Trader Joe Shoppers Here?

Discussion in 'Shopping & Sales' started by Joy Martin, Apr 13, 2022.

  1. Joy Martin

    Joy Martin Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    May 4, 2019
    Messages:
    4,237
    Likes Received:
    2,336
    I'm a big fan of TJ's and have been for decades.. learned to shop wiser as I was buying stuff I didn't need as it was so available and affordable.....

    I really love love seafoods and would often buy TJ's vacuum packed fresh fish like cod, salmon and others that they had available.

    In recent years due to body damage I no longer drive....and can't get to TJ's....

    Just yesterday I had my neighbor who goes there, picked me up 3 pkgs of great fish, cod and 2 pkgs of sockeye salmon. The 3 pks cost me $31 and I just finished one of the salmon pkgs and omg, so delish....just sauteed in olive oil/coconut oil for a short time and then salted and peppered my great treat.............

    Fish has always been pricey but so much more so since covid inflation saga....
     
    #1
  2. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    May 29, 2020
    Messages:
    22,675
    Likes Received:
    32,151
    I've been in TJs a handful of times in my life. For some reason it never made my list of regular places to shop. If you have recommendations on what to buy there, I'll gratefully listen.

    These days, the only time I go in there is when I'm making pizza. Their Fontina cheese is very good (high fat content so it melts great), and it is less than 1/2 the price of any other store ($5.75/# versus $13/#.) I've browsed but nothing really caught my eye...it all seems to be "specialty" stuff.

    I share your love of fish. A few years ago I went on the web and made a list of the fish markets in the state capital about 50 miles away, preparing myself to make a freezer-stocking buy. Then a small seafood market opened up less than 10 miles up the road from me (on the path to Walmart.) I can't tell you how much money I've dropped there...but it's worth it. How many meals did you get out of that salmon pak? All things being equal, there are worse things you could spend your grocery money on.
     
    #2
    Jenna Parnellson likes this.
  3. Joe Smith

    Joe Smith Very Well-Known Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2021
    Messages:
    507
    Likes Received:
    481
    Great place for peanut butter dog biscuits.
     
    #3
    Beth Gallagher likes this.
  4. Joy Martin

    Joy Martin Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    May 4, 2019
    Messages:
    4,237
    Likes Received:
    2,336
    A person can go wild buying foods they don't need as the displays and foods from
    all over the world are too too tempting. And the dirt cheap prices. My last
    trips to TJ's I bought so little and controlling the temptations. Tons of cheeses and I'm eliminating cheese a lot from my life.

    Their bakery items are out of sight and again I've changed my eating habits..I could weigh 300 lbs plus carrying all the extra weight around, I don't need or want that. And as I have gotten older I watch and control my blood sugar...diabetes is the last thing I want. One of the last anyway.
     
    #4
    John Brunner likes this.
  5. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    May 29, 2020
    Messages:
    22,675
    Likes Received:
    32,151
    I really need to start making TJs the first stop on my weekly shopping trip instead of only going when I need a specialty item. I mentioned before that they carry a pizza cheese I really like (house brand) for half the price that major grocery stores charge, so I would think that their other prices are at least somewhat lower. The silly thing is, at some point I kinda lost the ability to recall what stuff costs, so it's tough for me to go in there and be overwhelmed by the deals (I think the absence of prices directly on products has done this to me.) I did notice the fish area after you were talking about buying salmon & cod, Joy. Maybe I'll pick up some cod and make fish tacos...
     
    #5
  6. Joy Martin

    Joy Martin Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    May 4, 2019
    Messages:
    4,237
    Likes Received:
    2,336
    Yes, they have frozen fresh fish and a good variety.
     
    #6
    Lois Winters likes this.
  7. Lois Winters

    Lois Winters Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 2019
    Messages:
    5,188
    Likes Received:
    7,937
    We go to TJ's a couple of times a month and to their parent store, Aldi at least once a month.
     
    #7
  8. Mary Stetler

    Mary Stetler Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    May 30, 2021
    Messages:
    5,697
    Likes Received:
    10,697
    We don't have Trader Joes.:(
     
    #8
  9. Joy Martin

    Joy Martin Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    May 4, 2019
    Messages:
    4,237
    Likes Received:
    2,336
    Parent store? TJ's is a privately owned company so I don't see any stores
    affiliated with them.
     
    #9
    Lois Winters likes this.
  10. Lois Winters

    Lois Winters Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 2019
    Messages:
    5,188
    Likes Received:
    7,937
    Aldi owns Trader Joe's. They have stores all over the place.
     
    #10
    Yvonne Smith likes this.
  11. Mary Stetler

    Mary Stetler Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    May 30, 2021
    Messages:
    5,697
    Likes Received:
    10,697
    I used to shop at Aldi's but things have changed here. I have my preps from them since 2000ish. and a local store competes with quality and prices
     
    #11
  12. Joy Martin

    Joy Martin Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    May 4, 2019
    Messages:
    4,237
    Likes Received:
    2,336
    Lois: Read more on who owns whom.

    All right, if neither company owns the other, are ALDI and Trader Joe’s brothers, or what? As with any good story, there is a kernel of truth at the beginning. So, the common myth runs that ALDI is the same as Trader Joe’s, just operating under a different name.

    Nope! ALDI and Trader Joe’s don’t share the same parent company, have no joint ownership, and are independently operated. But, the two stores do share a common family heritage.

    The original ALDI (at the time, Albrecht Diskont) opened back in the early 1900s as a single German grocery store. Post WWII, ALDI expanded into one of the largest European grocery chains under the direction of the original owner’s two sons. But back in the 1960s, the brothers argued over whether to sell cigarettes in their stores — and eventually ended up splitting into two independent companies operating within separate geographical areas.
     
    #12
  13. Lois Winters

    Lois Winters Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 2019
    Messages:
    5,188
    Likes Received:
    7,937
    In 1979 Aldi Nord bought the U.S. operations of Trader Joes. Each store operated independently and one is not the parent of the other as I was led to believe.
     
    #13
  14. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    24,325
    Likes Received:
    42,619
    I have seen Aldi stores but I don't remember ever being in one, and I have heard of Trader Joe's but can't remember actually seeing one.
     
    #14
    Lois Winters and Mary Stetler like this.
  15. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    May 29, 2020
    Messages:
    22,675
    Likes Received:
    32,151
    One brother owns Aldi Süd, which initially operated in southern Germany, now expanded into places like Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, and eventually the United States (English-speaking countries.) This is the Aldi that those of us here in the states are familiar with.

    The other brother owns Aldi Nord, which initially operated in northern Germany, now expanded into places like France, Poland, and Spain (but not the U.S.) Aldi Nord owns Trader Joe's.

    Aldi Süd and Aldi Nord are unrelated entities, even though their owners are brothers, and the names sound similar, and they began as a single entity.

    Fun Facts
    -Regarding the cigarette dispute Joy referred to: it was not a moral or a health disagreement. One brother felt that the product would attract shoplifters so did not want to carry them.
    -ALDI began as a grocery store started by their mother, Anna Albrecht. The two brothers inherited the business, expanded it, and called it ALDI, which is short for Albrecht Diskont, or, in a more English-speaking way, Albrecht Discount. That's why it's not ALDI's, since "ALDI" is not a person. (The split occurred later.)
     
    #15
    Yvonne Smith and Mary Stetler like this.

Share This Page