Trader Joe’s

I love me some Trader Joes for sure and have been a frequent shopper of theirs for years! I stopped into this location for the first time on my way out of town and was in need of some yummys to avoid the temptations of the drive thrus.
Now I don’t think the experience is really something that can be controlled by the current staff. I think the designers of this site really messed up. I was trying to get around the store and it seems to be the place where people walk around in a disorganized choose your own adventure way. I swear there must be a competition for «most creative way to walk around the store». People are pushing carts into others walking paths, blocking aisles all together… seriously…its CRAZY TOWN! I frequent a more «young» trader joes where the 20 and 30 somethings will walk in, keep in tight lines, avoid using carts as much as possible and make it organized… here it is not. I felt like I was in some sort of game at this location. And don’t even get me started on the checkout lines! Literally you see people go push thier carts into line, then walk away to do more shopping… this is allowed?!
Oh parking… its also a make up your own parking spot. In the middle of the road in front… totally allowed. You want to pull over in front of traffic… sounds good!
This is the crazy town Trader Joes for sure! Maybe I shouldn’t be reviewing trader joes, and instead the people of Woodbury, but this was my experience at this Trader Joes…

Tj’s is always fun to go to when I am in the area, but when I find something I really like and go back for more, its gone… I do like the shower Tea Tingle wash, and buy that every time I am there. Hope they never quit selling it!

As someone who refuses to buy coffee that is not free trade certified, Trader Joes is a must. It doesn’t hurt that their customer service is spot-​on and that much of their brand food is delish.
FAVORITES:
Sweet & Spicy Pecans– they’re basically the best thing ever. I always splurge.
Coffee– any one of them. All good. All less than most other places. Buy the kind with the green lids! Those are free-​trade certified!
Avocados– I love avocados anyway, but Trader Joes has great deals on them
Chicken Sausages– Healthy, inexpensive, easy to make. Win, Win, win!
LESS THAN FAVORITES:
Checking out– I still don’t get how the check out lines and counters work. And when I use a basket instead of a cart I end up standing around for 5 minutes with a sometimes heavy load.
Dried Seaweed– Look, I realize I probably shouldn’t have tried this anyway. And maybe it’s personal taste. But this stuff was gross.
Overall, great store! Clean, food is good, atmosphere was fun, and employees were friendly!

Trader Joes is a fun store for shopping. I love their layout and the cute little newspaper they send via the mail. Super fun!
Trader Joe’s sour cream is the bomb! Super thick and makes wonderful dips.

Being from CA, I was very excited to find out that there was a trader Joe’s less than 30 mins away from me. At first I was sad because when you walk in the store is noticeably smaller than usual. After further inspection, you’ll see that the liquor area is in a separate sub-​building of the store. They have a great selection of meat and dairy. As usual, this place was busy and if you’re too polite you’ll be in that store forever. I got my favorite kettle chips, some other pantry basics and scooted right on out of there. The workers were doing what they could to keep the shelves stocked and get you throught the line as fast as they could.

Employees are very friendly whenever I ask for help finding an item. Customer service is very accommodating about returns. This store offers samples, generally 1 drink and 1 food product.
Location is convenient for me. It is located in a small outdoor shopping center, so I often go browse other stores while I’m there.
I actually went shopping there today, completely blanked out, and forgot my items in my cart in the parking lot! Once I found out, I went back (within 45 minutes) and the employee told me they had found the items and that I could just go grab them again. Really the best case scenario. I was so relieved! :)

Bought ribs couple weeks ago at this trader joes. When we got home and opened them, they were horrible smelling and obviously rotten. Now we see on the news the peanut butter we bought is recalled. Should have known better then to buy ribs here I guess. It is disgusting.

I love TJ’s. My only complaint is often items i am looking for are not in stock and since I drive 50 miles that is a real downer. I realize popular items may sell out fast but hey, then stock more of these items. Also sometime the ‘sell by’ date is within 1 or 2 days of the day I’m shopping.

I love Trader Joe’s though I’m not fond of this location. If you GPS it, go in the opposite direction than dictated, otherwise, you’ll never find it.
The only thing that’s wrong with this location is that it’s in the burbs. Nothing redeeming there and we are always glad to get the heck out.
One thing about this location is that it seems to be structured differently from others we’ve shopped and makes it much too easy to be stuck in varioius places about the shop. There are way too many families who don’t seem to know cart etiquette, so there’s a lot of ducking and dodging to make it through the store.
We’d not been to this location in more than a decade and were reminded as to why. Again, the location. We’d decided to eat someplace nearby (Key’s) and made the mistake of looking for this store again.
Fortunately, we found everything we wanted, and more, so that we don’t have to return to this location again… probably ever.

I am kind of happy that I don’t live too close to a TJ’s because I might go broke. I could do all my shopping there but would go overboard with so manyof the other items that they carry! I love the seasonable aspect as far as produce goes and the cheese selection/​price is perfect.

I moved to this area under the impression that I would not be near a TJ’s.
So, needless to say, I am very happy with this location.
Of course this store is a little different than the one in Centreville, Va. no daily coffee samples, which I loved. But, they do other drinks, and food samplings here.
They carry Earth Balance, which means one less trip to an outside store, plus all of my usual vegan goodies.
I love Trader Joe’s, and this location is just about as lovely as the on in VA.
(Still wishing they’d offer the daily coffee sample like I’m used to, but I’ll get over it. not worth losing a star over!)

What could there possibly be to dislike about Trader Joe’s? The size of the location is the only thing I could come up with.
TJ’s is not for the average grocery getter. There’s a bit of an upscale feel considering it caters to taste buds and shoppers that enjoy experiencing a bit of culture. For such a small location, the cheese selection is a bit surprising. Trader Joe’s reminds me of Costco, in that I never leave with just one thing.
If there’s one thing I would change about Trader Joe’s, it would be their alcohol offerings. Here’s my advice Trader Joe’s:
You cater to a customer base that is adventurous and cultured. Your beer selection makes me sigh with a slow head shake. Adventurous people like adventurous beers. You are in the middle of the craft beer era, and need to get in the game. Beer’s cousin, wine, would also like you to step up your game.
Try: stepping outside your box
Avoid: coming to browse the beer selection

Three dollar vino
Flowers by the bunch
Is that ground palomino?
This isn’t Tesco lunch
That’s right; no seedy, questionable meats loitering here (I’m looking at you and your white label ‘inspected’ meats, Wal*Mart). Lots of grass-​fed beef, free range chicken and coddled pork at the right price.
As others have stated, the produce is somewhat seasonal. If something looks good, nab it while you can.
There’s a lot to take in here in such a tiny space. I always experience many «What is this??? It look – HOLY SHIT, IT’S A DOLLAR, THROW IT IN THE BAG» moments.
Because if you end up buying a bag of inedible funk, you’re only out a buck or two and that’s much easier for your wallet to swallow.
I also greatly appreciate the demeanor of the people behind the sample counter. You walk up. They offer you a sample or two. They’ll chat and engage in conversation but you don’t feel pressured to grab the bag of squid chips they’re pushing just so you can shut them up and ultimately hide the product somewhere deep in the bread aisle.
… No. I don’t have any personal experience with doing anything like that… why?
Bottom line? Quality products at quality prices.

I absolutely love Trader Joe’s. They are owned by the same people that own Aldi’s. The only reason I don’t confine my grocery shopping to these two stores is the size limits their overall selection — sometimes I need something that can only be found in a larger grocery store.
Price is great — I get my Ezekiel 4:9 bread here for 25−50% less than I have seen it go for in Rainbow or Cub. They mostly stock store brand stuff, and that is a good thing when it comes to trying new things, and finding items like tempeh ($ 1.99 for a good size piece, very good sliced, warmed up and served with some bbq sauce over brown rice!)
Great selection of frozen veggies and fruits for the off-​season, or any season for that matter. Very nice selection of nuts, dried fruits, yogurts (including soy and coconut yogurt for Vegans), meatless options that you won’t find in a traditional grocery store, and fantastic indulgence items like cakes and cookies.
Anywho, not sure what else to say — but if you have never visited Trader Joe’s it is definitely worth the trip.

I loves me a Trader Joe’s and this location is no exception.
Produce isn’t the most robust selection but… sometimes it is. Like you’ll find baby kiwis totally randomly (OH SO GOOD – you can eat the still-​smooth skin and all) and tasty yellow tomatoes in the middle of winter and HUGE containers of blueberries for super-​cheap… But they don’t have a lot of it, and it’s largely driven by seasonality – so I guess that’s not that much of a complaint.
I usually can’t get absolutely everything I want at TJ’s, but I can get enough of it to make it worth a special trip. I love their packaged dinners – and I haven’t had one that has been even close to «meh». They’re easy and (relatively) cheap.
My to-​get musts from TJ’s:
Scallop-​mushroom-​and-​pea dinner
Fettucini with mushrooms dinner
Orange chicken
Their pre-​cooked laser-​de-​veined shrimp (Which they don’t carry anymore. Bitches.)
Coconut macaroons (Which they ALSO don’t carry anymore. Son of a…)
Honey-O’s (Better than Honey Nut Cheerios.)
Frosted Maple Bites (WAY better than Frosted Mini Wheats.)
TJ’s Spanish Olive Oil
Three-​buck Chuck (Charles Shaw wine for cooking… and drinking. Don’t judge me.)
Mini Peanut Butter Cups (So tiny that the serving size is ~22 cups!)
They also tend to have great specials (like on their own ale that my husband loves) in the liquor store side of things.
And, plus, also: The free sample table in the back with a teeny bite of something and a teeny cup of coffee or juice EVERYDAY (not just sample day) is an awesome bonus.
They can be extraordinarily busy, but that’s just because they’re super-​awesome. I can’t blame other people for loving TJ’s too.

Love TJs all the way. Healthy, fun and interesting items to choose from. Their Ginger chews are out of this world. It’s my hallmark at work. They take great care of their customers. I wanted to try black licorice and the guy at the billing counter asked me to buy it, try and return if I did not like the taste. I was floored. Their wine selection is great too. Have recommended this store to a lot of friends. A must go place for me every weekend .
The new Sweet Sriracha uncured bacon jerky hit a home run for me. Packed with loads of flavor, starts off with a candied sweetness but the mellow spice kicks in slowly and leaves that spicy Sriracha aftertaste that lingers in your mouth for a while. I am going back to get more ! Good source of protein and a great afternoon snack that meets most diet plans. A must try at TJ’s.

I love that Trader Joes FINALLY made it to MN. We had been shopping at them forever while we were in IL.
I like this location better than the one closer to my home in ST. Paul. I like the layout better.
Best things about Trader Joes:
— Olives, Artichoke Hearts, Dry Tortellini, Italian Turkey, Dill Pickles and all the other inexpensive delights.
–olive oil
–great selection of flowers
–great selection of wine
–friendly and knowledgeable staff
–super return policy.
I do wish that they still carried the sour dill pickles. They were in the refrigerator section and were thee best pickles I have ever had. They don’t carry them any more. Boo!
Great store!

After staying in a small town in a land far, far away TJ’s was a sight for hungry eyes! I know I am from IA, but I am a city girl. Picked up my chocolate fix.
I plan on buying a cooler and grabbing some supplies on my way back to IA.

Trader Joe’s is adventurous with their food but emphatically un-​stuffy. Gourmet yumminess does not need to be highbrow and expensive.
Best buys are nuts, chocolate, snacks, and cheese. Produce is prepacked in cellophane and generally not such a good deal.
Even if I am just visiting TJs to pick up a bag of pecans and a carton of free-​range eggs, I still walk all the aisles to see what kind of interesting treats and hors d’oeuvres they have. Sometimes I get ideas.
Staff is always friendly and upbeat. Parking is easy at the Woodbury and Maple Grove locations.

I was called disgusting in the check out line and it made me smile.
But let me back up. I had a gift certificate for Trader Joe’s and since I needed groceries decided to head on over to Woodbury and check the place out. (Free food is motivating.)
The place has won a place in my heart and it’s only my first time there. My refrigerator is STUFFED with food and I am EXCITED to make dinner tonight. (Which will be burgundy pepper lamb tips over organic brown rice… Ho Yeah! Beats Lean Pockets any day!)
The place is very frantic and I had to wedge my way in to get some of the frozen veggies Beth F. swears by. I thought by going at 2:00 on a weekday I would avoid some of the hectic pace — but I suspect this place is always hopping.
I have yet to explore the wine shop next door and am hoping to figure out what the sample area is all about next time too. (There was a line at the sample area — not surprising.)
Oh — And in the check out the gal bagging up my food commented that she really liked my purse. I explained that I had dyed the yarn myself and then knit it up and she told me I was disgusting and that she can barely knit let alone dye the yarn. And even better she was touching my purse and looking at me like «Shut. Up.» It was awesome. A true knitting compliment comes when another knitter sees your item and HAS to touch it. I was already smiling at the mound of food I got and excited at discovering the awesomeness that is Trader Joes — but to be called Disgusting?!? That was the best compliment I have had in a long time.