Was So Excited for First Trader Joe's Visit...but a bit disappointed

[Kellykins1218]

TJ's is nothing like Aldis.

I think it's a lot like Aldi & have never been very impressed with it. I do like buying flowers there, though, because they're so cheap.

 

[China Expat]

I think Whole Foods is superior to Trader Joes

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

I guess I'm in the minority here, but I'm a Trader Joe's devotee. I patiently waited years for it to open up in my city- now there's one about 10 minutes away. We have a Fresh Market, Whole Foods, and two Publix stores all in the same area, but I prefer TJ's to all of them (Whole Foods and Fresh Market are just so expensive). TJ's frozen meals can't really be beat, and pretty much every dessert/chocolate thing they have is fantastic. We can't do all our shopping there but I manage to get a majority of it done.

 

[superme80]

I love Trader Joe's. Unfortunately ours is extremely crowded most days with a horrible parking lot. The Whole Foods has a much better parking lot. I do hit Trader Joe's first, then Whole Food. My Whole Foods has very nice customer service reps.

 

[morgan98]

I think Trader Joe's is fine for certain products, although since we have moved there is really not one is my area of town. For me, those products were olive oil, coffee/teas, nuts, cheese selection and sometimes wine and in a pinch, frozen veggies. We don't really eat pre-prepared meals or processed foods, so many of their frozen items were out.

In my opinion, we also had to be very careful buying the fruits/vegetables and meats. All of these items come pre-packaged and were not always the freshest.

While Trader Joe's does serve a purpose and has some good things, it cannot compare to a Whole Foods or Fresh Market which are full service grocery stores. Trader Joe's was never that for me.

 

[Christine]

I think Trader Joe's is fine for certain products, although since we have moved there is really not one is my area of town. For me, those products were olive oil, coffee/teas, nuts, cheese selection and sometimes wine and in a pinch, frozen veggies. We don't really eat pre-prepared meals or processed foods, so many of their frozen items were out.

In my opinion, we also had to be very careful buying the fruits/vegetables and meats. All of these items come pre-packaged and were not always the freshest.

While Trader Joe's does serve a purpose and has some good things, it cannot compare to a Whole Foods or Fresh Market which are full service grocery stores. Trader Joe's was never that for me.

And I don't think you should ever compare TJs with WF. Not even in the same league or business model, IMO (not to mention pricing).

 

[dashofsunshine]

I think Whole Foods is superior to Trader Joes

It's about 5 times more expensive, though...sadly I do love Whole Foods, but TJ's is waaaaaay more affordable. (I love TJ's, too!!)

 

[DisneyOma]

I think Whole Foods is superior to Trader Joes

We found the opposite - the only thing superior at Whole Foods was the pretentiousness. I felt I wasn't dressed up enough, as I was wearing jeans and sneakers. It just felt so snobby to me, the way things were presented and labeled. That might have just been the one Whole Foods I've been to though, and that was a few years ago.

 

[dashofsunshine]

We found the opposite - the only thing superior at Whole Foods was the pretentiousness. I felt I wasn't dressed up enough, as I was wearing jeans and sneakers. It just felt so snobby to me, the way things were presented and labeled. That might have just been the one Whole Foods I've been to though, and that was a few years ago.

I definitely see Trader Joe's as more "approachable" - financially and socially, haha. I also like their specialty products more at TJ's (they have really interesting, delicious stuff - like bacon cheddar cheese. Yummmmmm), and I can get my uncured turkey bacon there for half of what it costs elsewhere. The people are laid back, helpful, and there's no air of superiority like at Whole Foods.

That being said, Whole Foods meat/seafood selection and their salad/hot bar, PLUS their selection of specialty items for those on special diets is bar none the best I've ever seen. They still merit a trip from me every two months or so for the few essentials I need from there, or if we're cooking a special meal in need of really high quality meat. I try to just ignore the snobby feeling there and get in and out, because they really do have some great products.

FWIW, we hit up Trader Joe's probably twice a month for our essentials from there. Our weekly, normal grocery trips are done at Kroger

 

[CPanther95]

I think Trader Joe's is fine for certain products, although since we have moved there is really not one is my area of town. For me, those products were olive oil, coffee/teas, nuts, cheese selection and sometimes wine and in a pinch, frozen veggies. We don't really eat pre-prepared meals or processed foods, so many of their frozen items were out.

In my opinion, we also had to be very careful buying the fruits/vegetables and meats. All of these items come pre-packaged and were not always the freshest.

While Trader Joe's does serve a purpose and has some good things, it cannot compare to a Whole Foods or Fresh Market which are full service grocery stores. Trader Joe's was never that for me.

We look at it the same way. There are some good deals/products at Trader Joe's, but the meats are awful. If we can't get quality meats, we don't shop there. It's just not worth it to shop there for just a handful of other items - then have to do our primary shopping elsewhere. Whoever compared it to Aldi was spot on. We always considered Trader Joe's the place for people that want to shop at Aldi, but feel there is a stigma associated with being seen trying to save money.

Whole Foods and Fresh Market are overpriced, but the foods there are higher quality and fresh. But we only go to either if there is something exclusive there we need that week. The value just isn't there compared to what you can get at Publix or Harris Teeter.

 

[CandleontheWater]

I don't think that it is that Trader Joes is like Aldi, I think that Aldi's are more starting to resemble Trader Joes. The Aldi near me has really doubled down on seasonal, organic and specialty items and it does sell wine. This fall I found some of my favorite "trader Joes" seasonal products at Aldi, at a significant discount. Aldi's pumpkin pancake mix was just as good as Traders Joes, and I strongly suspect they are the same thing, just in different packaging. I think that Aldi (at least in my area) is really trying to capture the upper middle class market, that still wants specialty items but wants a deal. Trader Joes certainly still has more things (Aldi has not gotten those amazing frozen Indian entrees), but they are narrowing the gap!

 

[morgan98]

And I don't think you should ever compare TJs with WF. Not even in the same league or business model, IMO (not to mention pricing).

I completely agree with this. I don't ever compare the two, but whenever there is a thread about the Trader Joe's, inevitably someone does.

 

[Sabeking]

I never would have compared TJ to WF. I thought they were two totally different types of stores. I have only been to Aldi's once probably 8 years ago and only remember mass quantities of regular store brands at inexpensive prices. I don't remember it being like TJ's at all. I may go check it out again. Anyhow, I am a TJ's junkie on certain products there. My ALL TIME favorite is a wine called Sauvignon Republic; I think out of Australia. It is a white wine with a hint of pear taste. Not too dry but definitely not too sweet. It runs 7.99 a bottle and I usually buy it by the case. Best wine I have ever had!

 

[Pamlur]

It may have been mentioned upthread, but the founders of Aldi's and Trader Joe's were brothers.

We don't have a TJ's, but are supposedly getting one sometime fairly soon. My step-daughter has bought me some chocolate from hers, and will bring it the net time she comes to visit (forgot to bring it Thanksgiving). I think it's a fun, quirky store, I haven't shopped at Aldi's enough to have an opinion.

 

[Christine]

My ALL TIME favorite is a wine called Sauvignon Republic; I think out of Australia. It is a white wine with a hint of pear taste. Not too dry but definitely not too sweet. It runs 7.99 a bottle and I usually buy it by the case. Best wine I have ever had!

I need this.

 

[CPanther95]

I completely agree with this. I don't ever compare the two, but whenever there is a thread about the Trader Joe's, inevitably someone does.

They both have a similar cult following.

 

[bcla]

Sometimes there's just something at TJ's that just blows my mind, but may be extremely limited. One was my favorite chocolate company - Joseph Schmidt Confections of San Francisco. They had these flat/round truffles called "Slicks". Normally they sold them for a pretty steep price at department and specialty candy stores. They also had them at great prices at their San Francisco store. They've closed shop, but I remember when TJ's in our area had these chocolates at something like $2.50 for a box of 4. The box was actually kind of plain, but it was great. This was their fancy packaging for gift giving.

 

[LJSquishy]

I'm not really a TJ's fan...it's mostly processed and prepackaged foods which is the exact opposite of what I'd expect from them (and the opposite of what I want to buy).

 

[bcwife76]

We don't have TJ's in Canada (nor any store comparable to it. We have Whole Foods but it's WAY too expensive so we never shop there). I live about 20 minutes from 3 different US/CAN border crossings so I can get down to my closest TJ's in less than an hour. Love stocking up on all their cool things but I wouldn't say they have the best stuff around. But I think it's a fun store to shop in. And we try to hit it first thing in the morning (say, around 9:30am) and it's much easier to shop as the location we go to has the smallest parking lot too.

 

[North of Mouse]

We have had TJ's in our area for many years, and was so disappointed the first time I went - went again about a year ago to reassess, and felt the same way - just did not live up to the hype for me - to each their own though. We have so many nice grocers here that I can get much better value and pricing in some of them. Harris Teeter is the 'best', though I do some shopping at a number of others. Even though limited, I get a lot of fresh fruit and veggies at Aldi - haven't tried much of the other things.