grits wrote:Tried their Honey Sesame Almonds on the last go round and they were very good. Just barely sweet so they weren't cloying.
alain40 wrote:It is also true that quite often after you get used to a certain product that you really like, it suddenly disappears without warning from the shelves and never comes back. The main reason might be that when TJ's cannot obtain a decent low price for such a product from their supplier anymore, they either drop it or find another supplier that will offer an inferior quality similar product for the same price.
imsscott wrote:Of the three items I needed, the Kimchi was the only thing they had. No Bibb lettuce, no Kosher salt. I asked an employee about the kosher salt because the only thing I could find was fine sea salt, which I have plenty of. No, they don't carry it. Off to a real grocery store. Why wouldn't they carry kosher salt?
jlawrence01 wrote:imsscott wrote:Of the three items I needed, the Kimchi was the only thing they had. No Bibb lettuce, no Kosher salt. I asked an employee about the kosher salt because the only thing I could find was fine sea salt, which I have plenty of. No, they don't carry it. Off to a real grocery store. Why wouldn't they carry kosher salt?
They are a limited SKU operation. They ONLY sell products that turn very quickly. Why would you want to carry Kosher Salt which will take a minimum of a month to move a case (if not more) when you can bring in a product where you can sell 3-4 cases per week?
They have no intention of being everything to everybody. They buy things that they can convert to cash quickly. The model seems to be working.
imsscott wrote:
We're talking about salt here, one of the most basic items of all time. I would think any proprietor worth their salt would carry it if only just as a courtesy item.
spinynorman99 wrote:imsscott wrote:
We're talking about salt here, one of the most basic items of all time. I would think any proprietor worth their salt would carry it if only just as a courtesy item.
You're right, we are talking about salt. And since you're cooking with it then it really doesn't make any difference if it's kosher, coarse sea or fine table salt. It's all going to dissolve anyhow.
Darren72 wrote:spinynorman99 wrote:imsscott wrote:
We're talking about salt here, one of the most basic items of all time. I would think any proprietor worth their salt would carry it if only just as a courtesy item.
You're right, we are talking about salt. And since you're cooking with it then it really doesn't make any difference if it's kosher, coarse sea or fine table salt. It's all going to dissolve anyhow.
spinynorman99 - what's the price difference between TJ's sea salt and your garden variety big box of kosher salt? Just curious because I certainly wouldn't put a cup of my fleur de sel into a brine. I use the cheap stuff for that.
leek wrote:TJ's only has a very limited set of spices. They carry more in certain seasons - Pumpkin Pie spice in Fall, etc.
mamagotcha wrote:Now see, I'd expect TJ's to be much more likely to have a pricey little bunch of out-of-season fresh tarragon or a frozen tarragon-cream chicken dish than a jar of dried tarragon amidst a wide stock of herbs (I think tarragon is justifiably one of the least-used dried herbs, mostly because the dried stuff bears no resemblance to the fresh... I lived well into my 40s thinking I didn't like tarragon, until one day I was persuaded to try it fresh and had my mind changed entirely. Now it will always have an honored spot amongst my favorites in my annual herb garden).
In my experience, TJ's is not so much a grocery store to be used to stock a practical cook's pantry, but rather a source of mostly pre-made, ready-to-eat foods more suitable for quick meal prep (and a good place to load up for a road trip). I like riddlemay's thoughts on the name practically promising the place to have no social contract to provide a predictable inventory. Expecting it to be otherwise is to set yourself up for disappointment.
leek wrote:TJ's only has a very limited set of spices. They carry more in certain seasons - Pumpkin Pie spice in Fall, etc.
spinynorman99 wrote:
... since you're cooking with it then it really doesn't make any difference if it's kosher, coarse sea or fine table salt. It's all going to dissolve anyhow.
...the recipe needs no more than a spoonful, which would make buying a box of kosher salt all the more wasteful. This is a tempest in a teapot. Just because the recipe lists "kosher salt" I can't see getting bent out of shape rather than using any old salt.
spinynorman99 wrote:...it really doesn't make any difference if it's kosher, coarse sea or fine table salt.
Grocery chain Trader Joe's is making a play for shoppers in Schaumburg, which faces a void in its grocery market after the closure of two Dominick's stores.
Trader Joe's signed a lease to open a 12,500-square-foot store in the Woodfield Village Green shopping center, at the northeast corner of Golf and Meacham roads in the northwest suburb, a spokeswoman for the Monrovia, Calif.-based company said.
Trader Joe's is coming to Wicker Park, adding another yuppie marker to the affluent Northwest Side neighborhood.
Dave148 wrote:Trader Joe's is coming to Wicker Park, adding another yuppie marker to the affluent Northwest Side neighborhood.
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/ ... cker-park#
riddlemay wrote:Stopped in to the Diversey Trader Joe's this afternoon on the way home from a movie. Purpose of stopping in was to take home one of their rotisserie chickens. Couldn't find them, asked a young lady who worked there where they might be, and was amazed to learn the store has stopped carrying them from whoever the purveyor was, and has yet to find a new purveyor. The young lady said, "Maybe by this summer."
I get that the whole "schtick" of Trader Joe's is "sometimes we have stuff, sometimes we don't," but the other thing the young lady said made it even stranger. She said, "I must get your question 120 times a day." You'd think that the possibility of selling (minimum) 120 rotisserie chickens a day would furnish enough incentive to find a purveyor.
(I also confess surprise that an outside purveyor is involved in this at all. I guess I thought the store roasted the chickens itself, although I can't say I ever saw any turning around on a spit.)
spinynorman99 wrote:riddlemay wrote:Stopped in to the Diversey Trader Joe's this afternoon on the way home from a movie. Purpose of stopping in was to take home one of their rotisserie chickens. Couldn't find them, asked a young lady who worked there where they might be, and was amazed to learn the store has stopped carrying them from whoever the purveyor was, and has yet to find a new purveyor. The young lady said, "Maybe by this summer."
I get that the whole "schtick" of Trader Joe's is "sometimes we have stuff, sometimes we don't," but the other thing the young lady said made it even stranger. She said, "I must get your question 120 times a day." You'd think that the possibility of selling (minimum) 120 rotisserie chickens a day would furnish enough incentive to find a purveyor.
(I also confess surprise that an outside purveyor is involved in this at all. I guess I thought the store roasted the chickens itself, although I can't say I ever saw any turning around on a spit.)
Profit on 120 rotisserie chickens wouldn't cover that day's electric bill for the roaster.
“Trader Joe’s gets exemplary marks for service and very good marks for perishables. Their prices were considered extraordinary and they’re a very clean store,” said senior projects editor Tod Marks.