Tracking Trader Joe's

Gingerbread House Fun Project for Kids

They still had plenty of Trader Joe's Gingerbread House kits ($6.99) at my local store, and the Tracking Trader Joe's Lab Techs (my daughters) had a blast putting the house together.

Quick Quesadillas

I love Mexican food, and a BBQ pork quesadillas is a quick and easy lunch.

I start with Trader Joe's Shredded BBQ Pork, Reduced Carb Tortillas, Fancy Shredded Mexican Cheese, and Peach Salsa. You can also use the Shredded BBQ Chicken, the wide variety of tortillas that TJ's sells, and any one of the salsas (another of my favorites is Trader Joe's Habanero & Lime Salsa). I usually add either home-made guacamole or the prepared TJ's stuff, but I was out of avacados this time.

I start by heating up a pan, and microwaving a bit of the Shredded BBQ Pork (about a minute, or until hot). I heat one side of a tortilla until brown, and then flip it. I immediately add the cheese, which should start melting. I put the BBQ pork on the cheese, and when the tortilla is brown on the bottom I put it on a plate. Before I fold it over I add a bit of salsa and/or guacamole.

Candy Cane Joe-Joe's

I hope you got a chance to try the limited edition Candy Cane Joe-Joe's (they're already sold out from my local TJ's).  I've always been a big fan of Joe-Joe's, but this was an interesting take on the traditional sandwich cookie, with a light peppermint taste and a suprising candy cane crunch ($2.99).

I'm Back...

It's been a long time, but the day job,  a 15-hour per week commute, 2 young kids, and my main blog HackingNetflix kept me so busy I had little time to update this site. However, the job and commute, more than 55 hours per week, are gone (I got riffed), so I have more time on my hands.

This site has always been a labor of love. I shop at Trader Joe's at least twice a week, and it's rare that I visit Stop'n'Shop (our large supermarket). I love to try new products, and we only cheat on TJ's with a few items from Costco and Stew Leonard's.

I'll be posting news, reviews, recipes and more soon. Feel free to contact me with questions, comments, requests and story ideas: trackingtj [at] gmail.com.

- Mike

NYC Trader Joe's Delivers

The New York City Trader Joe's is the first to offer a delivery service for the grocery and wine stores. Unlike Peapod (an online grocery delivery service) you have to visit the store, pay for your groceries and a $4.95 delivery charge, and wait up to two hours for your groceries to arrive. The delivery area ranges from 7th Avenue to 1st Avenue, and from 8th Street to 23rd Street.

The wine store also offers delivery, but there is a $19.95 charge and a one-case minimum order size.

SF Gate on Trader Joe's Fans

The San Francisco Chronicle has a story about the cult of Traders Joe's and features the community site Trader Joe Fan and Tracking Trader Joe's (The Tao of Trader Joe's: Devoted Fans Meet Online to Swap News, Stay Connected).

Even customers have taken it upon themselves to fill in what Trader Joe's leaves blank. Jovanna Brooks, who lives near Boston and has created a Web site for Trader Joe's fans (www.traderjoefan.com), said she often receives inquiries from customers even though she has no affiliation with the company. Trader Joe's does not have an e-mail address and instead encourages correspondence the old-fashioned way  --  by letter or in person.

Question: Does Trader Joe's sell Franchises?

Several people have written, asking if Trader Joe's sold franchises.

I'm sorry, but all of the stores are owned by a trust created by Theo Albrecht from the Aldi Group, a retail giant with more than 7,500 stores around the world.

WCCO TV Tastes Trader Joe's Wines

WCCO TV (Minnesota) held a wine tasting that included Trader Joe's wines, Wine Tasters Give Trader Joes a Try (be sure to watch the video).

"This tastes like a perm," said Weis.  "It's terrible. Yeah. Oh this is bad." 

The wine that made them cringe was Trader Joe's Shiraz.  It earned only one point out of a possible 60.

Two of the highest scores went to Trader's Joe's wines: the Chardonnay and the Cabernet Sauvignon. The most popular wine was the Hogue Fume Blanc. At $9, it's still a bargain as far as Poretti is concerned.

Possible Subsidy to Bring Trader Joe's to San Jose

Scott Herhold on MercuryNews.com  has written an editorial about a proposed subsidy to bring a Trader Joe's  to downtown San Jose, Herhold: We Can't Afford Subsidy for Trader Joe's.

Try as I might, I can't support a $2.9 million public subsidy for a Trader Joe's at the new MarketCenter shopping center on Coleman Avenue, between San Jose's airport and its still-struggling downtown.

What makes it hard is that I really like Trader Joe's. I visited its Mountain View store last week (No. 83) and came away with a bit of seafood, three bottles of Chilean wine and a carton of blackberries. For the time-starved yuppie, it's almost the ideal store. The portions are right, the prices are reasonable and -- no small thing -- the clerks are swift and competent.

Trader Joe's Founder Speaks at SCORE Function

LA Downtown News has a story about a recent talk Trader Joe's founder, Joe Coulumbe, delivered at a SCORE function ("Trader Joe Comes Downtown").

Interesting tidbits from the story:

• Trader Joe's will do about $5 billion in business this year.
• The average full-time Trader Joe's employee earns $50,000.
• The first Trader Joe's store carried 100 brands of scotch and 50 types of rum.

In case you're wondering what he looks like, the story includes a recent photo of 75 year-old Joe Coulumbe.

New Oreos Beat Joe-Joe's in Taste Test

The Chicago Tribune conducted a taste test to see how the new Oreo cookies (trans-fat free) fared against other "healthier" sandwich cookies, and the new Oreos won (Joe-Joe's came in second). There were only 8 tasters, so I wonder how Joe-Joe's would do in a larger test.

Oreo (7 points. $4.39 per 18-ounce 24 cents per ounce.) "Classic Oreo flavor with a good mix of cocoa and icing." "Yum, where's the milk?" "Ah just right, nice sense of personality; great chocolate flavor."

Joe-Joe's (5 points. $2.49 per 20-ounce package; 12 cents per ounce.) "Candylike filling." "Good chocolate taste." "Very artificial." "Falls apart."

That's interesting, but do Oreos come in ginger flavor?

Trader Joe's Wine Reviewed

The Arizona Republic has a review of some of the wines available at Trader Joe's (Treasure Trove  Awaits Inside Trader Joe's).

Trader Joe's made its wine-selling name with "Two-Buck Chuck," the $2.99 wines from the Charles Shaw Winery in California, and the stores carry cases and cases of these wines in every grape variety. But a little farther down the aisle, greater values abound.

My local (Connecticut) Trader Joe's is not allowed to sell wine, so I'll have to pick some up at the Manhattan store to "review."

Trader Joe's is coming to Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Business Times is reporting that Trader Joe's will be coming to Pittsburgh in the fall.

"All I can confirm is that we are coming to Pittsburgh," said Alison Mochizuki, a company spokeswoman. "It seems like a great place for Trader Joe's to be. There's a lot of foodies there. What's not to like?"

However, she wouldn't divulge where the store will be located or whether the company's plans include multiple Pittsburgh locations.

Interesting tidbit from the story: "...and often generates sales of more than $1,000 per square foot -- a figure double that of conventional supermarkets, according to published reports."

Seth Godin on Lessons Learned from Trader Joe's

Seth Godin, marketing guru extraordinaire, writes about lessons learned from Trader Joe's:

"Most of what they sell is private label. Now that they have scale, they are able to negotiate great prices from their suppliers, and more important, encourage/force their suppliers to make unique items, or organic foods, or foods of higher quality for the money. All of this is a virtuous cycle. The key mantra is that Trader’s finds foods for its customers, NOT customers for its foods."

Pioneer Press on Trader Joe's Fans

The St. Paul Pioneer Press has a story about the customers who love Trader Joe's, Trader Joe's Fans Prove Retailers are the New Rock Stars.

"Nothing was being given away or discounted beyond its "everyday low price." There was no face painting, no celebrity appearances. Still, shoppers arrived by the dozens Monday for the opening of the Twin Cities' first Trader Joe's grocery store. They stood an hour in line to be among the first inside. They parked several blocks away. They waited a half-hour to pay for trail mix and hunks of cheese."

Another company that also has a fiercely loyal customer base had people line up for a half mile to get into their new store in Manhattan this weekend: Apple.

StarTribune: Trader Joe's Drops Anchor

The Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune covered the opening of the new Trader Joe's in St. Louis Park.

"Rob Cohon of Edina was one of about 50 people in line at Trader Joe's in St. Louis Park when it opened Monday morning. Cohon wore a loud Hawaiian shirt in keeping with the store's nautical theme. "I've been waiting 23 years for this," Cohon said."

Spring 2006 Fearless Flyer Collector's Edition

The Trader Joe's Spring 2006 Fearless Flyer "Special Collector's Edition" is now available (you can download a copy for your region here) and features their favorite 100 104 products. You'll also see a collection of cartoons from 1967 to 2006.

Trader Joe's: "Attitude & Gratitude"

The Pocono Record calls Trader Joe's a "Grocery store chain with attitude and gratitude."

"At a store this popular and unique, I would expect "boutique" prices on common items, but that is not the case at Trader Joe's. Not only are their prices competitive, but in some cases, their products are downright bargains. For example, I compared the price of basic items like eggs, milk and half-and-half to the prices at the large national supermarket chain nearby. I found that Trader Joe's everyday low prices on these items were 25 to 30 percent lower than the supermarket's everyday price."

Trader Joe's NY City Store Opening 9am on March 17th

New York City's first Trader Joe's is opening at 9 a.m. on March 17th -- St. Patrick's Day. Located in the Palladium building at 142 East 14th Street, it's only a block from Food Emporium and Whole Foods.

The Palladium is a college dorm, and yes -- they will be selling "2 Buck Chuck." Due to New York City Liquor laws, there is a separate "Wine Store" located on the other side of the Palladium entrace (the main store will sell beer).  A worker on the site said they might even offer delivery in Manhattan (is this a first for Trader Joe's?).  The combined size of both stores will be between 12,000 and 15,000 square feet, according to a store employee.

The main store will be open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, and the Wine Store will be open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday (12 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday).

Here's the location of the store (map courtesy Google Maps):

Here's the sign announcing the opening:

Here's the front of the Palladium building. The main store is on the left, and the Wine store is on the right. The entrance to the Palladium is in the middle.

The entrance to the main store, taken during construction:

The entrance to the Wine store:

Trader Joe's Flowers Amaze Wife

Trader Joe's flowers are the cheapest in town, and I surprised my wife with a boquet early (we had an impending blizzard). They looked nice when I bought them, but they really opened up when I brought them home.

Needless to say, the wife was amazed when she saw them this morning.

I've spend as much as $50 on roses, and they didn't look as nice as Trader Joe's "Rainbow Roses" for only $7.99.