"Relish Austin: 10 things you need to know about Trader Joe’s Posted: 3:38 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013 BY ADDIE BROYLES - AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF The wait is over, Trader Joe’s fans. It’s been more than two years since the popular California-based grocer announced plans to expand to Texas, which was enough to spark chatter among Austinites (many of them former Californians) about when a store would open here. We’ve watched the quirky grocery store with a cult-like following open nine other Texas locations in and around Houston, Fort Worth, Dallas and San Antonio, but after all these months, the first Austin-area store will finally open on Friday. (The downtown location in the Seaholm development, which was actually announced first, won’t open until next year, and a third location at 9722 Great Hills Trail is possibly in the works. Trader Joe’s has submitted applications for sales tax and beer and wine permits for that location, but store officials haven’t confirmed plans.) The 11,000-square-foot store at 2805 Bee Cave Road in Rollingwood will be open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, but what exactly will the notoriously secretive Trader Joe’s provide that Austin’s current grocery stores don’t? I’ve shopped at Trader Joe’s in California before, and last month, I took a road trip to the San Antonio location to get a preview of the shopping experience and make this list of 10 things you need to know about Austin’s newest grocer. 1) “Here today, gone tomorrow.” This Trader Joe’s slogan refers to the vast number of specialty products that the company develops every year, but competition is stiff for a permanent home on the shelves. They rotate these products frequently, with as many as a dozen new house-brand products in and out in a month. Keen shoppers will notice that some of the specialty products are knockoffs of better-known brands, such as the blue-and-white Veri Veri Teriyaki (Trader Joe’s version is called “Soyaki”) or Huy Fong’s Tuong Ot Sriracha. (Biscoff-inspired Cookie Butter, anyone? See sidebar.) 2) It’s a heat-and-eat paradise. The Trader Joe’s frozen section is a sight to behold. You could eat different kinds of pre-cut vegetables and frozen meals and side dishes, such as tamales, egg rolls and crab cakes, every night for a year and not repeat a meal. The food in this section is as processed as it comes, but the store wouldn’t carry so many of these kinds of products if they didn’t sell well. 3) Not everything is frozen. You can find some fresh raw meats and fish, including pre-seasoned and marinated cuts, but there is no butcher counter where you can ask questions to a meat or fish specialist. Even without an in-store bakery, you’ll find an OK selection of packaged fresh bread, and many fans will go out of their way to pick up a pre-made but fresh salad or hummus for lunch or a picnic. 4) Not everything is organic. Trader Joe’s might love the hippie/yuppie vibe, but the majority of the products, including produce and $2.69-a-pound ground beef, make no promises of being free of chemicals or antibiotics. At least one nonprofit is trying to change that. Consumers Union has been doing a marketing push around this week’s opening to try to persuade Trader Joe’s to stop selling meat raised with antibiotics, which is already policy at Whole Foods Market. (They are hosting a “meat and greet” tonight from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Snack Bar Austin, 1224 South Congress Ave., and organizers will be outside the store on Friday morning. You can find out more at notinmyfood.org.) 5) It’s a party planner’s dream. You’ll find snacks galore at Trader Joe’s, including dried seaweed, trail mix and chocolate-covered everything. The frozen food section carries an array of hors d’oeuvres, such as quiche, pre-sliced panini and chocolate croissants. Headed to a party? It’s a good place to pick up inexpensive flowers and a bottle of wine for the hosts. 6) Two Buck Chuck and the six-dollar six-pack. For about a decade, Trader Joe’s has been known, even outside its retail circle, for “Two Buck Chuck,” inexpensive wines sold under the Charles Shaw label. The base price for many of the varietals has climbed to $2.99, but the quality of these totally drinkable reds and whites is better than just about every other grocer’s $3 wines. Lesser known are the store’s house-label beers, which are often sold under Kennebunkport or Josephs Brau Brewing Co. brands and cost about $5.99 for a six-pack. Unlike their wine counterparts, the value/taste equation doesn’t quite work out in the beer’s favor. Prefer your regular suds? Trader Joe’s also sells other brands of beer and wine, as well as liquor in states that allow it. 7) Nothing is measured by the pound. All of the produce is either sold in some kind of package or “by the each,” a system in which a single apple is priced at 69 cents, and you can buy one banana for 19 cents (“Five for a dollar!” the hand-drawn sign proclaims). This leads to some interesting packaging, such as a guacamole kit with an avocado, tomato, shallot, garlic and jalapeño for $2.49. The cost of fruit works out to be just about the same price as what you’ll find at a regular grocery store, but Trader Joe’s by-the-pound cheese prices — cheeses are pre-measured and packaged so the cashier doesn’t have to weigh anything — can’t be beat. You won’t find a bulk section, so nuts, dried fruits, beans, rice and spices are all sold pre-packaged. 8) They’ve long celebrated the reusable bag. Though flimsy plastic bags are allowed by Rollingwood law, the grocer has long embraced the reusable bag. Their colorful, artsy reusable bags have become something of a collector’s item. 9) Trader Joe’s likes its trade secrets. In sharp contrast to 21st century business logic, the company doesn’t advertise or run any social media accounts. The company likes to say that its low prices are a direct result of this lack of money spent on marketing, but in a social media-happy town like Austin, it might feel like a cold shoulder. Their marketing efforts are limited to the Fearless Flyer newsletter, which you might start getting in the mail and is packed with interesting food facts and stories about new products. But with no photos in the flier, it’s no surprise that the stores display signs asking customers not to take photographs. 10) Expect friendly faces. Even though they aren’t interested in digital interaction with shoppers, Trader Joe’s Hawaiian shirt-clad Crew Members in San Antonio offered excellent in-store customer service. All the employees I interacted with were eager to ask if I needed help finding anything, answer my questions about products, offer samples and, one of the most important qualities of any grocery store, in my mind, chat about the weather at the check-out stand. Grocery Store Chat With Trader Joe’s opening Friday and Wheatsville Co-op opening its long-awaited second store just a few days later, we’re hosting a Google+ Hangout at noon Friday at Austin360 and on our Austin360 Google+ page to talk about the state of the Austin grocery scene. Join Statesman food writer Addie Broyles and other local grocery experts in a conversation about the evolving grocery options and what it means for you and your shopping list."
Posted on: Wed, 18 Sep 2013 12:30:55 +0000