Mile long check out line at 72nd street Trader Joes...

[CNYC]

I stopped buying at TRADER JOES after being a regular for years. WHY ? I find most of the stuff that interested me (frozen) had a super high salt content. Actually most of their processed foods frozen or on the shelf are = to eating junk food.

The staples they offer like salad dressing coffee ( Try Bustelo Instead !) rice milk etc. can all be purchased for roughly the same price online (walmart.com) or less AND you don't have to go to a store to buy it. Walmart will ship it to your home free with a $50 order.

The fresh produce is limited but decent. Not worth standing in those lines for it when you can pick that up pretty easily on the street.

I like the baked goods they offer but then again that's all junk food.

Still a good place for snacks and comfort food but I am trying to watch what I eat.

Oddly enough this left leaning anti corporate hater is shopping at WHOLE FOODS these days. They have cornered the food market to the extent that their prices are equal to all the other supermarkets in town...even charging less for some items. It's all relative IMO. There is no supermarket GOD in nYC. If you have the time and energy to put forth effort into it you go to different stores to capitalize on the best deals then move on to the next...exhausting but a more rewarding experience in the end.

[vision33r]

Originally Posted by bumblebyz

I thought that was strange too seeing stuff from China rebadged and/or manufactured in Mexico. i.e. green tea mints are popular in China, but you might not even find them in Asian markets here, but you'll find them at Trader Joe's. Many of their other exotic snacks are like that too. I thought I was the only one who noticed.

Which is why some people go to Trader Joe's, they don't want to be seen or venture into an Asian grocer but it's cool to be at Trader Joe's where the hipsters and yuppies shop.

There are only a limited number of producer of certain produce and food products. Trader Joe's just cherry picks items and relabels them as their own. You can go to Wegman's and find rebadge products but you don't have to overpay for Green Tea when it's like $2.50/box elsewhere vs $6-8/box a TraderJoe.

[Fromageball]

I shop there all the time - once there was a line to get into the store. Even when the lines are really long it never takes too long.

[livingsinglenyc]

What I hate is when you go out of your way to go shopping there cause you aren't lucky enough to live in the neighborhoods they are. Then you get there, long line but you shop anyway then they are out of half of the items you had needed.
I think a 24 hour Trader Joes would do very well in Manhattan. They can stock at night, have just a few cashiers and let people shop there without the craziness.

[Kefir King]

I go to Trader Joes very occasionally for only one food product: Frozen Shepherd Pie for $3.99. Big and delicious.

And if I am on E. 14th St. I will buy wine.