Trader Joe’s

Good store! Organized, clean and cheap!
Employees are very friendly and nice!
You can find anything you need! And also the fruit and vegetable sections are very fresh!

I have recently warmed up to Trader Joe’s. I typically will do my grocery runs at Alameda Natural Grocery, Berkeley Bowl, or Rainbow Cooperative yet ended up at the Trader Joe’s in Berkeley. Kudos for Trader Joe’s for labeling which of their Trader Joe’s brand products are vegan. I picked up Soy Chorizo, Organic Crimini Mushrooms, Super Firm Tofu, Avocados, Sprouted Flax Bread, Trader Joe’s brand Walnut Chocolate Chip Vegan Cookies similar to Uncle Eddie’s kind, organic black beans, organic fresh basil, some whole grain pasta, & more.
It was also nice to enjoy a sample of Pomegranate juice along w/​tortilla chips & salsa.
I should note that there are a few room for improvements not just at this branch of Trader Joe’s, but all branches of Trader Joe’s that I have been to. I would love if Trader Joe’s carried bulk goods & stocked staple items in bulk such as dried beans, nuts, & oats. Some of the produce has too much packaging & would like to see the produce in more minimal packaging.
While I loved seeing so many great vegan items labeled on Trader Joe’s brands that made the ubiquitous label checking for this vegan less cumbersome a final area of improvement is that all of the non-​dairy cheeses including the soy cheeses along w/​the almond cheeses all contained dairy so none were vegan. It would be nice to have one kind of vegan cheese as they have lovely Gluten-​free made in San Francisco cornmeal pizza crusts here.
Luckily after Trader Joe’s I was able to head over to nearby Animal Place’s Vegan Republic for some vegan Follow Your Heart Mozzarella Cheese to make my vegan gluten-​free pizza.
Overall Trader Joe’s provided a great shopping shopping experience for me & will be back!

I work near this Trader Joe’s and sometimes stop here for groceries before heading back home across the bridge. The store is always well stocked and the cashier lines are never long. Even though their parking garage is tiny, there is always at least one free parking spot. Much better that the crazy TJs in SF

Very friendly staff. High quality cheeses at very affordable prices. Excellent olive oils and Italian pasta sauces. Seems everything I buy, tastes very good.

Fave things: quick steel cut oats, bananas, tamales from the fresh section (not the frozen), head of cauliflower, mixed green bags, frozen grass fed beef, frozen peas, inner peas, vino verde, salted caramels, dark chocolate peanut butter cups, yogurt, nuts, apple sauce, broccolini and so much more.
Most of the staff are super friendly and I can get the help I need. Shop here weekly.

Very Friendly and quick service. They always have several cashiers on duty which is certainly very important as we all hate waiting. Minus one star, however because several items are overpriced (16.9 oz cereal box, strawberries)

I currently work near this location and I almost always buy my lunch from here. My fav items are the salads and wraps. I also buy some groceries here too for my workplace fridge and for my own house. It’s just so convenient and really inexpensive. Right now, I’m really loving the nacho cheese tortilla chips, gluten free pretzels, and most especially the dark chocolate peanut butter cups. So, so addicting!
And, not only the food, but also I love the display of flowers right when you go in from University. And they have the cutest cards for birthdays, marriages, thank you’s, etc. And for only a dollar each!
They also have such great employees as well. Very friendly and superb service!
Right now, it’s Mango Madness at Trader Joe’s and there’s mango flavored products everywhere! From cookies to dried fruit to salad dressing to candy.

I had a rather disappointing experience recently at the Berkeley Trader Joe’s. The indoor bike rack is between the cart return area and a motorized cart parking spot. There is almost always a motorcycle in this area that makes parking your bike quite difficult. On this occasion, the owner of the motorcycle came out while I was locking my bike and I described how the motorcycle was blocking access to the bike rack. Apparently the motorcycle is owned by a Trader Joe’s employee!
Now this so far is OK, I understand that parking lot space is limited in Berkeley, but it was his response that I am mainly writing about. He said that this wasn’t a problem before they put in the bicycle racks and complained that bikes get in the way of his motorcycle. Next, he said it was made worse when they started this «nonsense» (his quote) and pointed to the handicapped motorized cart parking spot. He then said they will soon be reconfiguring the area and that will make it easier for him to park his motorcycle.
I am surprised that a Trader Joe’s employee chooses to put his own needs so much higher than those of his customers (especially since all the other employees are friendly, helpful, and considerate). It is also appalling that he was so insensitive to the needs of those who ride bikes and those who are mobility limited. I recommend that Trader Joe’s offer sensitivity training to their employees.
On a completely unrelated note, I agree with the posts of several other people regarding the need to look at expiration dates closely at Trader Joe’s. I try not to buy bread, cheese, or milk at TJs because it usually goes bad within a few days. On the flipside, Trader Joe’s is the place for the best deals on nuts, dried fruit, frozen goods, and beer.

Public Health Alert!
I was eating my favorite lemon chicken and arugula pre-​made salad and CRUNCH, bit into a @$#%!! roach-​bug thing It was such a shocking experience and I would never think that this would ever happen to me, and nonetheless getting a premade salad from TJ’s!
I asked my co-​worker to take a look because I could not believe what happened.
Take caution and look at your food, thank goodness the containers are see through. Makes me start to wonder where the kitchen that made this salad is at, it certainly needs a visit from the health inspector!

I would LOVE to work morning shifts at this Trader Joe’s! You literally DON’T have to say hello to the customers when they say hello first, you DON’T have to make eye contact — in fact, you can spend the whole time chatting with a neighbor cashier and NOT say thank you when handing a customer their receipt! Not even smile! :D What a fantastic job where it’s ok to be miserable to faithful customers! And what’s even better — is when a customer is having a bad day — you can CONTRIBUTE in some small way to make it even WORSE by being too cool to care! Yay to the selection at Trader Joe’s!!! Boo to the morning cashiers who don’t have the decency to be kind to their smiling customers — who actually don’t mind bagging their own items, but are just asking for a smile and hello. I officially give up trying to be friendly to them — the lines at Berkeley Bowl look friendlier than some of the cashiers here.

Super Friendly Staff! Very well staffed location, every corner we went, there was someone, stocking, organizing or just making sure everyone’s O K. With that being said, I found everything I needed. My son also found Oskey (sp?) the bear. If you didn’t know they hide a bear everyday, if your child finds it, they get to dig a price from the bear treasure box.
Oh also, you can taste pretty much EVERYTHING! They open a package and you get a free taste, even wine.
Lots of reasons to love TJ’s!

What lovely people and great products. Convienient to reach, on a bus route (52)

Every time I come to this store it takes 20 mins. The 15 item only fast lane is super super slow because they allow to many items. needs to be 10 or fewer. Get people OUT of the store faster.
Joe’s recently installed a new POS system and it is awful. I would be embarrassed to have that system. It takes 5 mins longer to check out because the system is so slow… the entire process of going to the store and waiting in line is not for me. You want to waste your time go ahead. I would rather NOT eat then waste my time waiting. If I notice multiple people in line I just set basket down or leave my cart full of stuff and walk out.

Great service every time.
Don’t try the dark chocolate peanut butter cups. They are insane.

You can not dislike a Trader Joe’s.
They always stock something for everybody. Whether your in there for snacks, free samples, groceries, or simply to pee.
There is always nice sale on their produce and goods. It is hard leave this store empty handed espeically when they carry so many vegan cookies and frozen treats!

TJ’s, as I like to call it, is as good as it gets for grocery stores. Why? Because they’ve got the freshest produce and food. I mean there aren’t many places where the bread goes moldy after 2 weeks– mainly because they don’t have preservatives. Although it may not be the best thing to buy because of the short shelf-​life, it’s great for parties or for large, voracious families, such as a pack of hungry wolves. Other than that, I love all their food, from the microwaveable broccoli to the ice cream and candy section. Man, they do desserts right. I’ve had almost all the ice creams and you can’t go wrong with them. I still prefer the chocolates which are amazing. And they have so many! Ritter sport is the best and I love the chocolate orange jelly sticks (brings nostalgia of good old college days). Aside from that, they usually have really good fruits and vegetable variety.
Like Costco, they have a sampling station. I’ve never tasted anything bad from them. Most of their samples make me want to go buy the product right after tasting it. I usually come out with more than I planned on buying. But the best part are the prices. Because they don’t advertise, prices are low. Salads are $ 1.99 a bag. Bananas are 19 cents each! You cannot get any cheaper than that unless you go to Costco, but at Costco, you need to purchase a yearly membership. So TJ’s still comes out cheaper. Check-​out is fast as there are so many lanes open and most people are super nice. I love this store! So many good food at good prices.

It’s rare that I get to this side of the bridge now that I’m not working at Cal anymore; but I had errands to run and dinner to grab with the bestie, and since I was out and about and had my car and my credit card on me, it seemed like a pit stop would make a lot of sense. I was gonna hit the more-​familiar-​to-​me Emeryville location until my aforementioned bestie said the magic words: «Lots of parking».
So I stopped in, and true to his word, I parked 30 feet from the door and walked right in. They had everything I needed, and I only waited about two minutes in line, and I was back on my way.
Can’t say that I’ll cross the Bay Bridge to hit this TJ’s over my other local options, but it was way more easy in-​n-​out, and the lines were way shorter, than what I’m used to, in the city.

This Trader Joe’s is a little smaller, a little cramped, and usually really crowded with Cal students. Parking is kind of a nightmare, since the under-​building lot is tiny and busy, but I suspect most of the regulars at this TJ’s walk here. But, still, it’s Trader Joe’s which is always a good thing.

Great selection, friendly staff, decent price! When I need a quick and cheap lunch, there’s so many different things to choose from.
I guess something to keep note of though — my coworker bought a frozen burrito from there, didn’t realize that it was expired, and when he opened it up, it was moldy… so be careful about expiration dates!

I can’t really ask for more than a market with cheap bananas, tasty prepared meals, lovely fresh flowers, reliable produce, affordable organic options and friendly customer service. I’ve been shopping at Trader Joe’s since my sisters and I were small enough to fit in a cart together. Their product quality has not changed and it’s one of few stores with really helpful staff.
This location has a small parking lot and antibacterial wipes for the shopping carts. Brownie points.