Raleigh Trader Joes to Open October 30th

Tired of going all the way to Cary for the insanely busy, long lines of Trader Joes? Well this Halloween-eve October 30th the long-awaited Wake Forest location of Trader Joes will open. We don’t normally talk about the big chain stores in the area, but we have seen the activity around any Trader Joes news and know that you guys have been wanting to know when this was coming. So start saving your pennies- 2 buck chuck and every other foodie bargain is less than 2 months away.

Currently their job board doesn’t show any openings but our TJ contact says they will be hiring pretty soon.

hackles1009/09 11:21 AM

Glad to see a date set, although I thought it would be earlier. They were landscaping around the location today and the shell of the building has been finished for weeks. I was hoping for late sept, early oct. but this will have to do!

siligrl09/09 11:34 AM

Wake Forest Road, or Wake Forest the town????

hackles1009/09 11:38 AM

Road, right next to 440 and the melting pot

joebee09/09 12:52 PM

someone in editing please change that to wake forest road. huge difference there.

Andy S.09/09 01:06 PM

Awesome, now I can shop at an overpriced version of Aldi instead of the regular Aldi.

Michael09/09 03:33 PM

Well…if you kept up with anything, you’d know that meant Wake Forest Rd location and not the town.

Kat09/09 04:16 PM

Trader Joe’s and Aldi dont even compare….Aldi sucks…that’s like saying Target is an overpriced version of the Dollar Store!

Stephen Aubuchon09/09 04:40 PM

I would never shop there - their purchasing sources are less than ethical

http://www.greenamericatoday.org/programs/responsibleshopper/company.cfm?id=300

smitty09/09 04:47 PM

Sorry Kat, they are the same company.

Kat09/09 04:56 PM

I dont care if they owned by the same parent company, they do not compare, I walked into the Aldi in Cary and walked out without anything after doing a spin around the store, it really sucked…Trader Joe’s was quite different….to each his own…you do your shopping at Aldi and i will go Trader Joe’s and be happy there is one less person in line! WOO HOO!!!!

JeffS09/09 05:55 PM

Stephen Aubuchon - it’s interesting that you point to the green america rating as a reason not to shop at Trader Joe’s.

Do you realize that they are the HIGHEST rated “supermarket” reviewed on the site? I’m not sure what that says about them, or you.

http://www.greenamericatoday.org/programs/responsibleshopper/industry/supermarkets.cfm

smitty09/09 07:39 PM

http://www.traitorjoe.com/

I don’t really buy into this website but it was well made.

ninstaller09/09 08:24 PM

Can’t a guy buy his prepared guacamole, chips and beer from a shiny new store without some sustainability guilt trip?

RaleighRob09/10 03:59 AM

Another good thing about it is that it was part of the drive by the owners of that shopping center to give it the MUCH needed facelift that they’ve done there.
And I’m glad that they, like Costco, chose their first Raleigh store in a somewhat older, already-developed part of central Raleigh, instead of locating themselves way out on the sprawling-fringe of the city limits (like Brier Creek or Wakefield). Good for them!

what?09/10 04:35 AM

does anyone realize how F**k*ng big our oceans are?!?!?! do you really think a small grocery store can destroy it?

get out and travel more. see just how big this world is. and just how small we are.

RaleighMAC09/10 04:43 AM

wow - who knew that a new Trader Joes in Raleigh would stir up so much debate! I am a HUGE fan of the store - great items and great prices (not sure why so many feel that TJ’s is “overpriced” - it’s far from!) TJ’s has always had a tradition of buying locally as much as possible, both for the environment and to keep costs down. I can’t wait for this store to open!!! YAY TJ’S!!!!

sally09/10 06:30 AM

Amen - to what RaleighRob said!

smitty09/10 06:33 AM

It is nice to see a grocery store pop up in that part of town, I don’t think there has been one in that shopping center since the 80’s maybe.

Karen09/10 06:47 AM

Love Trader Joes AND Aldi, and happy that I’ll now be able to hit both stores in the same shopping trip (Aldi is also on Wake Forest Road). For those of you who hate Aldi, don’t be put off by their store brands and unexciting store layout. Most of their store-brand items are just as good, if not better than, the name-brand items. I have been dissappointed with a few things at Aldi, but not many.

arthurb309/10 07:13 AM

Its just another grocery store. I prefer to get my produce at the Farmers Market or at local co-ops when I can. Whole Foods is the evil big monster if you have read anything about them in the new lately. Its all a trent. You should investigate where you food comes from and attempt to purchase local meat, eggs, and produce - when you can.

kris09/10 08:25 AM

I love shopping at the Farmer’s Market and have enjoyed many meals this summer from completely local produce without buying anything from a grocery store. TJ’s is a novelty store; it’s shiny and colorful; some good prices on bulk items. When I do shop at a grocery store, I choose HT. At least, it is a NC based business.

Betsy09/10 10:40 AM

Hopefully the elbow factor will be less than at the one in Cary.

hackles1009/10 10:42 AM

^maybe in the long run…but this place is going to be PACKED for the first 6 months - 1 year after opening.

Raleigh/North Raleigh area has been craving a TJ’s for some time now, and the soccer moms/hipsters/health nuts will be out in full force come Oct. 30th!

RaleighRob09/10 11:05 AM

I haven’t been to the Cary one, but have been to the Chapel Hill store. It wasn’t no more crowded than your typical day at Whole Foods.
What I did notice were the employees. They were kinda odd and eccentric….do they drink 2-buck Chuck in the breakroom or something??

richardfoc09/10 11:32 AM

Cary TJ’s too often is wall to wall! Crazy busy! I know the Wake Forest Road location will be just as busy but at least it is waaaay closer to my house.

malloryhatcher09/10 01:03 PM

Cannot wait to have a Trader Joe’s so close. Thanks for deciding to open a Raleigh location - especially one on Wake Forest Rd!

kenju09/11 06:44 AM

That’s a birthday present to me!

Jennifer09/11 07:46 AM

More and more TJs is a little guilty pleasure for me. Many things are from far FAR away—like all that Chilean fish—and the whole notion of “trading” implies they go far afield for their goods.

Plus, a lot of the produce is laid out on a Styrofoam platter and wrapped up in plastic. Still, they have tons of organic stuff at good prices and options for vegetarians who don’t like to cook. And awesome cheese! I’m just glad I can drive less to get there and will stick to stuff that is not readily available locally.

chippa09/13 05:28 AM

I like Trader Joes. Not as snooty as Whole Foods.

MMI09/13 09:39 PM

Re: “TraitorJoe’s”

If we listen to that website, none of us will be eating ANY seafood. It’s a bad move to mix up truly overfished species (e.g., Swordfish) with SHRIMP. Yes, there are concerns with commercial farming of shrimp & salmon, but this person has essentially excluded most available seafood.

It also doesn’t help their case that they have the wrong picture up for Redfish.

J Westbrook09/15 08:08 AM

Aldi didn’t have any gluten free items last time I looked.

TJoe’s does have lots of gluten free so I am very happy to get one nearby. Whole Foods prices are nut-tay I say, nut-tay indeed!!

gd09/15 09:41 AM

I think its funny everyone says whole foods is expensive as hell. I find that my bills at WF and at HT are damn close every visit, unless I stop by the bakery at WF.

JT09/15 10:22 AM

A little perspective on Trader Joe’s origins:

Eventually, Coloumbe found a loophole in the fair trade laws. He acquired an old license so he could also act as a wholesaler and developed a private label program, the precursor of today’s Charles Shaw wine, better known as Two Buck Chuck. Over time, he realized that his stores especially appealed to the over-educated and underpaid, notably teachers, classical musicians, museum curators and journalists.

http://www.abdpbt.com/personalfinance/2009/09/02/the-trader-joes-guide-to-building-a-cult-following/

Brad09/15 12:25 PM

“I think its funny everyone says whole foods is expensive as hell. I find that my bills at WF and at HT are damn close every visit, unless I stop by the bakery at WF.”

Me too. But I don’t buy anything from the middle isles of either store. Fruits, vegetables, chicken, dairy, and bread from the WF. Beer and wine from the HT.

MMI09/15 02:40 PM

Whole Paycheck, as they are sometimes known, actually makes a lot more money on the luxury items that they carry, and that’s what probably boosts the average total there. I remember hearing a Journalist talk about comparing WF to Safeway & other chains (he was based in CA), and saying that, for the list of staples they used as a test, WF repeatedly came up cheaper overall.

Paul09/24 03:29 AM

This company is horrible and deceptive. Their GF list is not comprehensive and multiple items on the list have wheat in the ingredients. Store managers were clueless as to what the store carried other than two types of bread. The Labeling does NOT list allergen information on many products. DO NOT SHOP HERE

gd09/24 04:35 AM

ready for this to open….

MMI09/24 12:13 PM

Paul,
Usually when I want to cut things out of my diet (lately, this includes gluten for me, as well), I READ THE DAMNED LABEL. It’s not the store’s responsibility to stock things that cater to you alone. I fail to see how that is either horrible or deceptive, unless, of course, you lack the capacity to read an ingredient list. Since you somehow managed to post your whiny dismissives above, I will assume that the English language does not completely escape your comprehension.

Paul09/24 01:44 PM

Mimi,
Let’s start with a few facts… I do not have celiac’s, a wheat intolerance or allergy… I was trying to assist a loved one with their food shopping. Since I was able to read your response without help from any of the big people in the room I guess that means my comprehension is just fine.
My problem isn’t with Trader Joe’s managers having no idea what celiac’s is, it was that they had no idea that the products in their store had almost no allergen information on the label and that the “Gluten Free” food list they were able to find for me contained many items that were in fact “NOT GLUTEN FREE:, containing wheat in the ingredient list found on the product label (which I was also able to read without help from anyone in the store).
I do not have a problem with grocery stores and restaurants not catering to people with food allergies. My problem is when they take great pride in catering to these (which Trader Joe’s says they do and have a “Gluten Free” list in each store) and when you ask about allergen lists and products that they are almost completely dumbfounded. If I went to a traffic lawyer with a traffic ticket and he had no idea how to handle it I would not want his help anymore and I would let other people with traffic tickets know that he was incompetent. Hence “DO NOT SHOP AT TRADER JOE’S IF YOU HAVE FOOD ALLERGIES”
What can we take away from this interaction with Mimi? She would be glad to bag your groceries for you at Trader Joe’s in Cary. If you have a food allergy though shit, read the label yourself. Thank you Mimi, you are a shining example of why nobody can say “excuse me, please or thank you” in Trader Joe’s.

MMI09/24 03:38 PM

a) Let’s review that comprehension bit again, shall we? It’s “MMI,” not Mimi, and no gender is implied. However, for reference, I am male. Keep that one on file for future use.

b) The above post would have been just fine. It is fairly well-reasoned & thought-out. You effectively communicated that the real problem was that the store chain advertises their friendliness to allergen-sensitive shoppers, but their actual store management is clueless about what is in their products. Why the hell didn’t you say something like that before, when all you seemed to be capable of was, “This company is horrible and deceptive?”

The second post presents an opinion and rational argument. The first just makes you look like a whiny child. Do better.

Jennifer09/24 05:02 PM

Blog arguing makes me giggle

MMI09/25 12:57 AM

You’re welcome, Jen.

Jedidiah09/25 06:19 AM

If your comment has been deleted, it was not conforming to our comment policy. Please read the policy and be civilized while discussing the issues.

JB09/25 07:38 AM

my last comment was deleted by new raleigh because it was against their policy. therefore, i apologize to new raleigh. so, let me rephrase my point.

the problem with today’s nation is not walmart, gay marriage, public schools, guns, tobacco, or bibles.

the problem are people who think that they should have their hand held by our government and trader joe’s managers.

we are not children any more, people! look after your own self and quit relying on others to do your work. we have become spoiled brats in this nation and complain about… FOOD?! seriously?!

LB09/29 11:45 AM

As a person who has to feed my entire family Gluten Free I am very glad that TJ’s is coming to Raleigh. It will be the closest grocery store to my house that carries GF items. The Kroger nearby does have a small selection of GF, but it is overpriced, costing even more than Whole Foods or Earth Fare.

No one in my family has ever been sick from any of GF items at Trader Joe’s. Sometimes ingredients change and as a consumer I always check every product, every time. As person who eats GF knows what to look for on labels. They cannot expect TJ’s management to be responsible for updating the list on a daily basis.

hackles1009/29 11:50 AM

I stopped by and took a glance inside this afternoon, and its getting close to completion. The interior work is close to complete, there are carts lined up on the side. All of the outdoor, signage, landscaping, and parking lot are done. No products inside, and no employees training…but I am sure both will come soon. It honestly looks like they could be ready to open in a week or two. I am sure inspections, stocking shelves, and training employees will take a bit of time though!

richardfoc09/29 12:02 PM

Yeah, I drove by yesterday also and was surprised (disappointed) by the size. I was hoping for larger but it seems to be roughly the same size as the Cary store. Of course I’ve only been in one TJ store so they might all be that size. At least it’s closer to me than Cary!

hackles1009/29 12:33 PM

I have been to about 6 or 7 different TJ’s and they are all that size. They typically use existing space, and upfit an old supermarket, store, etc. (usually cutting it in half). This is one of the first newly built “free-standing” TJ’s from what I understand.

Skip10/12 05:44 AM

Lighten Up Frances!!!

I for one am excited about the opening of the new store on Oct 30th. Its about time there was a Tj’s in Raleigh.

For those of you that dont like TJ’s…..DON’T SHOP THERE!!!!

NJohn10/13 08:48 AM

To all the TJ haters, for the sake of humanity, please do not shop at the Raleigh store. If I hear negativity while I am there I am liable to run you over with my grocery cart filled with $2 chuck, flat bread and guac.

JZ11/01 10:43 AM

They could have built the store in east bumf*$k….instead, the chose just inside the beltline. Sorry to be such a freaking realist, but if Banana Republic or Barnes and Noble would open a store downtown, I’d be rejoicing….so while I would prefer larger TJs store, or better yet, a locally-owned establishment a la “Capital City Grocery”, that’s just not the world we are living in…..go ahead, tell me i’ve fallen off my moral horse…..

MMI11/02 02:26 AM

You sure did, JZ. Fortunately, you landed softly in the realm of reality.

Rebecca11/12 12:34 PM

LOVE Trader Joe’s and their employees are SO FRIENDLY..a great shopping experience every time!

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Wednesday, September 09, 2009