I love Trader Joe's. We have a bunch of them around here, so it's never too difficult to find one.

Yes, California is TJ territory. I hear some of their CA outlets sell spirits as well as wine and beer.

Meanwhile, a Five Guys outlet opened up in the same area as our TJ. We had a thread within the last year or so discussing fast food joints. If I recall correctly, In 'n Out came in first, closely followed by Five Guys.

UPDATE: After more than a year of waiting and being leaped up, TJ's finally opened this morning. But, I couldn't get near it because every parking space was taken and the line of cars extended out to a state highway. I hope nobody got crushed when the doors opened.

Local paper says a Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage(?) store will open here in the summer. Anyone here familiar with that chain?

Just noticed that TJs has the nerd certificate of approval: the character Raj on The Big Bang Theory buys his wine there.

If you ever buy popcorn already popped, TJs Olive Oil Popcorn is really good. Two dollars for a big bag.

I LOOOOOVE that popcorn!!!!

Of course you do. It's food.

I finally walked over to the new TJ just now. Like I died and went to heaven. The wine prices are even lower here than in CA and NV. Oh, boy!

Did you buy any, TB?

You bet! Now that I can walk there, I can buy in small quantities and walk home with them. I did a review of some of their wines for local friends. If anyone wants to read the reviews, PM me.

Trader is much cheaper than Whole Foods. Whole Foods has far more variety and a more upscale crowd. People at Whole actually know what quinoa and tempeh are. In other words, they attract more food snobs.

Trader is more of a frozen items and cold cuts crowd. Especially in Queens and Long Island.

TJ's presence is shaking up some of the other stores. This week Costco and the supermarkets are running big sales on wine.

I learned that 700 people applied for jobs at our TJ's. They hired 43, and 25 current employees from other stores asked for transfers here. That makes 68 employees to staff a store that's open 13 hrs/day, 7 days/week.

A TJ's opened on Staten Island last year. It doesn't have a big parking lot, and is a nightmare on Saturdays. When we got married in 2007, we bought cases of wine from TJ's. We put custom made labels on the bottles, and used them as our wedding favors.

Finally got to TJ's. I bought something I never saw there before - linguini with clam sauce from the freezer section. It was surprisingly good. I also bought a frozen pear tarte, which I think is new, but haven't tried it yet.

Trader does not even selling frozen peaches. Unreal. For some reason they just won't carry it.

Great idea.

The thing I HATE about TJ and WF and all these other stores are the huge lines that you often find in them!

When TJ opened here, I was afraid people were going to get trampled to death when the doors opened for the first time. Guy I knew told me he went in that morning and had to wait a half-hour to check out. It's calmed down considerably since then.

Lou, you're not kidding! What the hell were these builders/architects thinking when they designed the SI store?

You cannot even maneuver through that parking lot! No room to pass if another car is coming in the opposite direction. Limited parking spaces, and no pull in or back out room from many of the parking spaces if you are even able to find one. As you correctly pointed out, a friggin nightmare.

I've attempted to go there on 3 different occasions but gave up each time after being unable to access the parking lot on the first two occasions and not being able to find or fit into a parking space on the third occasion!

I was told that the S.I. location doesn't even sell wine as they do not have their liquor license. Do you know if this is true?

...sounds like the parking lot at the Publix in Surfside FL.

I like Trader Joe's a lot. They have sweet tea in gallon jugs that are actually sweet tea, not whatever is in the arizona or lipton sweet tea containers.

They have a lot of great stuff but they are an hour away.

Before TJ opened here, the nearest ones werein the Phoenix area, 100 miles away. So, when I was in Phoenix, I had to make a special trip to TJ and basically bought four or five cases of my favorite TJ bargain California wines to stock up until the next time I was in the area. Now that they're within walking distance, I've been experimenting with their European and South American wines, lugging six at a time in a cloth wine carrier. Nearly all of them have been excellent bargains. I've also been able to be more adventurous with their foods. Their Cuban wrap is very good. Sliced cheeses are excellent.

We had chicken tonight and I made TJ's vegetable bird nests with it. They are carrots, onions and kale in a tempura. Just delicious.

An EXCELLENT lunch sandwich.

That just sounds mouthwatering at its finest right there.

You live in Falls Church?

This past summer I was living in Arlington (Rosslyn), great place for young professionals like myself. Lots of my work colleagues were talking about buying houses,etc in the Falls Church area...

I lived in Rosslyn for quite a while. The whole Metro corridor from Rosslyn to Ballston is a lively place!

I'm actually just over the border from Falls Church in Fairfax County. It's funny, because when people ask where the neighborhhod (Pimmitt Hills) is, we inevitably end up saying, "It's behind the Trader Joe's," and then they know where it is.

When I was still working in funeral service, I used to do quite a bit of business in the Falls Church area, at National Funeral Home/National Memorial Park.

Whenever we'd take a funeral from New York to Arlington, we'd inevitably have to pick up paperwork at National Funeral Home in Falls Church. Nice area.

I know what you mean, while living in Rosslyn I used to tell people I lived next to "Ray's Hellburger" which is a very famous burger joint that Obama goes to.

Trader Joe's does not even sell frozen peaches. Unreal.

Mango creamsicles - just ate a whole box in a day!