Trader Joe's
44 E. Ontario St, Chicago, IL 60611
Web: Trader Joe's
Phone: 312.951.6369
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California Chicago Desserts Drinks Markets Wine

"While just thinking about a $2-$3 wine was enough to give us a headache, friends swore by the Charles Shaw brand for years, and it's one of Trader Joe's most popular items."

Ninety-nine-cent packages of Tom Yum Cashews. Legitimately good wines - ones people swear by - for $2 to $3. Amazing sweets. And fresh, high-quality produce at amazingly low prices. If you're wondering what it would take to beat the mighty, beloved Wegmans, the answer in part is that list of items from Trader Joe's, currently the nation's #2 supermarket chain, and one that's succeeding despite or because of a completely different operating strategy. Wegmans seems to offer everything; Trader Joe's operates smaller stores that only sell really good items, often on the cheap. We used to shop at Trader Joe's all the time in California, so after visiting a location in Chicago this week, we wanted to take an opportunity to show Buffalo Chow readers what we've been missing.

The Background. Trader Joe's is a 50-year-old chain currently operated by one of the two German brothers behind Aldi, the international supermarket chain that sells a limited variety of off-brand staple items at discount prices. Unlike Aldi, Trader Joe's was founded by an American with a different philosophy: rather than offering staples, these stores were focused on offering gourmet foods and wines that either couldn't be found at typical supermarkets or weren't done justice by commonly available versions. This strategy isn't just marketing hype; the chain's specially selected brands, including ones sold in Trader Joe's packages, are legitimately best-of-breed offerings or nearly so.

What's So Special About Trader Joe's Food? It tastes great. Almost uniformly. And you're encouraged to experiment. The downtown Chicago location had signs posted by the cash registers telling customers that "we want you to try new products," and to feel free to return items if "you are not 100% satisfied." Open a package of crazy-sounding cookies you've never tried before, and if you don't like them, get a refund; same with one of the 10 or so types of bagged trail mix, or a bottle of the famous "Two-Buck Chuck" wine. It's an easy guarantee to make when these items have been tested for excellence and the chain knows the return rate is going to be something very close to zero.

Two-Dollar Wine? Are You Kidding? The "Two-Buck Chuck" is just one of Trader Joe's many exclusive products - the actual name is Charles Shaw, offered in varieties such as Chardonnay, Merlot, and Shiraz - and yes, it sells for $2 per bottle in California, or $3 in Chicago and other cities outside of California. While just thinking about a $2-$3 wine was enough to give us a headache, friends have been fans of Charles Shaw for years, and it's one of Trader Joe's most popular items. The produce is similarly affordable, with everything from eggplants to apples selling for less than they would at Wegmans.

What's With Those Crazy Shelves? Trader Joe's may have more stores than Wegmans, with 324 stores versus 72, but it relies on an interesting mix of seemingly handmade signage and unusual merchandise stacking to keep its aisles interesting. In our fifth photo, you can see candies shelved above dipping sauces, stacked above frozen foods. Rather than trying to group everything together, and creating a "candy aisle," every Trader Joe's puts the candy at head level in entree aisles so that it's in your mind as you're shopping for meals. The frozen dessert section blends into a section filled with cold ethnic foods such as Spanikopita, pierogis, Chinese-style vegetarian bird's nests, and Indian samosas. At first, the arrangement seems odd, but over time, it starts to make sense, and you begin to realize that you've loaded a shopping cart with great stuff in 15 or 20 minutes rather than the hour or so that it takes to walk around a Wegmans.

Any Favorite Foods? There are too many to count. On this trip alone, we picked up bags of dried mangos, Turkish apricots, banana crisps, the aforementioned Tom Yum Cashews - including bags for family members, as these spicy, coconut and lime Thai soup-inspired nuts are so addicting - the Rainbow's End Trail Mix, a fun favorite sweet sparkling Italian wine called Gaetano d'Aquino Asti Spumante, dark chocolate espresso beans, and some Chocolate Macadamia Nut cookies (shown) that are completely unlike any we've ever had before. We'd have easily brought home some of the Vodka Tomato Sauce, Artichoke Dip and Spinach Dip if we thought it would have survived the flight home in our checked luggage.

What's the Catch? Like Aldi's, and unlike Wegmans, you can't do all of your shopping at a Trader Joe's - this is a gourmet supermarket, not a place to buy diapers, dog food, or lightbulbs. And due to current New York State laws, Charles Shaw, the Asti, and other wines aren't available in the Manhattan-area locations. We can only hope that this changes.

Where Can I Find One? For now, Trader Joe's can be found on this locator map, but they're nowhere near Buffalo; the closest New York locations are on the other side of the state. But if you love great food, as we do, you can request a new location here. We're thinking that somewhere in East Amherst, perhaps on Transit Road, would be a really smart place to start.

Don't get us wrong, we love Wegmans. But Trader Joe's is a different sort of shopping experience, and one that Western New York gourmet food fans would really benefit from having around here as an alternative. It's proof that bigger isn't necessarily better - smarter, superior selections at aggressive prices can win fans too. Build it here, Trader Joe's, and we will come.