I’ll write more in the future about why Trader Joe’s has been my main grocery store here in California and how Trader Joe’s makes a healthy diet affordable. Well, less unaffordable, because good food is not cheap. Trader Joe’s also has an excellent selection of wines at very good prices. Trader Joe’s is not all that good a place to buy fresh fruit and vegetables, but their less perishable items are of very high quality and typically cost a third to a half less than comparable items in a regular grocery store. I’m guessing that one of the ways Trader Joe’s keeps its prices down is that they don’t offer much of the fresh produce items that go bad in grocery stores and which grocery stores throw out at a disturbing rate. Fresh produce also is very expensive to ship. An excellent way to have a good diet in the provinces would be to go to Trader Joe’s for one’s staples once or twice a month and to depend on local farmer’s markets, or one’s own garden, for fresh produce.
Now if they’d only open a Trader Joe’s in Winston-Salem. If Charlotte can support three, surely Winston-Salem could support one.
From the Charlotte Observer:
Trader Joe’s coming to Midtown in 2008
Specialty grocery store Trader Joe’s is opening a center city location at the new Metropolitan development in Midtown, store officials said Monday. The store, the third Trader Joe’s location in Charlotte, will open in 2008, company spokeswoman Alison Mochizuki said.
The Metropolitan is home to a newly opened Target and Home Depot Design Center, which opens Thursday.
Trader Joe’s opened its first Charlotte store in August at the Shops in Piper Glen, 6418 Rea Road. The second Charlotte store, at 1820 Arbor Drive near Mallard Creek Church Road, is expected to open later this year.
At 13,100 square feet, the Midtown location will be larger than the 12,500-square-foot store in south Charlotte.
Trader Joe’s sells a wide variety of items, from salsas to granolas, frozen foods and candies. The company often uses small, artisan producers. In a typical Trader Joe’s, more than 80 percent of the products are exclusive. It aims at nutrition niches, such as gluten-free, kosher, vegetarian and vegan products.
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