I do not, however, and in contrast to my feelings on TJs, ever intend to go into one of these stores ever again: http://flickr.com/photos/tk23/431199796/

http://urbzen.com/2008/12/02/it-dang-near-killed-him/

The SF Bay area TJ’s I’ve been to have been very enticing, even with cramped parking lots. To me, Favorites sometimes going away is part of their charm, even when it’s sad. It’s the intermittent reinforcement of finding new and strange things, intermixed with mono no aware, the bittersweet sadness of ephemeral things.

Although I hope they don’t stop carrying Mochi (the rice flour covered ice cream balls) though, those are SO good.

braided???

TJ’s has been phasing out a lot of the food imported from China.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2008-02-10-trader-joes-china_N.htm

On the website it says that they’re opening FIVE more in California. YOU HAVE ENOUGH LET THE REST OF THE COUNTRY HAVE SOME!

Of course Florida is a wasteland who’s only big industry is misery and stupidity, so that might be why there isn’t one here.

But let’s be honest here. Trader Joe’s is where you go to buy awesome prepared food. It’s not particularly healthy, natural, sustainable, local, or organic– it just tastes good. Yes, they have a better selection of organic food than Safeway and the quality is obviously better, but you’re still eating processed garbage from south america, and paying a premium for it.

Trader Joe’s does away with a lot of the pain of selection, and it’s clearly a supermarket that treats its employees better and has better quality control, but it’s still just a supermarket. Fan worship of TJ’s is misplaced. To me, it just shows the lack of companies worth doing business with that companies like Trader Joe’s are held up as bastions of good management.

I do like that you can get a drinkable bottle of wine or a decent fresh loaf of bread for under $3, though.

Now cut it back to :60, and give us a :30 and a :15, too.

I am sooo tempted by their offerings, but trying to stick with my raw foods. I’ve always felt their prices and quality of food to be excellent. Although I do steer away from the fresh veggies because most are not organic. But I’ve been known to buy a great deal of their offerings, and never disappointed. Better prices than anywhere for same items!

I always am in a great mood there, even if I don’t buy anything. I smell the flowers, buy a banana (that vid showed them for $.19, but the price jumped to $.29 in my hood), get money back and no ATM charge, exchange a $10 bill for laundry and bus quarters, then use leftover cash at the fresh farmer’s market at the park.

I sing and dance to the oldies, talk to some of the employees, some whom I know by name and they know me.

Because I walk and carry my backpack, I never deal with traffic. I laugh at peeps too lazy to walk a few blocks and carry a few items. That’s one point that’s not mentioned in the vid: carry a backpack and walk. It’s good for you!

It is NOT TJ’s mission to move into buildings without enough parking. Zoning laws are so restrictive they can’t find small stores with large lots. It’s not like Whole Foods, who build or remodel HUGE stores with huge lots. TJ’s aren’t large stores, so finding ZONING which allows them to move in is the problem! Stop blaming them.

They would love a Pacific Palisades or Malibu site, but they can’t find one. They are taking a survey of shopper’s zip codes, trying to figure out how to move where their shoppers live, despite restrictive zoning laws.

There’s an empty pharmacy on the lot right now, but the owner won’t lease it to them. Oh the behind-the-scenes stories.

I’ve yet to find most stores with enough parking. It’s a sign of the times, as we refuse to carpool, or walk, or take buses.

As for discontinued items: that’s life, nothing is forever. So find other items to enjoy. Move on. Don’t look at what’s not there, but focus on what is there. Affordable, tasty, NEVER expired food (I don’t understand that comment about expired food, it’s not the 99 Cent Store or Big Lots), but most of all, it’s the most fun store I’ve ever come across. And I’ve been around for awhile!

Like every TJ’s lover I have a long list of stuff I liked but they don’t carry anymore, although if I had to choose 1, I’d choose the $0.99 fruit-juice based energy drinks, or the way-cheaper-than-Nutella Chocolate Hazelnut spread. That would score me major whuffie points at home…

As a long-time TJ’s addict (there was one across the parking lot from my High School in the late 80s/early 90s) I’m a bit blessed, there’s one 2 blocks from my office on Bay Street, and two within 10 minute drives of my house.

I feel bad for folks in places w/o a TJs. :(

…Although, they also have the wine in a different store next door because of stoopid NYC package laws.

I really miss the goats milk, the Hawaiian potato chips, fruit leathers, and the steaks wrapped in bacon and stuffed with spinach and feta. :D I didn’t live off Trader Joes long enough to have favored products go missing, though.

come on guys — how’d you like those fades? where he ripped off the price sign and got rid of the items, leaving a nice space? or how he got the checkout girl to disappear while the background continued like normal? or he had items he could no longer get spinning around the center of a fade.

sure carl makes films and he’s good at it. that explains the technology. but pulling it off without being a douche? in the same trader joes that previously told him to ditch the camera?

i call shenanigans.

Here’s something I don’t understand…I mean, I really don’t. Why is it that the checkout staff at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods are so much more, um, er, caucasian, than my regular, non-fancy grocery store? Geez, I know I’m opening this up to a bunch of potential flameage, but it seems weird to me.

Wow, that doesn’t sound like the TJ’s I shop at in Oakland. Where is yours?