Tracking Trader Joe's

New Trader Joe's Stores

The latest version of the Trader Joe's e-mail newsletter (sign up here)  says  that the  Pikeville, MD store will be opening "Very, very soon" on September 30th. Also opening soon are stores in Centerville, VA, Northville, MI, and West Hartford, CT (I've been told that it'll open on November 4th).

New Business Opportunity?

I've been reading a lot of stories online and in print while researching Trader Joe's, and I've noticed that people who have moved away from a Trader Joe's store really miss the products.

Is there an opportunity for someone to create a service that ships Trader Joe's products? How much of a premium could you charge? Would anyone be interested?

Finding Discontinued Products

Laura writes:

Trader Joe's on the west coast just switched peanut butter suppliers. The old stuff was my favorite. ( I ate it EVERY day!) Corporate says they can't tell me the name of the company who makes it and I can't find one with the same nutritional profile anywhere. Can you help?

Does anyone have information about the old supplier or if there is a similar product on the market?

Walk the Plank Pizza

TownOnline.com has a recipe for Walk the Plank Pizza using Trader Joe's pizza dough (and a really strange beverage, too).

Now to the pizza. When it comes to the base for the dish, there are options. What we did was buy Trader Joe's pizza dough (see directions below) but you could use 8-inch Boboli, sold in plastic bags in the bread department of Stop & Shop if you're in a hurry. As it happened we had a second performance the next week and used Boboli but felt it wasn't quite as good as TJ's pizza dough even though it took less time.

Update: OregonLive.com has a story about how to grill pizza (something I've always wanted to try) and they also mention Trader Joe's pizza dough:

Trader Joe's sells a very good pizza dough that is easy to work with and freezes well so you'll always have it on hand. (For local sources, see the story below.) For best results, bring the dough to room temperature before rolling it out.

Rhode Island Wants a Trader Joe's

This blog was started on Monday (of this week!) and I've already seen two requests for a Trader Joe's in Rhode Island. I know they need one because my folks live there and have me bring stuff from TJ's on almost every trip. Shelia writes:

Why isn't there a TJ in Rhode Island? Anywhere in Rhode Island? We have two Whole Foods within 2.1 miles of each other, but no TJ.

JL on the Modern Kicks blog (I want my yuppie junk food!) asks:

...how TJ's could be in the Boston market for a decade (perhaps longer), have markets from Hadley to Hyannis, and expand into Connecticut, without opening a single store in Rhode Island.  Don't they realize how food-crazed Rhode Island is?  Do they not know that crowds pack into the main Whole Foods store on the East Side, making parking there near impossible?

Cable also asks about  Florida:

I'm curious as to why TJs does not seem to be targeting Florida for expansion.  No stores there at the moment -- none.  And none are planned, as far as I can tell.  Seems odd, given the South Florida's dense population and hospitality to new retail stores.  Any idea what's behind this thinking?

Who else wants a Trader Joe's in their town? Has anyone figured out how Trader Joe's picks the next location?

Introducing "Four Buck Fred"

The AZCentral is running a story about a new offering from Fred Franzia, the guy who came up with "Two Buck Chuck." Four Buck Fred, while not expected to win any prizes, is a wine that customers "...can afford to drink every day with their meals." It will actually be $5 Fred for anyone outside of California. 

I found this tidbit from the story interesting:

Last year, the discount retail chain Trader Joe's sold six million cases of Two Buck Chuck. Bronco is the fourth-largest U.S. winery.

The Milford Daily News is also  running a story about wine  and recommends a Shiraz available at Trader Joe's:

Concannon is more famous nationally for their powerful petite sirah in the extra-hefty bottle, also an excellent wine around $10. I am always a little amazed to see it at our local Trader Joe's, just sitting on the shelf at $2 a glass.

How to Contact Trader Joe's

There are many ways you can contact Trader Joe's. You can always call or visit your local store and the staff will try to get your question answered or your problem solved. If you don't know the number of your local store you can click here or call 800-746-7857.

If you absolutely must speak with someone at the Trader Joe's corporate office you can call them at 626-599-3700 (customer service is extension 3035). If you want to sent them a thank-you note, suggestion or complaint, you can mail it to:

West coast:  Trader Joe's, PO Box 5049, Monrovia, CA 91017

East coast: 117 Kendrick Street, Suite 700, Needham, MA 02494

There's also a lot of great information on the Trader Joe's Web site.

Update on Trader Joe's in Union Square (NYC)

I'm lucky to live near a Trader Joe's, but I'm still excited about the one that is coming to Union Square in New York City (as reported on Curbed and in the NY Times). I live in Connecticut and work in the city a few days a week, and when they open the new store it'll be located only a few blocks from my office. 

I called Trader Joe's today and was told that the Union Square location will open near the end of this year or early next year. They also told me that the West Hartford (Connecticut) location will open on November 4th.

I'm hoping that the NYC location will be able to sell wine and beer. The Connecticut stores near me can't  sell the infamous "Two Buck Chuck" due to archaic blue laws and local regulations. I was in Seattle recently and visited a Trader Joe's that even sold Guiness. I'm wondering how many bottles of wine I can carry home on the train...

I'll keep you posted on the new stores as information becomes available.

Whole Foods Opening Store in UK

Forbes is reporting that Trader Joe's competitor Whole Foods is opening their first store in the U.K.

I wonder how long it will be before Trader Joe's starts opening stores in Europe since they are owned by the German-based Aldi.

Why Start A Blog About Trader Joe's?

I know it sounds strange, but I like to study companies. I'm especially interested in companies that are serious innovators in typically boring or declining markets. I spent the past 20 months following Netflix on my other blog, Hacking Netflix. Netflix is completely changing the DVD rental business, and has been a very interesting company to write about. I posted about 850 stories on Hacking Netflix, and the site has received more than 1 million pageviews and generated almost 10,000 comments.

I wanted to start another blog, and I was looking for a company that was growing in a competitive market, had a lot of passionate customers, and was doing something very interesting. Trader Joe's is all of this and more. It also helps that I shop there several nights a week.

When I started Hacking Netflix, I was posting information that I found interesting, but it quickly grew into a community of readers and contributors. I see my job here as editor, and I would hope that you would contribute story ideas, ask questions, and participate in the discussion.

Please feel free to contact me by e-mail: TrackingTJ @ gmail.com.