Why Is Trader Joes Not Following Whole Foods In Prince George's County? (Bowie: neighborhoods, to buy)

[adelphi_sky]

After the discussion in the Whole Foods thread, I ran across this article about Trader Joe's and under-served neighborhoods.

Which got us wondering, why isn’t Trader Joe’s, your favorite purveyor of $2 wine and frozen ravioli, setting up shop in lower-income neighborhoods?

We located all the Trader Joe’s in major urban areas across America and identified median household income and percentage of households on SNAP in those respective ZIP codes. In the graphic you can compare the median income of an area surrounding a Trader Joe’s store to that city’s median income. We’ve added five of Whole Foods’ newest stores in high-poverty neighborhoods for comparison.

But while Whole Foods seems to be taking steps to remedy that, Trader Joe’s — with that reasonably priced pumpkin muffin mix perfect for Thanksgiving — continues to open shop in ZIP codes with above average median incomes and very small percentages of households on SNAP.

https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/inf...-neighborhoods

Trader Joe's has lower priced foods but continues to avoid lower-income neighborhoods.

Given the fact that the price point at Trader Joe's is much lower than that of Whole Foods and with their product mix being half-frozen, why hasn't Trader Joe's followed Whole Foods into undeserved areas or at least those areas that carry the affluence and educational levels they seek?

Right now, There are a few prime locations that trader Joe's could open up shop in and would do just fine.

1. Bowie
2. College Park
3. Hyattsville

All three have the educational levels and are open to trying new foods. Now that I think about it, College Park has some of the most diverse dining options in the area. THere is everything from Pho, Korean, Peruvian, Jamaican/Caribbean, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Mexican, Greek, Italian, Vegan, etc. So, people in the area are naturally open to different foods.

Also, there is Hyattsville with its artsy population that would also be open to cooking different foods as well as vying for the quick and easy frozen dinner options.

College Park has been begging for a Trader Joe's while a black-community in Portland, OR turned them away.

What gives?

[lanhvtnymd]

I almost moved to Portland at the beginning of the year, and that was about an attempt to avoid the (as they say) Californiacation/crazy gentrification of that community in Portland without hearing from the people who live in the community: the people in that community wanted the site to be mixed use with some low-income housing included. Trader Joe's did not like that idea.

Trader Joe's simply follows the money, point blank. It's like Starbucks: you don't see a Starbucks before an area is really going to take off.

Trader Joe's doesn't even tell you where they get all of that "awesome" food from....I've heard some of it is basically the same stuff you can get at Aldi's. I personally think it's overrated, but probably I would not kick it out of bed for eating crackers.

I guess College Park doesn't have enough money for Trader Joe's.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by lanhvtnymd

Trader Joe's doesn't even tell you where they get all of that "awesome" food from....I've heard some of it is basically the same stuff you can get at Aldi's. I personally think it's overrated, but probably I would not kick it out of bed for eating crackers.

I guess College Park doesn't have enough money for Trader Joe's.

They are actually owned by the same company that owns Aldi's. And to your point, College Park has two Starbucks. Three if you count the one on campus. A Whole Foods is opening up a mile from campus. And the price-point of Trader Joe's is not all that expensive. Their prices are on par with Giant and Safeway. There's nothing really upscale about Trader Joe's ($2 wine?), but there location selection seems to baffle some people. Even in the more affluent parts of the county, they are non-existent. So is income and education doesn't seem to factor all that much.

RT. 1 is gentrifying if you accept the premise that gentrification follows Whole Foods.

[lanhvtnymd]

So maybe Trader Joe's will come later. I know it's less expensive shopping at Trader Joe's, but that doesn't mean they want to open up in an area that's not high income.

When I lived in Albany, NY, I would drive to Amherst, Mass to go to the nearest Whole Foods. People would always talk about how they wanted a Trader Joe's over Whole Foods.....dig not get it, at all. Well now they have both, and they're literally right down and across the street from each other in a hellish high-traffic area in a suburb of Albany. Upstate NY is not really all that high end, I'm still scratching my head over Whole Foods there. Maybe it's a culture change for the company.

When I lived in Burlington, VT, there was no Whole Foods. There was this place called Healthy Living...now THAT was expensive. But you had your pick of organic, natural shopping places in Burlington. They fight chains like crazy in that state. There's a huge big box store shopping area not in Burlington but down 89 in Williston, all quarantined together! lol

[adelphi_sky]

Apparently Bowie has been begging for a Trader Joe's for ten years. But the county is good enough for Aldi's but just not Trader Joe's. It's the SAME company.

There are ten Aldi's locations in the county. Not one Trader Joe's to those cities that have been begging for them just to say thanks for the Aldi business.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by lanhvtnymd

So maybe Trader Joe's will come later. I know it's less expensive shopping at Trader Joe's, but that doesn't mean they want to open up in an area that's not high income.

When I lived in Albany, NY, I would drive to Amherst, Mass to go to the nearest Whole Foods. People would always talk about how they wanted a Trader Joe's over Whole Foods.....dig not get it, at all. Well now they have both, and they're literally right down and across the street from each other in a hellish high-traffic area in a suburb of Albany. Upstate NY is not really all that high end, I'm still scratching my head over Whole Foods there. Maybe it's a culture change for the company.

When I lived in Burlington, VT, there was no Whole Foods. There was this place called Healthy Living...now THAT was expensive. But you had your pick of organic, natural shopping places in Burlington. They fight chains like crazy in that state. There's a huge big box store shopping area not in Burlington but down 81 in Williston, all quarantined together! lol

Yeah. It is really weird how these two chains cause a stir in cities and neighborhoods. But you never hear about Trader Joe's raising property values and ushering in gentrification. But perhaps they should as they seem the most sought after.

And Trader Joe's doesn't even have a huge organic inventory.

We have Yes! Organic in Hyattsville and a My Organic Market in College Park, MOM's in College park is expensive. Same price point as Whole Foods, but only about 3k sqft. Yes! Organic is more expensive than MOM's and Whole Foods. Both areas aren't very upscale but these two stores have done well. MOM's even expanded. Though 2k sqft wasn't much to begin with.

[CBMD]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

After the discussion in the Whole Foods thread, I ran across this article about Trader Joe's and under-served neighborhoods.



https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/inf...-neighborhoods

Trader Joe's has lower priced foods but continues to avoid lower-income neighborhoods.

Given the fact that the price point at Trader Joe's is much lower than that of Whole Foods and with their product mix being half-frozen, why hasn't Trader Joe's followed Whole Foods into undeserved areas or at least those areas that carry the affluence and educational levels they seek?

Right now, There are a few prime locations that trader Joe's could open up shop in and would do just fine.

1. Bowie
2. College Park
3. Hyattsville

All three have the educational levels and are open to trying new foods. Now that I think about it, College Park has some of the most diverse dining options in the area. THere is everything from Pho, Korean, Peruvian, Jamaican/Caribbean, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Mexican, Greek, Italian, Vegan, etc. So, people in the area are naturally open to different foods.

Also, there is Hyattsville with its artsy population that would also be open to cooking different foods as well as vying for the quick and easy frozen dinner options.

College Park has been begging for a Trader Joe's while a black-community in Portland, OR turned them away.

What gives?

Ah now, College Park and Hyattsville, that's a bit much. And you've left Laurel out. What did Laurel ever do to you.
You've just given Hyattsville the kiss of death. Starving artists are the bane of the grocery store fumbling for pennies to buy a crust of bread.

On the Oregon issue, after TJ decided not to proceed, the Portland City Council voted to ask them to reconsider but they declined.

[CBMD]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

They are actually owned by the same company that owns Aldi's. And to your point, College Park has two Starbucks. Three if you count the one on campus. A Whole Foods is opening up a mile from campus. And the price-point of Trader Joe's is not all that expensive. Their prices are on par with Giant and Safeway. There's nothing really upscale about Trader Joe's ($2 wine?), but there location selection seems to baffle some people. Even in the more affluent parts of the county, they are non-existent. So is income and education doesn't seem to factor all that much.

RT. 1 is gentrifying if you accept the premise that gentrification follows Whole Foods.

TJ like Wegmans, open only a limited number of stores per year.

[CBMD]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

Apparently Bowie has been begging for a Trader Joe's for ten years. But the county is good enough for Aldi's but just not Trader Joe's. It's the SAME company.

There are ten Aldi's locations in the county. Not one Trader Joe's to those cities that have been begging for them just to say thanks for the Aldi business.

They're actually not the same company. It's a little complicated. There are two separate Aldi's both operate in the US. One operates only TJ's, the other only Aldi, and n'eer the twain shall meet. Try finding a phone number for any of those 10 Aldi stores in PGC. TJ phone numbers are readily available.

The brothers built up a chain of stores until, by 1960, they owned 300 shops, and split the operation into two separate groups, that later became Aldi Nord, headquartered in Essen; and Aldi Süd, headquartered in Mülheim an der Ruhr.[6][7] The two operate independently, each within specific areas.

Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd have been financially and legally separate since 1966, although both divisions' names may appear (as if they were a single enterprise) with certain house brands or when negotiating with contractor companies.

Both Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd also operate in the United States; Aldi Nord is owner of the Trader Joe's chain, while Aldi Süd operates as Aldi.

I think College Park might see a new Lidl store before it sees a TJ. As I understand it, the US Lidl stores are going to be significantly larger and different than their EU stores. There's rumor that they'll be a sort of hybrid Aldi/TJ model. The 30K sf stores they're seeking would suggest that.

[Chriz Brown]

PG county is getting more ghetto by the minute. That's probably the main reason.

Lets he how long Whole Foods stays.