THE TRADER-JOE-POCALYPSE IS UPON US!
Posted on January 26, 2016 at 2:15 pm by West Sider
Upper West Siders have emerged from their blizzard cocoons in search of sustenance, only to find that the apocalypse did arrive, it just occurred three days after the storm: Trader Joe’s on 72nd and Broadway is out of food! Or, to be more specific, their produce shelves are bare. Check out the sad sad photos below, sent in by Lisa and Brelyn.
An employee tells us a shipment did get delayed but they should be back to full strength on produce in the next day. “It’s true, we’re not at 100%.” In the meantime, there are many other Trader Joe’s treats in stock.
I only visited the place once and quickly realized that Fairway is MUCH better!
TJ’s is much cheaper for staples like milk, cheese, yogurt, nuts and nut butters, eggs and bread. Fairway is getting more and more expensive.
Organic milk is cheaper at Fairway, by a large margin.
How much is a gallon of Organic milk at Fairway? TJ’s just went up from (I think) 5.99 to 6.33.
false:
TJ’s 1/2 gallon organic is 3.49 fairway is 4.29
Fairway is hardly local any more…. Just another corporation with shareholders to please.
TJ’s should not be compared to any traditional grocery store. It is not their purpose to be your only source for groceries. They sell a limited (but still large) variety of decent quality items at prices which are overall much lower than anywhere else for comparable items. The majority of which isat they sell is under their own brand.
For the TJ’s haters… There is a reason why there is always a line to get in. But feel free to keep on hatin….
That line to get in is one of the main reasons people hate that store.
The other is the line to get out.
Trader Joe’s is “the bomb”.
Then ….eh… maybe you shouldn’t shop there… .
TJs vs Fairway
TJ’s has some really excellent private-label stuff. We love the cookies, chocolate-covered everything, cereals, bottled teas and lemonades, frozen finger foods (esp gyoza, mac’n’cheese balls, teriyaki skewers).
Most of their refrigerator stuff is very reasonable. They have gallon jugs of organic milk, haven’t seen that anywhere else, and unit cost is much cheaper than Fairway. Cheese is much cheaper than Fairway (stay with the less fancy stuff) and some of it is good. Produce is not very good but much cheaper, which is good for certain staples where quality/freshness isn’t critical like lemon/lime, potatoes, bell peppers, etc. I’m not crazy about their fresh meat either.
I usually go to TJ’s and buy what looks good, then go to Fairway to get everything else.
Just like Fairway, you gotta shop at off hours. Comes with living in a foodie neighborhood…
Darn. I was totally gonna go to TJ’s this evening for my weekly grocery shopping. Thanks for the tip, WSR!
Totally! I guess now you can go just partially, eh?
Chill out, old man. [Gets off Cato’s lawn]
Just goes to show that local stores or chains are ever so much better at understanding customer needs. I don’t even shop there, most of their stuff is packaged or frozen or not very good quality.
huh? TJ’s is empty because their customers needed to stock up on Friday when lines were out the door all day. I don’t care if you shop there or not, there is no denying that many people do.
No one goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.
People are unaware that they can live without a loaf of bread and milk for 24-48 hours. There are a slime few restaurants that are open…but guarantee..you would have to go 4-5 days without water before you died..so..you should be good.
Unless you absolutely keep no pasta or cans of anything in your cabinets..which is to say the least..really stupid.
Think of syrians who are months without food..living on a few scraps a week.
God is great.
Beer is good.
People are stupid.
Not sure when these pictures are from, but there was plenty last night.
i went to trader joes during the blizzard and the day after and it was stocked with no lines. basically the best trader joe’s experience in that location ever…
When is TJ going to get a frozen yogurt machine to compete with Bloomies? How about some free samples while waiting on the longest lines on the UWS?
The don’t need to attract more customers.
Trader Joes was such a great thing when they moved in. Prior to that you had Fairway which literally was like going to war going shopping there. (I had ladies bashing me with their shopping carts in my ankles more than once) . TJ has a good selection and pricing on flash frozen fish.
Those same women are at TJ they use their baby buggies to block the shelves and move you out of the way (sort of a weapon). I do not shop there after 8:30 am, most NYC moms are nursing their hangovers at that time.
I go to this TJ’s often. I don’t like how some women feel they can CUT THE LINE because they are young/pretty or elderly. I had an elderly woman cut right in front of me when I was there Friday before the blizzard and I said “What are you doing”? And she said “I was on line but I do not know what happened!”. I told her to get out of my way, try that garbage with someone behind me.
Boy, you sound like a real mensch! Actually, you sound like a total jackass. And I quite appreciate that TJ’s allows elderly and disable shoppers to cut the line: very humane and reasonable. One day, when I’m old and gray, I will be comforted by that courtesy, too.
OMG! I hope everyone who shops there survived. Never set foot inside that store and never will. I shop at Pioneer and they had food and produce the entire time. And the few times I’ve had Fairway or TJ’s produce, well, its never been better than Pioneer. Actually, worse I thought – which always provides a good chuckle when I see people waiting in line to get inside.
24Gotham is only person with sense around here. Haters keep on hatin…
Wait for an Aldi’s.
Hey Alan, Aldi owns Trader Joe’s!!
The only time I’ve seen this place without a line up of 50 people. Good investigative reporting!
This is my go to supermarket.