Trader Joe's coming to Austin!! (Cedar Park, Orange: houses, organic, living in)

[10scoachrick]

Nothing like a good Trader Joe's thread to take your mind off the "Slow drivers on 620"

I'd shop Central Market or Whole Foods if they were smart enough to open near Avery Ranch. TJ's might beat them to it!

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by Austin97

I think the gateway/arboretum area too. The gateway whole foods may be too big. TJ's are usually pretty small.

Said it before and I'll say it again, Whole Foods is making a mistake if they close Gateway(barring some impasse with the lease/mgmt company). The 'slowdown' re: The Domain location has been a good thing, IMO.

[Rapunzll]

This is great news!

[ScoPro]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

Nothing like a good Trader Joe's thread to take your mind off the "Slow drivers on 620"

I'd shop Central Market or Whole Foods if they were smart enough to open near Avery Ranch. TJ's might beat them to it!

Yeah, look at how Sprouts has rejuvenated that once dead strip center in Round Rock.

Just don't get in my way when we're drivin' over there.

[CarnivalGal]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

Nothing like a good Trader Joe's thread to take your mind off the "Slow drivers on 620"

I'd shop Central Market or Whole Foods if they were smart enough to open near Avery Ranch. TJ's might beat them to it!

Same here if they would build something similar near Steiner. Whole Foods, Central Market, Sprouts, TJ - I'd take any of them. And I think any of them would do really well out here. There is Sunflower by the Hill Country Galleria, but that is still not THAT close.

[XLadylawX]

To those of you on this board who've never been to a Trader Joe's, prepare to be underwhelmed.

[RevMen]

TJ's is great if you're single or maybe a couple that doesn't typically do heavy grocery shopping. It's not a replacement for Whole Foods or HEB or any proper grocery store. It fits a niche between convenience store and grocery store. I don't know of any Austin stores that fill that niche. It's OK to shop at a chain if there's no local alternative, isn't it? I'm as anti-chain as the next dude, but I'm not going to deny myself pineapple salsa and hummus quartet just because it comes from a chain.

It's the place you go when you want to buy some food to last you the next day or two or three but don't have the time or energy to do a full-on grocery run. They don't have the floor space to provide enough products or selection to stock your pantry. Their bread doesn't have preservatives, so you have to eat it within a few days.

If it doesn't match your lifestyle, then it won't be exciting to you because you will never go there. That doesn't mean it's a bad thing. That doesn't mean everyone who's excited about it is stupid. It just means it's not useful to you. There are certain people for whom it is a very useful store, people like me and my wife. So stop peeing on our parade. No one's going to be forced to shop there.

[Jennibc]

Trader Joe's coming to Texas after all ? blog | Austin Business Journal
Cool yer jets, we have a couple of years wait in these thar parts:
"Community Impact quoted officials saying the Austin site wouldn't be until at least 2013."

[10scoachrick]

...AND their physical footprint isn't all that huge...folks are in and out quickly, so there is some hustle and bustle in the parking lot. I think it would be perfect near Avery Ranch where a giant HEB or Randall's isn't really needed.

One significant product line is their coffee. Their organic decaf whole bean coffee is 3-4 dollars a pound less than most 'specialty' coffees(at least it was back in Atlanta).

I could easily see Dallas as their distribution hub with stores also in Houston and Austin...not sure how San Antonio would fit in.

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by RevMen

It's really not just another grocery store. I don't know of anything currently in Austin that's comparable.

Originally Posted by RevMen

TJ's is great if you're single or maybe a couple that doesn't typically do heavy grocery shopping. It's not a replacement for Whole Foods or HEB or any proper grocery store. It fits a niche between convenience store and grocery store. I don't know of any Austin stores that fill that niche. It's OK to shop at a chain if there's no local alternative, isn't it? I'm as anti-chain as the next dude, but I'm not going to deny myself pineapple salsa and hummus quartet just because it comes from a chain.

It's the place you go when you want to buy some food to last you the next day or two or three but don't have the time or energy to do a full-on grocery run. They don't have the floor space to provide enough products or selection to stock your pantry. Their bread doesn't have preservatives, so you have to eat it within a few days.

If it doesn't match your lifestyle, then it won't be exciting to you because you will never go there. That doesn't mean it's a bad thing. That doesn't mean everyone who's excited about it is stupid. It just means it's not useful to you. There are certain people for whom it is a very useful store, people like me and my wife. So stop peeing on our parade. No one's going to be forced to shop there.

Okay, now this is the first post I've seen that lays out exactly what TJ's is based on the demographic it serves, that explains how it's useful and to who rather than acting like they're just going to die without a TJ's.

I'll have to think back (or ask my kids, would be more contemporary) what they use to serve this very useful function; I'm pretty sure, given that the same demographic exists here, that there's bound to be something that will work to tide you over until then.