I used to frequent then a few years ago when we were at Houlihan's in Marietta, Gerogia we spotted a Trader Joe's in the shopping center across the street. We were immediately addicted and would switch between two Trader Joe's in Atlanta and three of the Trader Joe's in Charlotte (we live approximately 125 miles or so from Atlanta and Charlotte). Last fall we got our own Trader Joe's here in Greenville! The only drawback is now we don't make it to Atlanta to The Cheesecake Factory as often. I've already decided when I retire from my government job in 23 months I'm going to go to work at Trader Joe's so I can wear shorts, tropical print shirts, wooden beads, and Teva sandles every day! Could life possibly get any better? :o)
 
I used to

I used to, all the time.  (The uncrystalized candied ginger is awesome).  Alas, there is none within several hundred miles of where I now live, so...
 
I do like TJ's but you do need to be selective.  There are definitely some items that deserve to be passed by, but you can't beat them for things like cheeses and snack stuff, and there are always interesting things to try.  I don't shop there regularly, but will head there when I know they'll have exactly what I'm looking for, particularly in advance of hosting a party.

 

A friend of mine worked at TJ's for a while, and he introduced us to another friend he made while working there.  Both of them were in agreement, at least regarding the California employee pool.  Generally speaking, everybody's bi-sexual and smokes pot.  I could hang with that since there's always a hot guy or two on the staff at any TJ's I've been in, but the situation in SC could be entirely different -- which would likely be preferable for you.  Regardless, I agree that its a great place to work for the "uniform" and what I presume is an enlightened management team from the top down to the store level.
 
Generally speaking, everybody's bi-sexual and smokes pot

Oh Lord! Don't let the Greenville City Council find out! Not only would they close the store but they would torch the building! LOL!
 
The nearest one to me

is about 45 minutes north. Since I no longer drive, I have to wait until friends feel like making the road trip. They have things that I can't get locally, like my favourite Scottish marmelade, and I do like their marinated salmon for broiling or pan-broiling.

There are rumours of one coming closer, but so far, just rumours.

Thing I find to be utterly fascinating about Trader Joe's is that they are currently owned by one of my least favourite stores, ALDI'S!

Franksdad....have you ever tried Earth Fare over in Greer? A woman friend of mine and her husband shop at Earth Fare a lot. He is an excellent home cook, and she is a wonderful baker.

Lawrence/Maytagbear
 
Yes . . .

Right now I'm nibbling on one of their vanilla meringue cookies. They have lots of snack stuff, and a good alcohol selection. Beers and wines are comparable to a well stocked grocery store, but probably a better selection of hard liquor.

 

And yes, there are usually some cute employees at each store. My only gripe is that they usually open in small neighborhood type stores and there is never enough parking!
 
There is one about 5-10 minutes from me. Never been in there, but everyone raves about it! Will have to go in there one of these days.

I do hear its quite expensive though.
 
A fan.

Love the store, love the staff, love the products. There is one not too far from where I live so I manage to buy stuff there about 2 times a month. My only gripe: I get addicted to some of their products and then, without warning, they discontinue them! For a while, Trader Joe's was selling the best, BEST, Hoisin sauce ( Chinese sweetish red/brown sauce) I've ever tasted. Made from sweet potatoes which is how Hoisin sauce was originally concocted in the old days. Without any notice, they stopped making it! Had I known, I would have bought a couple of cases of the stuff, it was that good. Also love their Kefir, their chocolates and their breakfast cereals. Cheapest high-quality ice cream selection around and also cheapest real maple syrup. Nice people.
 
I have a TJ's about five miles from my house.  It's located in a trendy suburban shopping mall so there's plenty of parking available, but I can't say it's a great place for cute employee sightings like some of their other locations.  On some items their prices are unbeatable, and some of their specialty items (like sauces, cheeses, wines etc.) are excellent.  They also have a very good selection of organic foods at very competitive prices.  
 
We don't have one close to me either but I wish we did.  I have been to the one in Tucson several times when I have been visiting Roger there.  Mike, I'm with you, Two Buck Chuck can't be beat.LOL
 
Trader Joes has Aldi Tie

Love Trader Joes ...also like Whole Foods (however, we call it Whole Paycheck) I really like Aldi as well and recently found out that there is a connection. Wikipedia confirms the connection. Too much info to bore folks with...but there is a definite connection.

Terry, I buy it (Two Buck Chuck) all the time and when I first moved back to the south, people thought I was serving something really good.....now the secret is out....for something so inexpensive, it is not bad.
 
I shop there for certain things:

Pound plus Belgian chocolate (less than $5 a lb for a huge slab)

Raw shelled sunflower seeds (I don't know why, but I love them).

I sampled "Two Buck Chuck" and it was OK, if a bit odd, but after I read a scathing review labeling it "swill" and purporting that it's less wine than it is a concoction from concentrates manufactured in a manner similar to soda pop, I lost interest in it. I do enjoy their higher priced wines, however, as they are generally good and often on special.
 
One of the Two-Buck Chuck reds when it was first offered was quite good.  A family friend who has a serious wine cellar stocked with high end stuff was impressed with it as an excellent value. 

 

That vintage is long gone, and I don't think anything they've bottled since will get the approval of avid oenophiles.  I haven't bought any Two-Buck in ages but it's definitely a way to get shoppers into the store.

 

There were a few articles about Charles Shaw when the two-buck phenomenon was new.  He was described as a shrewd businessman who wasn't exactly ethical in the way he created the brand or produced the wine.  I don't think any of that matters now.  Even Whole Foods has launched a bargain brand to compete with TBC.
 
Dad was RIGHT!!!

Dad used to say "if you can't find it in L.A., it's not to be found". We have one (or more) within ten / twentyfive minutes of ANY direction we go! Peanut Butter pretzles,Tamales, (freezer case) pure Maple pancake syrups.Potato Salad Belgian chocolate are all but a FEW delicious reasons to visit them.

It is also one of the stops my sister makes while visiting here from Canyon Lake, Texas!! As well as In n Out burger, Kings' Hawaiian to name only a few.

All the more reasons I can't imagine calling anywhere other than Southern California HOME. ...NEVER run out of places to DINE,DO, ENJOY, GO, PLAY, (thanks Kevin, as in Revin) not to mention APPRECIATE. A fun evening for me is enjoying a meal out with my partner, followed by a visit to OSH, or the store where America shops "SEARS", and Trader Joes. And yes, we can do both or all three no matter which direction we go. And... somewhere/sometime; in the middle of it all ,I pop the question- ARE WE HAVING FUN YET? Some say we're spoiled living the Southern California lifestyle,i don't know. I prefer to think of it as being BLESSED.

BTW. For those of you saying "what is OSH??? Well, for lack of a better way of describing it; here goes: It's like a SCALED down version of Home Depot, with more personalized (easier to find) service. Also, it is afiliated with Sears and they accept the Sears Card.

-Russell
 
OSH

Orchard Supply Hardware.  Launched in 1931 in San Jose, California as a sort of farmers'/ranchers' co-op by some of the larger agricultural entities.  We still have the original "main store" with old school neon sign near downtown.  It's the nearest hardware store to us.  It just got air conditioning a few years ago.

 

Unfortunately, OSH is a ghost of its original self.  Selection consists of lots of off-beat brands, and more often than not, when I go in there I walk out empty handed, many times because they are simply out of stock on what I want.  I've come to prefer a large ACE Hardware over OSH, and will drive several miles to get to that store because I know they'll have what I'm looking for.  The help at OSH is the pits too.  Used to be that the staff at OSH knew hardware up, down and sideways.  Not anymore.  But the ACE staff still does.  And ACE stores around here seem to share the common thread of having one or two hot men working in them.

 

OSH is a good alternative to big box operations, and if I'm pressed for time, will head over there for stuff I know they carry.

 

TJ's is conveniently located to us too, and in a nice new urban shopping center with plenty of parking.  They're all over town around here now.

 

I'm not an L.A. hater like so many Bay Area people feel they have to be.  I lived in West L.A. (Mar Vista) and Santa Monica for a while when I worked at MGM.  I enjoy what L.A. has to offer, which is a ton of stuff to see and do and eat!
 

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