Trader Joe’s

I moved out of the neighborhood from the Goleta Trader Joe’s and still go out of my way to shop there. Best parking of all 3 local stores and the most engaging staff. The sample table is easy to access and the helmsmen (greeters) and great at saying hello and being helpful. The art is beautifully arranged about the store and my son still looks forward to going there after all these years. This place is popular for so many reasons.
Still the best prices in town on:
Milk, cheese, eggs, pasta, marinara, OJ, chicken, pork chops, olive oil, organic coffee, breakfast sausages, cereal, granola bars, tortilla chips, cottage cheese, yogurt, bell peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, and probably 20 other items I’ve forgotten.

I’m reminded of the Yogi Berra line about a place being too crowded. Avoid at peak busy times. Line length approaches defrost time for frozen food.
Staff is usually very friendly and helpful. They just need to improve their checkout throughput.

This TJ’s gets way more packed than the others because of UCSB shoppers.
My relevant LPT: When you want to go somewhere really crowded, park just a little farther away. It saves time you would have spent searching for a spot, and walking is good for you.
Trader Joe’s is my new favorite grocery store. I like all the innovative products and the convenient packaging, like the equivalent of three bundles of green onions in one contained baggie for a buck.
The employees at this spot are nice too. I think you guys should move the mango mango gummies right by the check out, like other TJ’s do in town, for convenience. This is why I first purchased them and they were life changing in that I always have a bag on me now.
My boyfriend is a Trader Joe’s skeptic and hates going there, but one night I made a deal with him: If we went to Trader Joe’s together for me to get mango gummies, he could also get a frozen pizza there (he loves that stuff). And… he thought it was really good. Actual quote, «If the crust on this was just a little thicker, someone could mistake it for actual restaurant pizza.»

Trader Joe’s. It’s a household name. Great prices. Samples like Costco. Apple Pay. 2 buck upchuck.
I am not even close to being a fan of this place.
How many apples have I bought here that I go home and cut it in half and they are rotten. Wax preserves.
I once bought a bunch of green bananas. They never turned yellow. ???
They find factories and worldly places that make things that taste decent and sell it at bargain prices. They also have a horrid frozen food Mecca. I don’t even use my freezer for anything except ice.
They really save you some money. But their ingredients and carbon foot print will rob you of your health and cause holes in the ozone layer.
Let’s be honest, the hummus is pretty bomb. The cheese area is good. Milk, eggs and cream are pretty inexpensive and probably come from the same places every other store sells. The wine selection is no bueno. The navigation in the store is stressful. No space.
People that work there are friendly. It reminds me of an Apple Store. But the homeless out front and the parking lot will aggravate you.
The chicken in every prepared salad is extremely gross. I really enjoyed the lemon chicken salad with couscous but I had to stop getting it because of the quality of the chicken.
People love this place because it is cheap.
Start buying local, eating less, and get a clue.

I shop here regularly when I’m in town and the customer service is always great, but last night’s was exceptional. A TJ member named Joe came up to me and asked if there was anything he could help me with, and was SO helpful, not only with making wine recommendations, but also making suggestions for other products and for healthier options (in a non-​condescending manner). After spending 5 hours in the horrific traffic jam, he made me feel welcomed, listened to, and very appreciated. He went out of his way to brighten my evening! Thumbs up, thanks Joe!

I love Trader Joes and get all my groceries here! I love their pre-​packaged salads and wraps for a quick grab-​and-​go meal and love their sample station too! Their produce is always fresh and I am always finding new things on their shelves. Their prices are reasonable too!

This is my favorite TJ’S in the greater SB area. Friendly staff, better parking and well stocked. The surrounding businesses are great too, so you can really hammer out the errands without moving the car.
My only disappointment is with fresh produce. It is like playing Russian Roulette with bagged and shrink wrapped items. Quality and taste is inconsistent.

I totally loooove Trader Joe’s BUT this TJ’s is always sooooo crowded. It’s like a massive traffic jam just about all the time — especially on Sundays when the UCSB crowd are stocking up after a weekend of partying. At least everyone is nice about it. I wish this place had a little more room. It would really help ease the crowding problem here. Here’s hoping that someday they’ll be able to expand.

Trader joes, why do you break my heart so? My wife loves shopping here and I grudgingly agree. We buy most of our groceries here and I am 95% satisfied. But the other 5% of the time we end up buying something that is stale or goes bad in a few days. I really prefer buying produce else where. But you can’t beat the prices.
Parking is a whole other nightmare. Too few spots and usually stressed out angry drivers are a weekend hazard. Most of the older locals stay away during busy times as students pack this place. It is somewhat amusing watching them decide over a bottle of wine though.
In short. I’ll keep going here because you can’t beat the prices. I have this dream that one day Trader Joes corporate will decide to put a new store in town with adequate parking and bigger aisles. Until then I’ll keep going to this one.

Avoid weekends and after-​work hours if possible. Parking can be a nightmare because of the small lot and I’ve seen the lines go to the back of the store.
Despite that, Trader Joe’s is awesome! A lot of basics are cheaper than you would find at Vons or Albertson’s (a dozen eggs for $ 2.49, gallon of milk for $ 3.29, bagels for $ 1.79). Plus they have a lot of unique frozen and easy-​to-​make foods from a variety of different cultures. It’s my first stop when I need to go grocery shopping.
Also, the workers are so nice! They always seem so enthusiastic when you go to check out and offer recommendations for other products.

I have absolutely zero complaints about this Trader Joe’s. I also can’t really say anything about this Trader Joe’s that hasn’t already been said. I’m just writing this review to acknowledge that Dale is one of the coolest cats I’ve ever met. If you frequent this TJ’s, particularly on the weekends, make friends with this dude. I guarantee he’ll be a bright spot on your day.

It’s a fine, smaller store. The employees can get surly at times.
Tonight, one employee cut in front of me in line to make her own purchases! How rude.
One time the cashier with the red beard chewed out my dad for trying to use the (empty) express lane to buy FIFTEEN (oh my!) items. But I just thought that was funny.

I love TJs. When I am home in Goleta, I am there at least a couple of times a week it seems. Their low prices can’t be beat! Also, the staff members are always so upbeat and cheery, it rubs off on you. I love their return policy-​no receipt needed and no questions asked. I rarely have any returns but every once in a while if I try a product I don’t particularly like it’s great to be able to so easily get my money back. TJs really has the best customer services. Despite long lines a lot of the time, they do move pretty quickly and efficiently. I love their selection of vegan foods as well. It’s fun how they always seem to be getting new products in.

Some people have the misconception that Trader Joes is really overpriced… but they aren’t! They have great prices, for an awesome selection of produce and snacks and wine and bread and the list goes on and on!!!
I come for great groceries, friendly service & awesome samples. The only downfall is that when its busy this store gets very crowded!!!

I love TJ! Easy parking, employees are helpful & the overall vibe is welcoming and friendly. Everything is consistently stocked full with fresh rotation & easy to find. For sure my «go to» market.

I LOVE TJ! If I could only go to one grocery store for the rest of my life, you guessed it: Trader Joe’s!
Especially this location. The workers here are all so helpful and friendly and they always have the freshest fruits and vegetables (I always see them re-​stocking in the evening). Some things I HIGHLY recommend you try:
1. Shrimp Nuggets: These are addicting so BEWARE (you have been warned)!! My boyfriend and I first tried this when they were samples, and we were hooked already. It’s really good with their tartar sauce and sweet chili sauce. These nuggets have a HUGE piece of shrimp in it with the perfect amount of breading. Plus, they’re so easy to make!
2. Gummy Filled Penguins: The name says it all. Who wouldn’t wanna eat cute little penguin gummy bears with cherry, lime, and strawberry filled bellies?!
3. Chocolate Covered Pretzel Thins: The perfect little dessert/​treat. As a dark chocolate lover, I am obsessed with these. My non chocolate loving boyfriend even loves these.
Every time I go, I restock on all three of these because they are just THAT amazing.

Nice layout and friendly staff… my only gripe is that this is one of those locations that has weird line layouts so that rude and idiotic people freak out about getting into a line… they should really work a system where there is one line and each customer goes to a checker when they open up, or make the space longer so you can form better individual lines within each checker.

Favorite place to go for groceries! It is so perfectly small that I can do all of my shopping really quickly, and the bill is always ridiculously inexpensive for how much produce I get. Alcohol is also really cheap. The only thing that could make this place any better would be if they got a juice bar (PLEASE!?!)
Try the steamed beets on the top row of the refrigerated produce section, they are really good! Staff is always extremely friendly. It gets really crowded at around 5 with the dinner rush, so avoid it then.

One of the best TJ’s I’ve been to!
Their produce and fruit is always super fresh! (Much fresher than the one in LA that I go to twice a week). And they have a superb selection and always have the newest items! The store is a bit smaller than other TJ’s, but it is very clean and has a much cozier, comfier feel. The staff is always really helpful and friendly. Extremely popular with the locals — always bustling, but usually the lines aren’t too bad. Love this place!

An awesome Trader Joe’s! Everyone was super friendly and in a great mood. I really like how they make organic choices easier to find by putting their labels in green. They also have good prices and a great selection of items.
However, make sure to not go to this place during rush hours! Mainly between the hours of 5−6pm on Sunday or Monday because customers get crazy! People everywhere which makes it hard to browse and leisurely get your groceries.
The check-​out guy that helped me was also very cool and don’t forget those reusable bags!