Trader Joe’s

Want to have a party in your mouth?
This is a review of seasonal items –Try Shooting Stars Cookies, they are star-​shaped sugar cookies, striped with semi-​sweet chocolate. What looks like sugar sprinkled on top is actually the key to these cookies’ popping, sizzling success. It’s a cracking candy made by cooling a hot sugar syrup in the presence of carbon dioxide gas. (I had read about them before I came in and also heard an ad on the radio so I guess I was influenced by outside sources LOL)
Apparently It causes tiny, high-​pressure bubbles to form inside crystallized candy bits. Kind a like the pop rocks we used to have as kids
They are selling each box of 16 Cookies for $ 2.99, while they last. I had to get them !
Now to come up with a creative desert to add these shooting stars two for the Fourth of July if they last that long, I may have to go back and get another box before then if they don’t sell out

Trader Joe’s won my undying love today. This morning I proposed to my girlfriend while on a weekend getaway at Orr Hot Springs in Ukiah. We stopped at Trader Joe’s in Santa Rosa for a bathroom break on the drive back to the Bay Area and randomly ran into a friend at the checkout line. We told her the news and she shouted ‘Oh my god, my friends are engaged!’ Heads turned. I laughed. My fiancé was embarrassed. Within seconds, one of the crew members came by with a bouquet of flowers for my fiancé. Rock on Trader Joe’s!

Limited selection, but a lot of easy meal ideas.

You can’t beat the organics for the price anywhere else (but Costco). Trader joes has a great selection of beer and wines. I love coming into this store. I find it clean. And the workers all work together well as a team. The store is well stocked and I find just about everything I need.
Another reason I like to go into Trader Joe’s is the 2 sample booths. I have found so many wonderful and tasty items through sample. If it wasn’t for the samples, I would of never have found the Feta Cheese spread. OMG… THAT SPREAD IS LIFE CHANGING!!!
They continue to hold very low prices on produce and meat products. I buy my organic chicken here (or Costco). And I also heard a rumor that their organic chicken is Rosie from Petaluma Poultry. Which is $ 2.00-$ 3.00 cheaper a pond than Oliver’s Market.
Also, on your way into Trader Joe’s, be sure and grab a succulent or a basil plant. I plant my basil plant from them every year and it thrives into this big bush.

Okay so I have to admit I went here about two weeks ago for my first ever trip to Trader Joes. Simply wanted to find spiced cider. About 40 minutes and $ 100 later I finally got out of there. So glad the store wasn’t huge. :-)

Pretty standard trader joes. Just realized they have a pretty awesome guarantee I should have used on trader joes in San Diego when I got some
bad salmon.
I did but the same salmon here, and minus one star for the fridge on the far right side I got the same salmon product was slightly warmer that it
Should be. I still took the chance and the salmon turned out alright.
So far so good!

A recommendation: The frozen package of pain au chocolate pastries (chocolate croissants).
Thaw out the package overnight. Bake ‘em in the morning. Be amazed with the goodness.
Better tasting and flakier crust than any made by local bakeries. Better than even Costeaux bakery.

Pros:
— Convenient location
— Awesome flower selection
— Very friendly and helpful employees
— Cheaper than going to Safeway
— SAMPLES!
— Pretty much everything
— Awesome hand-​drawn signage and décor
Cons:
— Long lines when busy
— Some items are more expensive than going to another grocery store, but you’re paying for the quality
I LOVE this Trader Joe’s location. It’s right down the street from my house so it’s very convenient for us. We come to this TJ’s pretty much every weekend that I feel like the staff has come to know us haha. The staff is awesome as well. They’re always so friendly and willing to help you. They offer great advice when it comes to preparing a meal or giving recommendations. We often meet great customers as well! Just the other day a man gave us really awesome advice on the wine selection. He told us to look for the «RICK’S LIST» signs. Those are usually pretty good.
Trader Joe’s just offers a great range and variety of products that are not only cost effective, but really really good. I have family in Hawaii where there isn’t a Trader Joe’s and they love it when I send them goodies (cookie butter especially!). When they come to visit they fill their carts and suitcases full of everything non-​perishable!
But this location is pretty much my favorite to visit. The staff, location, set up of the store, and the overall experience is great!

Because we live far away, we don’t stop in weekly. But when those occasional flyers come in my mailbox, I really enjoy taking the time to peruse them and looking at all the available treats! When I find something that seems like a must try, I know it’s time to make it a point to drop by and pick up something fun to eat.
TJ’s offers staples as well as unique items. In fact, if there is one thing that I love the most about this place, it is the unique food that they have at various times throughout the year. During the holidays (October through December), this place really shines!
Nice selection of fruits and veggies, lots of organic products and local items. But do yourself a favor, have a list and make it a point to read the flyers because you might find something that you never knew you really wanted.
P. S. Love their flower selections!

I visit the trader joes quite often, at least 6 – 10 times in a month, I live right down the street and everyone is usually very helpful and nice. I recently went in an left very confused and disturbed. First thing let me say it was a Tuesday evening and it was raining. As I was checking out (I only bought 6 items) I made small talk with the cashier, (older white man) I said «Hey how’s it going?» He responded «No complaints» he seemed annoyed like he couldn’t wait to clock out an go home or just as he was possibly not in the mood for talking, which is bizarre because everybody there is friendly and helpful. I understand we’re only human. Anyways I said «It’s nice that you’re in here an not all wet.» He said «I don’t mind the rain» I replied «I guess as for myself I’m the one who doesn’t mind being at work when it’s pouring outside.» Then he responds, «YEA ANYTHING IS BETTER THAN BEING OUT GETTING SHOT AT.»… I was so confused, mind you my transaction was just about over. I didn’t know how to take that, so I just said «Yeah, we wouldn’t want that.» I can’t help but feel like he was prejudice towards me. (I am African American) I listened to the next customer greet the cashier and he was totally into the conversation with the next person, (as if he wasn’t having a bad day anymore) if he didn’t talk so nicely to the next customer I wouldn’t have thought he was prejudice. That really left a bad taste in my mouth. You shouldn’t be working at Trader joes with that attitude. I would say him name but I’ll be the bigger person and let karma get him. That was uncalled for and I can’t help but feel I UNwelcomed there. :(

Huge clean store with friendly staff. I was asked more than once if I needed help finding items. This is in a very convenient location, too. I will come back to this Santa Rosa Ave store when I shop at this shopping center.

Love the Trader Joe’s, love the staff, love the selection of stuff.
But what is it with people in this parking lot?! This is one of the main reasons I shop here so quickly. Well, that and because I had frozen chocolate covered bananas.

Who doesn’t love Trader Joes? Quality product at an inexpensive price. Just a good vibe every time I walk in there.

This Trader Joe’s is tucked in a busy Santa Rosa mall, between a BevMo and a Hawaiian BBQ restaurant. At noon, of course, it’s chaotic. It’s got a larger selection than the one in Napa, but the Napa one has free coffee samples. They’ve widened the aisles. They have a huge section of fruits&vegetables.
Like the Napa TJ’s, they have a Wine Country motif on their murals with vineyards. The service is friendly and personable. It may chaotic&crowded, but it’s worth it. You get worth your buck, even if you don’t get Two Buck Chuck.

I definitely have a love/​hate with Trader Joe’s. I try to go there during the «off-​peak» times, which is never. You really do have to remain mildly aggressive just to get to your gluten-​free edamame chips and goat cheese. I try to spend no more than 15 or 20 minutes – absolute max– inside the store. Any more, and I may actually go nuts.
My experience goes like this, every time, without fail. I head into Traders with my shopping cart (or basket if I can help it) and a shopping list in mind. I look for a gap in the shoppers, and head towards it. Oh good, I’m at the oil section, I need some olive oil. Suddenly, everyone else in the store needs oil at that exact same moment. They all swarm on the oil section and stand there impatiently if I take more than a second to decide on my oil purchase. Oh well, I look on and see that no one is over at the cheeses. I need some cheese so I head there. Suddenly, everyone else in the store needs cheese as well. Arms are reaching on front of me, there is an old lady breathing in my ear while I look at the pesto gouda prices and several shopping carts have already blocked me in. This goes on at each and every item I need until I am through shopping. If I can remember and then actually access everything on my list, then the trip is deemed a success. But I cannot fight for my items for more than 20 minutes in this tiny and packed store, so sometimes I have to sacrifice some of the items I need, and simply leave them behind.
The reason I still give Trader Joe’s 4 stars, is because of their products. They carry items that are specific to the store, and are excellent in quality and price. Somehow I always end up with a few extra items too. The staff are generally friendly and helpful. And of course, two buck chuck!

Personally, I feel TJ’s has an astounding assortment of prepared salads and cheeses from here to heaven! (My favorite food is cheese so I might be a little biased when it comes to their selection of cheese!) I haven’t had a single bad experience at this Trader Joe’s. Everytime I walk in, I get what I need, always in stock, the team members there are always really near by for any question I might have. They’re helpful and genuine. Checking out is a breeze. Most often, I have very few things im buying and their «10 or less» line is actually fast, not like other grocery stores I’ve been to, that take just as long as if I were in a regular line.

One of my favorite places to shop besides Oliver’s.
Lots of off beat goodies to buy, great wine selection, and ample parking make this my go to place when I need to buy stuff I can’t get at other markets. Also the prices can’t be beat.
The Staff is always helpful and the store is bigger and better laid out than it’s sister store on Cleveland Avenue.
I have been to several TJ’s in California — and I have to say — this one is one of the Best.

I am forever grateful for TJ’s for introducing «Two Buck Chuck». A rare real deal for the common man.
Chief Complaints:
1, Some of the frozen food packaging particularly the clear seal that is punctured or peeled back is very hard to remove or comes off in strips and slivers. I’m surprised this defective packaging still recurs since it is hazardous to consumers.
2. Some of the «resealable» plastic packaging are annoyingly difficult to reseal.
3. And too often the milk I pour onto my cereal or the half & half I put into the coffee turns out to be spoiled — days before its sell by date.
These may seem like petty issues but they have persisted for more than just a few years. I have spoken to store managers and nothing has changed.
Its irritating enough that it makes me want to chug a bottle of Cheap Chuck!

Good TJ’s the staff is friendly and fun. The store is always clean and easy to get in and out. On a busy day I never wait to long they always open more lanes.

This is probably a little weird, but several years ago I came to this Trader Joe’s and they were sampling pita pizzas. That pita pizza really changed my life. I forgot about it for a while but recently I couldn’t stop thinking about how much I wanted to eat a pita pizza. It was like an adult lunchables to me! I tried to look up the TJ’s recipe that I had there, but I couldn’t find it anywhere. I decided to wing it and went to go buy ingredients to make pita pizzas at Trader Joe’s. In my rush to eat them as soon as possible I bought some TJ’s naan bread, mushrooms, pasta sauce and cheese. Yes, I said naan– which, yes, has holes in it making it very interesting to make a pizza on top of. Anyway I added all the ingredients to the top of my naan and baked it in my toaster oven. Despite using some hole-​y naan, the «naan» pizzas were really delicious! Sure pasta sauce oozed from the bottom of the naan when I picked it up, but it was still really tasty.
So I’m trying to say, I really like Trader Joe’s. I love that they have samples! Most of the samples that I’ve tried there I’ve loved! And they have some of my favorite snacks! Those gummies with jelly inside (the penguin gummies with jelly in their tummy)? YUM! And their cookies and crackers are all really good! I really love their frozen meals too. The spinach paneer tikka masala is yuuummy! I like their chicken tikka masala too but if I’d have to choose I’d go with the paneer.
Overall, TJ’s is awesome. I love their products and everything is so tasty! Now I’m off to TJ’s to buy ingredients for pita pizza (with actual pita bread this time!)