Would anyone like to see Trader Joe's come to Boise/Eagle? (Meridian: for sale, 2013)

[bitko]

Trader Joe's so rules. No store merchandises like Trader Joe's. And no matter the locale or state, the prices are incredibly reasonable. Cheaper than a Safeway and way, way, way, way cheaper than Whole Foods, yet merchandised differently. I like the healthy convenience foods like them sammwhiches, the cheese bin (pass the Stilton, please!), the different kinds of dairy products you won't see elsewhere in other, perhaps like stores in your town.

Trader Joe's makes an effort to source locally. They'll bring stuff in from other places in the state or region that may be better than the like products all similar grocer-like stores have in the town.

I admit, I have a fermented dairy problem. Buttermilk, kefir (drinkable yogurt like), and fancy (not necessarily stinky, yet sometimes so) cheese. I hanker for a hunk of cheese! Ya-hoo!

Trader Joe's is just good stuff and way better and more accessible and far less pricey than Whole Foods. Though, again, the stores are different.

Has anyone written them? I'd not read this whole thread, yet in some towns sans a Trader Joe's, people set up facebook groups or start letter writing campaigns to Trader Joe's corporate. They beg, beseech, cajole, whine, plead, and so forth.

Hope that helps.

Volvo "Buttermilk" Mac Duff

[momof2girlies]

I would LOVE a Trader Joe's in Boise (preferrably Eagle/Meridian). We're planning on moving to the area w/in 6 months and one of my biggest hang ups is that I'll have to shop at Whole Foods which is WAY more expensive than my favorite Trader Joe's. PLEASE open one!!!

[MysticalDream]

WHole Foods blows away Trader Joes.. More expensive, well a little, but the quality far surpasses what Trader Joes has.. Really, I think TJ's is mostly hype.. You can get anything Joes has and more at Whole Foods.. You just have to look carefully.

Now, on another note, how can a city the size of Boise not have an Whole Foods and Trader Joes?? I mean, come on.. I guess everybody there is a bargain WinCo shopper.. Too bad..

This is one reason I will not like living in Boise, but I will just have to live with lower grade food for a while. I am told the Boise Co-Op leaves a lot to be desired. I have family in Portland who may ship food to me to Boise if I live there. I will miss New Seasons , the local co-ops and Whole Foods As much as I dislike yuppies, I think Boise could use a few more to help fund a new Whole Foods..

[Syringaloid]

Originally Posted by MysticalDream

WHole Foods blows away Trader Joes.. More expensive, well a little, but the quality far surpasses what Trader Joes has.. Really, I think TJ's is mostly hype.. You can get anything Joes has and more at Whole Foods.. You just have to look carefully.

Now, on another note, how can a city the size of Boise not have an Whole Foods and Trader Joes?? I mean, come on.. I guess everybody there is a bargain WinCo shopper.. Too bad..

This is one reason I will not like living in Boise, but I will just have to live with lower grade food for a while. I am told the Boise Co-Op leaves a lot to be desired. I have family in Portland who may ship food to me to Boise if I live there. I will miss New Seasons , the local co-ops and Whole Foods As much as I dislike yuppies, I think Boise could use a few more to help fund a new Whole Foods..

Are you serious? To ease your troubled mind, a Whole Foods is going to be built downtown and supposed to start somethime later this summer.
Lower grade food? Shipping food from Portland? Too funny!! So naieve!!!
The Boise area is teeming with locally grown organic food, locally grown free range meat products, and one of the largest organic farmers markets in the northwest is held in downtown Boise each Saturday and combines with art and music. Sustainable, organic community gardens are all over this city. The growing climate for crops is much better in the Boise area than the Portland area so you will be amazed at what is available here.

Whole Foods is a chain...boring. (insert yawn here).
Boise Co-Op has an excellent selection of organic and fancy food and right on par with any co-op I have visited in Portland., in fact I prefer Co-Op over Whole Foods. Don't judge the store based on a few posts you read somewhere on line on some website. There are other organic markets around town, as well as selections at Albertsons, Fred Meyers, and even Winco.
I realize Portland is chained out, but here in Boise the local stores are the best.
Buy Idaho baby, not Whole Foods!! If you are basing your proposed experience of living in Boise based on a Whole Foods than you need to be enlightened

[Hp1167]

That's awesome... I've never heard of anyone not wanting to live somewhere because of "lower grade" food... and then cites two ridiculous overhyped chain stores (WF and TJ) as locations to get, I assume, "higher grade" food.

Shipping food from Portland? Lulz.

What would people do without WF or TJ? I mean, I suppose you can't grow your own food, or buy from local growers, or from one of the hundreds of local stands or farmers markets, or buy a side of beef and cut and wrap it yourself, and on and on.

Boise's Co-op, prices aside, blows WF and TJ out of the water. It's actually a travesty so many people are so reliant on lame chain stores that we have to beg WF to come into Boise and put local markets out of business.

[boi2socal]

Lower grade food? Hahaha. You're already setting yourself up for an unpleasant living experience.

[MysticalDream]

Thank you all.. I am happy to be wrong.. I don't know what to expect really and I am just going back the online reviews of the store. However, I must say many of you are unfairly maligning Whole Foods. A good amount of the items Whole Foods carries is local, especially the produce. While the Co-Ops were still importing California OG junk, Whole Foods had local Broccoli, Zucchini and Spinach. Yeah, obviously fresh from the farmer and farmers markets are better. Portland also has lots of co-ops, but they were a bit slow this year in getting the local stuff. I still think Whole Foods is a great store and they put more effort than other health foods stores to keep synthetic and conventional junk out. While other stores call themself natural, you ask about their meat and it is full of nitrates, hormones and other junk. Whole Foods doesn't allow that type of stuff to make it into their store.

I didn't realize Boise had more organic gardens and a better growing environment. My thoughts were wrong, I suppose. I guess my perception was that it was an arid desert that really didn't host much of an growing environment. Also, I thought being at a higher elevation and more inland it would get much colder at night, earlier in the year. Anyhow, I am very happy to hear that there is organic food and gardens everywhere! That is awesome. I do lot of juicing and require a good supply of organic veggies. So, I will make local OG farmers very happy.

[Syringaloid]

The Treasure Valley, where Boise is located could be called the bread basket of the Northwest, a lot of food is grown here. Canyon County, next to Boise is one of the major ag/food producers in the nation. The Boise area also has large fruit growing farms, a lot of wineries/vineyards, and is a leader in mint and onions. Idaho is also a leading state with organic acreage for crops.
Also, the Locavore movement in Boise and Idaho is pretty impressive.

[Clark Fork Fantast]

The TJ debate amazes me. They've just been through a similar discussion over in the Spokane, WA forum. Why does it have to be one or the other? I will always support local food stores if they have quality items, for the quality and because they're local. But that doesn't mean a TJ wouldn't be a welcome addition--they do have good stuff, and cheaper than most other chain food stores. Just do a comparison of their organic egg prices. And they seem to treat their employees decently, which is nice to know about a chain store. Does that apply to WF? I have no idea. But I'm all for a variety of options within a few hours' driving distance...

[Hp1167]

I think you could replace TJ or WF with "any big box chain" and the reaction would be the same.

It's just more and more of making Idaho towns look like anywhere else in the nation.