Would anyone like to see Trader Joe's come to Boise/Eagle? (Coeur d'Alene: 2009, transporting)

[parteira]

Originally Posted by Anchorless

Quite frankly I'm sick of every chain in the country coming here..........
Sometimes I drive around West Boise and forget that I'm still in Idaho - I could be any other place in the country.

i hear you! i think this is true in so many places...it's why we're leaving albuquerque. driving around so many parts of the city, it could
be anywhere USA.

Originally Posted by Syringaloid

Hippies are cool, much more fun to shop around than a bunch of fake people in oversized SUV's shopping at the national chains........ Why, why, why would anyone eat at Spaghetti Factory when Gino's Italian is a block away?

i used to live a block from the coop and i must have walked past it three or four times a day. never saw any shortage of oversized SUVs in the parking lot

i agree some of these chain stores are just so rediculous, particularly when there are already quality locally owned stores selling similar products.

as for TJs, i lived a mile or so from one in San Francisco and became hooked. then i moved to two cities (olympia and boise) that did not have a TJs. i was such a TJ regular that i imagined my quality of life would go downhill without one!

the reality was i hardly missed it. actually, i liked WinCo better! and i still miss WinCo! we do have a TJs here, but i've realized that 75% of what i buy there is snackfood or sugar....so, yeah, i can live without it!

[ramenfan]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned this article here:

Broker: Trader Joe’s looking for Boise location

POSTED: 15:01 MST Tuesday, January 16, 2007

by Lora Volkert


Trader Joe’s wants to open a location in the Boise area, according to commercial broker Ramona Hildebran of Capital Commercial Properties.

The company has not decided on a location yet, she said. But Trader Joe’s corporate site selectors have talked to Boise real estate brokers, including Hildebran, and plan to choose a location once they open a store in Spokane, she said.

Alison Mochizuki, a spokeswoman for Trader Joe’s, said a Boise store is not in the chain’s two-year plan.

Trader Joe’s offers gourmet, specialty and organic groceries and operates nearly 300 stores in the U.S.

[url=http://www.idahobusiness.net/archive.htm/2007/01/16/broker-trader-joes-looking-for-boise-location[/url]




Remember that they will deny deny deny unless they plan to open a store here within two years. I guess that if someone was really hard up for an update, he/she could try contacting that broker to see if there has been any new developments in the past year.

[abn]

Thanks Ramenfan! I had never come across that article. I think I will call and see if there is an update. I know they are opening one in Spokane and the Bend, OR location may already be open. Thanks so much for sharing.

P.S. I disagree 1000% about the Winco comments (esp. the overall experience) but to each his own.

[Torrie]

I'm hearing that they are looking in Spokane but can't find all the proper locations. Usually when they go into a market they like to go in 2 or 3 sites at a time. I'm hearing from people in the food industry that they had two locations picked out in Spokane and are looking for a third. Didn't sound like they had secured those locations yet. This could be here-say, but that's what I've heard.

[Testarosa]

Would I like to see a TJ's in Boise? YES! In fact, I just sent them a message asking if they are planning to come to town! Hope, hope, hope. Why shop there? I love everything about the place! Their prices are great too. I also believe in supporting locally grown and do that also. Seems the world is big enough for both.

[boi2socal]

Originally Posted by Torrie

I'm hearing that they are looking in Spokane but can't find all the proper locations. Usually when they go into a market they like to go in 2 or 3 sites at a time. I'm hearing from people in the food industry that they had two locations picked out in Spokane and are looking for a third. Didn't sound like they had secured those locations yet. This could be here-say, but that's what I've heard.

There is no proper location in Spokane! haha. Spokane has a slight advantage since Seattle already has Trader Joe's. I didn't even know what TJs was when I was there. I think I confused it with G.I. Joe's and thought it was a sporting goods place. lol

[ramenfan]

Originally Posted by Testarosa

Would I like to see a TJ's in Boise? YES! In fact, I just sent them a message asking if they are planning to come to town! Hope, hope, hope. Why shop there? I love everything about the place! Their prices are great too. I also believe in supporting locally grown and do that also. Seems the world is big enough for both.

As I stated in my post a few posts back-- they've already been looking at retail space here, and I'm sure it's just a matter of time before it makes its way to Boise. They would be fools not to be well aware of the CA influx here. But you won't get any concrete responses from them unless building here falls within their two-year plan. If anything, we should keep our eyes open on the progress of the Spokane area, which has been under consideration well ahead of Boise.

Once Spokane is cleared, then I'll start to feel more antsy about it. Until then, I'll stick to care packages sent from L.A. The store in Bend is slated to open in late March. I wonder if there would be good side money getting clients and doing a Trader Joe's run for people!

[southerngirlie]

My family has just relocated to Boise from Atl, Georgia. We drove through a LOT of country on our 2-week adventure across America, and it was quite unsettling to see so many precious, American cities becoming one big cookie-cutter wal-mart shopping center. From the deep south, through Tx, Colorado and inbetween... you have a hard time distinguising one city from another. Driving though rolling hills of Alabama, taking in miles of gorgeous green trees that give way to.... a big Wal-Mart sign! You see that BIG sign off the highway and low and behold... a bed bath and beyond, Kohls, Best Buy are also nearby. We saw this over and over and over. Goodland, Kansas wasn't even on the map... but they had a wal-mart shopping center.

It's a sad sad thing. Why are we letting this happen to our beautiful country? I lived in Arizona as a kid and remember Phoenix being such a great place. We stopped to see some family on our move and were so disappointed to see what has happened to the place. Thankfully, beyond Phoenix and the East Valley, there is still so much untouched beauty. Just GORGEOUS, rugged desert, mountains and Joshua Trees. But for how long?

I see much of Boise in the same light. Downtown and the Northend are fabulous... but SE Boise and the nearby cities, Meridian in particular, are part of the wal-mart america craze. You might as well be in Plano, Denver, Phoenix, Tuscaloolsa or any other city that has fallen craze to mass marketing at it's finest.

[jenjac79]

OK, first off, I am one of those "evil" Californians that will be making Boise my home in about two years when I retire! (I already own a home in Boise and I do spend a lot of time here anyways!!!) I shop at Trader Joes in Roseville CA all of the time, in fact when I visit my daughter in Boise I always bring her stuff from TJ's. It is an awesome store. As far as the Bosie Co Op, that is an amazing store too! They are different in a lot of ways. You cannot beat the deli and bakery at the Co Op or the wine selection. I will shop at both. You will never see me at the big chains i.e. Wal Mart, Winco.... Anyways Boise with a Trader Joes would be good......

[abn]

Thank you for being another person that sees a difference between a Trader Joe's store coming to Boise vs. a Walmart, Costco, Shopko, Walgreens, etc... I don't understand how people come up with the idea that Trader Joe's is a store that can be compared to a Walmart or other big box store.

For now though it looks like I'll make the trek to Bend, OR every other month to stock up on stuff. Since I have a company car that pays for all fuel it will be worth it.

If you really would like to see a Trader Joe's in the area get on their website Welcome to Trader Joe's - Your Neighborhood Grocery Store and put in a store request in the Boise area. Thanks.