Sunflower Seed butter, Hemp Granola, Honey flavored Greek Yogurt, Two Buck Chuck, celebrity spotting, and MILF's FTW!~
The first Houston-area Trader Joe's grocery store opens Friday in The Woodlands, but you can get a sneak peek at it now. And, if you're waiting for the Trader Joe's in the old Alabama Theater, we've got an opening date for that, too! http://blog.chron.com/primeproperty/2012/06/an-early-look-inside-the-woodlands-trader-joes/ By David Kaplan The soon-to-open Trader Joe’s in The Woodlands will sell only one ketchup. But the store also stocks chile-spiced dried mango, a packaged item accurately named “Nothing But Flattened Bananas” and a variety of frozen pizzas imported from Italy. Starting Friday, the Houston area will have its first Trader Joe’s and along with it the experience of hunting for the out-of-the-ordinary. The 13,500-square-foot store at 10868 Kuykendahl has a fraction of the items found in a big supermarket, but does offer a trove of gourmet and organic items, often value priced. For example, a 15-ounce box of toasted whole grain oats cereal is $1.99. The store’s grand opening is Friday, 8 a.m. The Woodlands store and one opening in Fort Worth the same day will be the first two Trader Joe’s in Texas. The store will carry milk, eggs, shampoo, toilet paper, pet food, flowers, packaged goods, prepared foods and sushi. The bakery will offer artisan breads, bagels, muffins and more. More than 80 percent of the items are private label. Trader Joe’s has no loyalty cards, coupons or sales, said Josh Leto, The Woodlands store captain — company parlance for manager — but there are values. For example, 16-ounce bags of pasta imported from Italy are 99 cents, and the chain’s Charles Shaw wine, a.k.a. “Two-Buck Chuck” is $2.99. Other unusual store items include herb popcorn, a wasabi seaweed snack, a dessert topping called Cookie Butter and, when in season, Brussels sprouts on the stalk. Monrovia, Calif.-based Trader Joe’s will open two more Houston area stores this year, in the Memorial area at 1440 S. Voss and in the Montrose area at 2922 S. Shepherd in the renovated Alabama Theater. The Montrose store opens Sept. 21, and the Memorial store will open in the fourth quarter of the year, Trader Joe’s spokeswoman Alison Mochizuki said. There are also plans for stores in San Antonio, Dallas, Plano and Austin. Consumers tend to trust Trader Joe’s, said Kit Yarrow, professor of business and psychology at Golden Gate University in San Francisco. They have confidence in Trader Joe’s taste and are satisfied with fewer options, she said. “When fewer choices are available, more people buy the same thing, which means the store gets a better price from the manufacturer. That compounds the trust because the grocer can offer comparatively low prices.” Consumers are increasingly adventurous and crave new options, she said, and the retailer continually brings in new kinds of products. “The long-term impact of any Trader Joe’s store will be limited to the trade area in which it’s located,” said Kenneth Katz, a principal at Houston-based Baker Katz, a commercial retail brokerage firm, “but in the short term they are likely to pull customers from a larger area.” He speculated Trader Joe’s will open more locations in Houston beyond the three announced. The company has no other store announcements at this time, Mochizuki said. “Overall, they don’t shake up the market much” — not one the size of Houston’s, said David Livingston, a grocery analyst with Waukesha, Wis.-based DJL Research. They’ll have some impact on the one or two closest upscale and/or natural foods grocery stores, Livingston added. “There is a growing interest in natural and organic food in Houston, and we are excited to welcome other retailers,” said Whole Foods Market spokeswoman Mary Langdon. “We have found that in other markets, both companies can thrive in the same neighborhood.” Whole Foods stores, she added, have “ ‘Low Price, Great Quality’ signs which highlight everyday items that our buyers have been able to negotiate special low prices on.” Its private label Three Wishes wines are $2.99, she noted. Trader Joe’s began in 1958 as convenience stores in southern California called Pronto Markets. In 1967 the name became Trader Joe’s and more focus was put on wine and cheese. There are now more than 370 stores. david.kaplan@chron.com
Nice two year bump! :grin: I'm waiting for the ones inside the loop to open. Used to shop at TJs all the time when I lived in LA. Looking forward to doing it here.
The thing about Trader Joes is that it isn't over priced. It's way cheaper than Whole Foods, and sometimes cheaper than the regular grocery store for better stuff.
Correct. I hit up TJ's once a week for OJ, milk, eggs, salsa and a few other items that are much cheaper than Safeway. Other things that are good there: hummus - chunky olive, spicy tomato basil, eggplant, etc. all like $1.99/$2.29 cheese - good variety of imported cheese wine spaghetti sauce frozen indian dishes like palak paneer, chicken tikka masala, etc. sourdough bread pre-packed salad
I LOVE trader joes there is one down the street for vegetarians: try their soychorizo and green chile/cheese tamales -- great for everyone: try their cookie butter (like peanut butter but tastes like gingerbread cookies)
If you make the trip to Trader Joe's stop at Neal's Berry Farm on Gosling too. It is a true farmers market with much of the produce grown on the premises along with other items from other Texas organic farmers. Even the eggs come from the 300 chickens that live on site (you can even go see them if you ask nicely). We stop by Neal's a few times a month and are psyched to have Trader Joe's down the street.
The Trader Joe's in The Woodlands is literally right down the street from my house. We are VERY happy to see it open. I used to live in several other cities around the US that had TJ's and it is a super cool store!
Don't get all the love. Trader Joes is okay, but nothing great. They do have some interesting products, but their selection is very limited... I go there once a month, but do not see why it is a big deal.... and in Chicago there are no hot MILF sightings, mostly old people and smelly hipsters.
I would but I'm going to be in New Mexico that morning picking my son up from camp. I'll be back that evening though. I know, not very helpful.
Whoever said Trader Joe's is MILF island is so right. That place has so many hot women b/w the age of 20-40. Also, their apple juice is amazing. As is their mochi. Get every single flavor of that mochi b/c it is SOOOOOOO good. And some of my friends swear by two buck chuck. That being said, ehh. Trader Joes is really cheap and a great place to get the above items as well as some good peanut butter/cheese/vegetables. But it's not really a store that you can buy all your groceries from. It's more of a niche market. Not sure how well that'll go over in Houston. It works in California b/c the culture is a bit different, but I guess we'll see.
I'm going to Trader Joe's then Iguana Joe's then Joe's Crab Shack. It's going to be an all Joe's day.
