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I was at Trader Joe's recently. There's always something goo to buy there. Pita bread and hummus. However, it seems that the employees have to pass a hippy-dippy quotient test to work there. C'mon, laugh, it's funny. I've seen a Whole Foods, here and there, but have never been inside one. So, which one is more "granola?" And why so?
My Whole Foods is hippie also, in a "Hey, check out this organic hemp tank top I just bought for $35." I don't think anyone overweight or unattractive works there. The employees at my Trader Joe's are older on average but also friendlier in general. (My WF is not unfriendly, but my TJ's is staffed by really nice people.)
Which one's more granola? Both of their images are carefully manufactured, with Trader Joe's portraying itself as the farmer's market down on the corner with their cheerful line of simpler foods. The inside of my TJ's is painted with local scenes that residents will recognize, and their signs all look like somebody just whipped it up with some chalk. Whole Foods is pricier but also better quality in general. People joke and call it Whole Paycheck because you'll spend a lot there if you're not careful.
Trader Joe's is more down to earth in my opinion, if that's what you mean by granola.
Last edited by JustJulia; 03-28-2012 at 07:26 AM..
Both are large corporate entities, which some might say is pretty much the antithesis of "granola," despite the focus on the "natural/organic" angle. One's a public company, the other is privately held.
depends what you mean by Granola? Both are large corporate compaies, I am not sure any of their foods are totally, what some would think of as "organic" but you still can't beat Trader Joes for a lot of things. There sales associates are well informed, they are friendly and not as pretgenious as Whole Foods, not to mention TJs is much less expensive.
I'm so not "granola" but I believe in buying local, and eating organic, as much as possible though not 100%.
And I'm {gasp} a conservative! But I love Whole Foods. Sure there are lots of hippies there, but most of them do seem to bathe or are considerate enough to hide their BO with patchouli They pull up in their Priuses and I pull up in my coal-fired Hummer.
But really, I love the large assortment at Whole Foods, and the local produce (though it can be too pricy) the local meat, fish, and the awesome cheese selections. They even get locally made barbecue sauce! Our Whole Foods, near Princton NJ is big, with big, wide aisles, and a whole prepared food area where you can buy stuff to heat up for a gourmet dinner, or just hang out and eat. The staff are really helpful and friendly and seem to truly enjoy their jobs. You are welcome to bring in your canvas bags, but they'll happily give you paper shopping bags as well.
In contrast, the Trader Joes is small, overly crowded with too many shelves and displays, and you're always bumping into people. The damned placed should be double the size, but instead we're all packed in like sardines. The staff at my Trader Joes seem to be sort of smug, uber-green, uber-lefties who adopt a superior atitude if you don't carry in your own canvas bags. The crowd seems to be less "hippie granola" than the crowd at Whole Foods, and much less diverse. Lots of old people looking for bargains, and they seem to outnumber the artsie hippie types.
In my Whole Foods, there are Caucasians, African Americans, Asians, Latinos, and it's a good mix of middle-class folks. Some of us are in leather shoes, some in hemp, but everyone gets along famously. In Trader Joes, it's overwhelmingly white, and maybe a little bit lower class (just going by how people dress, their cars, and how they behave in public). A lot of the Trader Joes customers are ruder, in my experience, when in Whole Foods, we're all helping each other, holding doors, excusing ourselves if we're in someone's way, in Trader Joes, people will shove their cart or baby stroller up the back of your ankles and reach right in front of your face for a box of couscous or a bag if pita chips.
Also, in Trader Joes, there are tons of women my mom's age (in their 60s) who don't care about eating organic, but want cheap booze. My mom and her girlfriends, for example. make a pilgrimage to Trader Joes to buy cases of the $3 wine. And when I go there, I run into about 78 clones of my mom, doing the same thing. In fact, there may actually be a law in NJ that women in their 60s must buy a certain number of cases of "3-buck chuck" at Trader Joes every month. None of them are very "granola crunchy"; they have manicured nails, tons of jewelry, and designer sweatsuits.
This metro has one Whole Foods and two Trader Joe's. The WF is located in an upscale, notably affluent suburb, and so is one of the Trader Joe's. The other TJ's is located in an urban 'hood. Both stores pander to the upwardly mobile. Here, the granola types are more likely to be hanging out at the many farmer's markets, or getting their groceries from CSA than at either of those outlets.
And I'm {gasp} a conservative! But I love Whole Foods. Sure there are lots of hippies there, but most of them do seem to bathe or are considerate enough to hide their BO with patchouli They pull up in their Priuses and I pull up in my coal-fired Hummer.
That's what I thought...TJ more specialty chain...WF more into the whole "image" of being uber-healthy, so more "earthy-crunchy"
You're right. You can get some great grub at TJ that you don't find in a regular supermarket...at good prices. Like all the different kinds of hummus...like basil tomato.
That's what I thought...TJ more specialty chain...WF more into the whole "image" of being uber-healthy, so more "earthy-crunchy"
You're right. You can get some great grub at TJ that you don't find in a regular supermarket...at good prices. Like all the different kinds of hummus...like basil tomato.
I am not a strong lover of hummus, but I know they have some great varieties. I love the peacan/blue cheese spread and thier breads are great for the price.
While there is a beautiful, large Whole Foods store where I live, the TJ's is still building their store (the second in Florida) so I can't make a good comparison. However, I don't consider either of these places "crunchy granola" at all. They cater to an affluent, upscale foodie crowd for the most part. The truly artsy-hippie granola crowd goes to the farmer's markets and smaller health food stores.
I am neither affluent or "crunchy" so to speak, but I like good quality, local food, buy organic when available/affordable but don't shop at WF - been there a couple times and WAY too expensive for me. I find most of my goods at Super Target which has a great selection of organic and natural products, farmer's markets and ALDI (TJ's cousin store) which has a surprising amount of good quality food, not necessarily organic but many have natural ingredients. They have great hummus, cheeses, nuts, pasta sauces and local produce for cheap. Love that store!
I've never been to a Whole Food's place. There probably is one out here, East Valley I guess. Trader Joe's here is where everyone shops--young, middle and older people. Conservative and liberal I guess. More affluent, less affluent. It's for people who want to eat healthy, more organic and the food isn't too expensive. I think more educated people shop at Trader Joe's, in general, although lots of older folks like their wine!! In fact, someone told me that the one that used to be in the retirement area did the most business in wine compared to other valley locations. Most all of our TJ's hire customer service friendly types. And, you have to have a tattoo or bunch of them to work there. Hehe.
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They pull up in their Priuses and I pull up in my coal-fired Hummer. 
