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October 26, 2011 in Food
Dreams of Trader Joe’s closer to reality
With South Hill location set to open, dedicated fans are just days away from bargains aplenty
Bargain prices, natural and organic offerings, unusual food finds and fun have earned Trader Joe’s some seriously loyal customers.
Some scoffed when we suggested in a note to readers last month that fans of the California-based chain were trekking to the other side of state and beyond to stock up on their favorite Trader Joe’s staples. But more than two dozen sent notes with the details of their cross-state runs, the extra bags they stow on trips to see family in a Trader Joe’s ZIP code and the other shenanigans the beloved store has inspired.
“Since the moment Trader Joe’s began construction this spring, it has been the number one topic of conversation and speculation around the workout circuit at Curves Southeast. Being located directly across from the construction site it proved to be a much more interesting topic than trying to guess the precise day the snow piles in the parking lot would disappear,” wrote Faye Finke, on behalf of the women at Curves Southeast.
They’re dreaming of bargain wines, cheeses, crackers, energy bars and flowers while they work out.
Colleen Capwell says she became the Trader Joe’s personal shopper for her friends in Spokane when her daughter moved to Seattle in 2007 to attend the University of Washington.
“The most I have shopped for in one trip is 15,” she wrote in an email message. “I know I can fit 13 cases of Charles Shaw wine in the back of my car if I split one case in half.
“I usually have to make three trips into the store. The first is for wine, the second is for nonperishable items and the last is for the refrigerated and frozen food.”
Capwell wrote the note on the eve of another trip to the Issaquah, Wash., store from her daughter’s house in Seattle. Her personal favorite item is the Italian truffle cheese.
“Considering the quantities I buy, you can imagine some of the questions I get from Trader Joe’s staff. My question for them has always been, ‘When is Trader Joe’s coming to Spokane?’ ”
The wait is almost over. The Spokane store in the Lincoln Heights Shopping Center, 2975 E. 29th Ave., opens with a lei cutting at 8 a.m. Friday. Regular hours will be 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
Trader Joe’s carries an array of domestic and imported food and beverages, including more than 1,000 items under its private label, which includes Trader Giotto and Trader Jose products.
The store buys directly from manufacturers, then strips away preservatives, artificial colors and ingredients from the name-brand product and sells it for a discount under its own label.
Company spokeswoman Alison Mochizuki says many of those items are stocked at all of the chain’s stores, with some variation from region to region. Spokane shoppers can expect to see most of the items they’ve come to love, but some items may not be available. About a dozen new offerings are added to stores each week after extensive testing by the company’s tasting panel.
Trader Joe’s started in 1958 in the Los Angeles area and has grown to more than 360 stores in 31 states.
Peggy DiFilippo, of Spokane Valley, started going to Trader Joe’s in the late 1970s when the store was a block from her apartment in Placentia, Calif.
“Back then, they sold mostly wine and cheese. What really got me hooked was their newsletter. Whimsical and funny! Ever since then I have always searched for TJs wherever I have lived,” she wrote.
Cathy Akins of Diamond Lake, Wash., left her wallet at the Trader Joe’s in Issaquah when she stopped with friends on the way home from a concert in Seattle. She called the store and asked them to hold it until her daughter could stop by to pick it up for her.
“When (my daughter) gave it to me, it was accompanied by a card – the manager had written a haiku poem about losing a wallet but saving the day and hoping mine was going well. Just one more little Trader Joe’s ‘yay!’ ”
Molly Hoover is looking forward to Trader Joe’s prosciutto and fresh sage leaves so she can whip together her favorite fast meal. Place three or four sage leaves on a pork chop and wrap it with prosciutto. Grill the chop (she uses her George Foreman grill) for four to six minutes and voila!
“The taste will amaze you,” she writes.
Vicki Wiprud will be dropping in for favorites such as gyoza, dim sum, ethnic condiments and enchiladas. But her must-have product is Trader Joe’s lavender body scrub.
Marcia Goldman’s favorite is the mini cubes of frozen chopped garlic and cilantro. She keeps them in a zip-top bag in the freezer and pops them out as needed.
“No more stinky fingers or rotten cilantro,” she writes. “Oh, and the triple ginger snaps rival homemade.”
Cheryl Simpkins gets an “A” for her effort to satisfy a yen for Trader Joe’s goods. She was on her way to Maui to visit a friend and asked if there was anything that she wanted from the mainland. The friend said she wanted whole coffee beans from Trader Joe’s.
Since Spokane didn’t have a store Simpkins told her friend she was out of luck, but started looking for ways to use her five-hour layover at Sea-Tac airport in Seattle to make a TJ’s run. Burien, Wash., turned out to be the closest store, but Simpkins found out a taxi ride was too expensive. Out of her comfort zone but still wanting to surprise her friend, she tried airport information, where they suggested she try the bus.
“Walked to the bus stop, found where to buy tokens, got on and talked to the bus driver about where to get off and where to get back on, times, etc. Get there and Trader Joe’s has not even opened yet,” Simpkins wrote in her message. “Great, it’s raining, cold and I’m dressed for Maui.”
She stuck it out, snagged her coffee beans and still made it back to the airport with two hours to kill before her flight.
“It may not sound like such a big deal to most people but it made me feel very brave and I had a gift for my best friend that she didn’t know she would get,” Simpkins says.
Shopper loyalty seems as much a Trader Joe’s tradition as the Hawaiian shirts worn by crew members.
There are books, blogs and websites dedicated to the stores and its products. There are at least two series of cookbooks dedicated to recipes that rely on Trader Joe’s merchandise. The books are available at bookstores.
Cherie Mercer Twohy, author of the “I
Twohy’s recipe for Chocolate Pumpkin Tart follows. Her latest book, the “I
She says the Brie and Pear Galette has earned more raves than any of the others in the book (recipe follows). The books are published by Ulysses Press and sell for $17.95.
For more ideas on how to cook up those Trader Joe’s products, consider the “Cooking With Trader Joe’s” series of cookbooks. The latest offering is “Cooking with Trader Joe’s: Pack a Lunch” by Celine Cossou-Bordes.
Other “Cooking with Trader Joe’s” books include the revised and updated original book “Cooking With All Things Trader Joe’s.” There is also “Skinny Dish,” “Lighten Up” and “Dinner’s Done.” The hardcover books are distributed by Partners Book Publishing and sell for $18.95 to $24.95.
A Facebook page dedicated to convincing the company executives that Spokane would be an ideal location for their store is another testament to the passion the chain inspires.
Glynnis Luu predicts that Friday’s store opening won’t be the end of the fuss.
“I bet the parking lot is too small for all of the customers that will shop there (as are all the parking lots for all the Trader Joe’s I’ve been to as a matter of fact),” Luu writes.
Laura Bohauer agrees: “I just hope when TJ’s sees the mob that descends on the South Side store that they will think about building on the North Side of town, too.”
Smoked Salmon in Herbed Pancakes
From “Cooking With Trader Joe’s: Pack a Lunch.” “The idea of serving salmon with yogurt and pancakes is based on a traditional recipe with tiny Russian pancakes, called blinis, which are usually served with salmon and creme fraiche. Trader Joe’s multigrain pancake mix makes, in my opinion, the best pancakes from a box.”
For the pancakes:
1 cup multigrain pancake mix
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 tablespoon oil
1/3 cup finely chopped herbs (any combination of parsley, thyme and basil)
For the filling:
1/2 cup plain whole milk yogurt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 small onion, minced
Pinch salt and pepper
5 ounces sliced smoked salmon, shredded
1/3 cup micro greens
Make pancake batter per box instructions. Stir in herbs. Set aside.
In another bowl, whisk yogurt, lemon juice, onion, salt and pepper. Refrigerate until used.
Using herbed batter, cook 4 pancakes per instructions on the box. Lay pancakes on a plate. Top with salmon, add yogurt mix and then top with micro greens. Roll pancake. Secure with toothpick or kitchen twine.
Yield: 4 servings
Brie and Pear Galette
From the “I
1 Trader Joe’s Gourmet Pie Crust, thawed and rolled out to 1/4-inch thickness (refreeze the remaining one for another use)
4 ounces brie, rind removed, cubed
1 pear, thinly sliced
1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the pie dough on a baking sheet and scatter half of the brie over the center, leaving the edges clean.
Arrange the sliced pears on top of the brie. Scatter the pecans on top and then add the remaining brie.
Fold the edges of the dough in to create a “picture frame” around the filling and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until crust is golden. Cut into wedges or squares to serve.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Chocolate Pumpkin Tart
From the “I
“I love the look of one of Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Stars cookies perched on top of a billow of creme fraiche on top of a slice of this tart. The pumpkin butter and chocolate stars are both seasonal items, so hoard them when you see them.”
1 Trader Joe’s Gourmet Pie Crust, thawed (refreeze the remaining one for another use)
1 cup chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
1 (9-ounce) jar Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Butter
1 (8-ounce) container mascarpone
1 to 2 tablespoons bourbon (optional)
Whipped cream or crème fraiche (optional)
To blind-bake the tart shell: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out pie dough and fit into an 8- or 9- inch pie pan or tart pan with removable bottom. Cover the pastry with crinkled parchment and weight it down with a layer of pie weights, raw rice or dried beans. Place in oven for 12 minutes. Carefully remove parchment, with weights inside and return pan to the oven for 5 to 10 minutes, until pastry is dry and golden.
When the pastry is baked, remove it from the oven and scatter chocolate over the surface. Let stand a few minutes, then spread the melted chocolate evenly over the crust. Stir together the pumpkin butter and mascarpone, adding some bourbon, if desired.
Spoon into baked tart shell and chill 1 hour before serving. Garnish with whipped cream or creme fraiche, if desired.
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Learn cupcake skills at Charm school 
mauijim on October 26 at 7:21 a.m.
Considering the location and the poor access out of the parking lot, the traffic jams should be interesting.
westerly on October 26 at 7:58 a.m.
Good opening, last count there are 10 Trader Joe’s in Seattle- Everett area.
Fritz on October 26 at 8:41 a.m.
“The store buys directly from manufacturers, then strips away preservatives, artificial colors and ingredients from the name-brand product and sells it for a discount under its own label.”
Really? I’m curious about the methods and materials used to remove those ingredients. Also, how do the added processes and labor involved lead to discounted prices?
Buy a product, add reprocessing costs and sell for less? This sounds an awful lot like getting something for nothing, which, while a popular concept with consumers, rarely proves to be true.
Lastly, if a large number of consumers want to buy the products with those ingredients removed, wouldn’t the manufacturers find it more profitable to just leave out the unwanted ingredients in the first place?
The_Seer on October 26 at 9:28 a.m.
fritz: Trader Joe’s doesn’t remove anything but the label which states those ingredients are present and then adheres their own label that ignores their inclusion.
I’m going to set the over/under at 150 for the number of losers who’ll be in line when the doors open. Oh, wait, this is food and after all we are in Fatkane (get it? fat can?) so I’ll change that to 300.
wobble506 on October 26 at 9:29 a.m.
They were a great store in CA about 30 yrs ago, and I remember being able to get off the wall stuff at great prices. SInce they have gone corporate, they’ve lost a lot of their original flair.
The last time I shopped in one in Northern VA, they were anything but cheap, nor did they have discounted prices in comparison to the other stores in the area.
If you wanted all natural or organic they were OK, but certainly not the cheapest.
Bruce (aka thatoneguy) on October 26 at 9:38 a.m.
I’ve been to one once on a trip to Seattle and was whelmed.
Their cheap wine has become a status symbol, though (“Hey, look at me! I’m slumming!“), so they will do just fine.
Saba on October 26 at 10:25 a.m.
Fritz and Seer, Trader Joe’s contracts companies to make the products for them. They are unique products with better ingredients and better flavor. They are sold at a lower costs because Trader Joe’s buys them direct with no distributor mark-ups, very little advertising cost, and no costs to buy the reps and shelf space that traditional big name companies contract for. These products do cost more to make, which is why the traditional brands have more crap and fillers in them. However, with the savings from their business model (small stores, low overhead, efficient labor model), they are able to keep the prices low.
Trader Joe’s is about 25-30% cheaper on average than the Albertsons and Safeways of the world. The quality of ingredients in the products are better. These are facts.
austindepaolo on October 26 at 12:02 p.m.
Trader Joes is definitely an interesting business model. They are a German family owned company with no debt. Their suppliers are sworn to secrecy. Some of their suppliers are big like Pepsico which owns Stacy’s and who supply their pita chips. Trader Joes has a decent reputation for how they treat their employees with salary and benefits at or above union scale, however only management is guaranteed full time hours. I welcome the sales tax revenue that will go to Spokane (8.7%) and not Issaquah or Seattle (9.5%) and the competition to Rosauers, Safeway and Albertsons who I know are up to it.
jdodgion on October 26 at 4:39 p.m.
Glad to hear TJ’s is opening in Spokane, great news for Spokanites.
Rand on October 27 at 9:06 a.m.
I wonder why Trader Joe’s traffic jams are preferable to Walmart traffic jams? I thought that was the sole reasoning for all of the pantie bunching over the proposed Walmart on the South Hill. Oh wait people are hypocrites?????? Get out!!!!!!
Fritz on October 28 at 12:46 a.m.
Since I was quoting directly from the article, Saba, I’d say that either the article is factually incorrect or that you have fallen for the something-for-nothing hype, also.
There is no statement made that the products sold at Trader Joe’s are better by virtue of superior ingredients, so I’m not sure how you can make that claim and call it factual without offering any supporting evidence.
A product with superior ingredients commands premium prices because the ingredients themselves are more costly. It is far more likely that you will see low quality products sold for premium prices due to inspired marketing than to see high quality items sold for lower prices with the claim that this is profitable due to high volumes sold. You will rarely, if ever, see a truly superior product selling for less than an inferior product.
Presumably, this article is based on some kind of contact between the company and the writer, and I would think that Trader Joe’s would have been more than happy to make the claim that their products are better because of better ingredients, yet that claim is missing from the article. The only statement made concerning the quality of their products is that which I quoted in my original comment.
PassinThru on October 28 at 1:48 p.m.
Everybody was all worked up when Red Lobster finally came to Spokane, and now you only see them backed up on Friday evenings. This Trader Joe’s, too, will pass.
southie4573 on November 02 at 8:13 a.m.
First Trader Joe’s - could Whole Foods be next? Please God - make Spokane a real city !