Trader Joe’s

Free (1 hr) validated parking!
Cheap prices!
Nice, friendly, helpful staff!
Clever marketing!
A free nibble halfway through at the sample station! (I get hangry, y’all!)
What else is there not to love?
I used to live walking distance to a TJs in Atlanta and went through major withdrawals when I moved to Austin. My husband and I DROVE all the way to the San Antonio location, stocked up, and drove back before they built the one in Rollingwood. Then my life was MADE when they finally built the Seaholm location. Not quite as close as the Atlanta one was, but I still have a fun time taking my bike down the trail from Rainey St to downtown or walking over with my reusable bags.
I have encountered a few times where the inventory was embarrassingly low. Like, the other day, they were legitimately out of ALL tortillas — corn, wheat, flour, enchilada size, burrito size, etc. except for ONE bag. but that was like, one time, and I forgive too easily.
Regardless, I opt to shop at TJs prior to any other grocery store. I don’t necessarily make this my go to joint when I need toilet paper or paper towels, as that selection is a little lacking, but I’m there nearly once a week stocking up on great, cheap wine, tasty cheeses, happy flowers and discovering new variations on my favorites. There’s always something new.
I dare say TJ’s makes grocery shopping almost… fun?
Slow down, I said almost.

This store is a game-​changer here in Austin! It’s miles more affordable than Wheatsville, Natural Grocers or Whole Foods, and I couldn’t help but notice how much less of a pretentious/​snobby feel it has than its competitors (you know it’s true!). It offers heaps of charming quirky details like the murals, local pet photos, sample of the day, and Hawaiian shirts on the staff that you just don’t see elsewhere.
My favorite thing about Trader Joes is the food you just can’t find elsewhere as easily and at such reasonable prices, examples: fresh carrot juice for just $ 2, dried coconut strips with only 3 ingredients, vegetarian taquitos (those are hard to find!), produce sold by the item rather than the weight so no surprises at check-​out, creative salad blends, cold-​pressed green juice for under $ 5, etc. It’s great to leave there with some tasty healthy finds and without buyers remorse! Thank you for coming to Austin, Trader Joes– now please don’t change! :)

I’m absoluetly love Trader Joe’s!!!

Finally got go to this TD after moving here. I was so happy to see it. You have to enter the garage for parking (1 hour free) which I like because the parking at Miami, FL (one of them) location was horrible. So I appreciate the garage parking. Once you find your spot you can take the elevator oe stairs. You don’t have to worry about getting the cart downstairs because once you enter the store, there will be carts at available.
The store was clean and everything not out of order. They had abundance amount of veggies and things at your typical Trader Joes. I love getting Epicuro wine there; it is a red Italian wine. They have a red, gold, silver, and blue version. For my taste buds, I prefer the red. I went here and bought 4 bottles and another brand of red wine I wanted to try. I don’t remember the name. I’ve never tried Trader Joes natural hand soaps or body washes so I got some of them. Not bad for the price either, so far so good. I encourage you to get some natural products. Way cheaper here than Whole Foods.
I love coming to Trader Joes. Never been dissatisfied because of the products and the things I want/​need is available. The customer service was awesome here. I will be back TD!

I can’t hate Trader Joe’s. Yes it’s a chain and it’s comparing to apples to apples really. They serve the same products as any other Trader Joe’s. So I can’t knock them off for that. So how does one rate a chain? Customer service, layout of the place, etc. Am I forgetting anything else?
It’s not as open as the one on Bee Cave. Here you have to deal with a parking structure and you only have one hour free parking. By the way to tell you the truth one hour is probably all you need to go through Trader Joe’s. It’s a small grocery store, you can’t possibly get lost. Then there are elevators and stairs you can take from the parking structure which take you to Trader Joe’s. Customer service is good and friendly.

Finally, a Trader Joe’s in the heart of downtown! I love this Trader Joe’s! Just like the others, this one has plenty of specialty items at great prices. Don’t worry about parking either. They offer 1 hour of parking at the parking garage!

I’m soooooo happy Trader Joes opened in downtown Austin! Living downtown, it is fantastic to be able to walk to get fresh produce and groceries for such a great value. If you’re going in for a big haul, don’t fret, they validate to give you one hour of free parking in the parking ramp as well! The staff is so friendly — keep up the good work!

This Trader Joe’s is like every other Trader Joe’s I have been in, except on steroids. The place is spacious and bright. It has all the same great Trader Joe goods, just with more room to move around. It could just be me, but the cheese and wine selection seem larger. You can get 1 hour of parking validated if you bring your parking ticket with you. If you visit multiple stores in the Stenholm complex, only get it validated by 1. If your parking ticket is validated by a second place, the validations will be void. I also liked the happy carefree music Trader Joe’s had playing on their speakers outside.

Love Trader Joes and this one especially. It is still relatively new so rarely crowded. Free validated garage parking. They have everything you need. Great wine tasting on weekends and they even give you a prize if you check in on social media!
If you haven’t been to a Trader Joes yet, GO!
See my review of the Bee Caves location for a more detailed response.

Pros
— Workers are very nice.
— Premade salads are tasty, of high quality (ingredients/​freshness), and inexpensive.
— Easy entrance/​egress if you walk.
— Convenient parking if you drive.
— Good selection of organic SKUs as well as longer-​tail but good products like goat yogurt.
— You can get in and out quickly, as the footprint is not huge. This is possible because they carry only a small amount of non-​TJ product.
Cons
— The fruit is often in bad shape/​poor quality (apples, pears especially).
— There is not a full butcher counter, like Whole Foods or HEB. Thus, could never do all my shopping here.
— Greek yogurt is on the expensive side.
I’m torn between 4 and 5 stars. In the end, I’m going with 4. The fruit quality in the bags — which seem like a good deal, until you see the inside of nasty apples that make up ¹⁄₃ of any given bag — pushes it down to 4 stars.

What can I say that hasn’t been already said? Everyone loves Trader Joe’s. Here’s a bulleted list of my favorite things about the Seaholm store:
* Parking validated for 1 hour
* Delicious bagged greens: I recommend the Cruciferous Crunch
* Check-​in deals! Last time I got a bag of dark chocolate peanut butter cups
* Inexpensive wine (not just $ 3 Chuck)
* Unlimited coffee samples: I have taken this to new, and terrifying heights
* The refrigerated meat selection has great Italian samplers
* Proximity to downtown, which is perfect for public transportation users like me
If you’ve been to Trader Joe’s, which you probably have, there’s not a lot I can say that you don’t know. I like this location, and find it it incredibly easy to navigate, and the service is always spectacular.

Nice, new Trader Joe’s right downtown!
I knew it had opened, but wasn’t exactly sure how to get there. With all the construction and 3^rd Street closed off in multiple places, it took a while but I figured out I could take 6^th to Bowie, turn left right before Whole Foods, and come out right near TJ’s. There’s a parking garage around the back, but I just parked on the street since it was 9am on a Saturday.
They offer all your typical Trader Joe’s fare. If you can find it, check it out!

This Trader Joes location is such a fabulous addition to shopping downtown. Don’t get me wrong, Whole Foods is food shopping nirvana. AND trader joes is different. Simple, straightforward, uncomplicated. The fruits and vegetables are fresh and tasty. The limited number of SKUs keeps shopping quick and easy. The checkout is fast. The employees super helpful and my golden retriever loves their dog treats. I love it and I think you will too!

The place was super freezing cold (and I normally love cold), and had a spread out concept for gluten free products that sucked swamp water. I have tried some of their regular products and they where amazing, and was kinda let down to having to spend 4 hours to try to find 20 possible products that I could use (eat/​drink), which didn’t happen .
No café, no deli, no nothing. The place was very small and the produce areas was super tiny too.

I love this location! It’s especially nice to not have to brave the elements since they have a free one hour validated parking garage with an attached store entrance.
My type A self is in heaven when I go to Trader Joe’s because everything is so neatly organized. Today we came for a handful of things but of course left with a full cart. I stocked up on some of my favorite staples including gnocchi, farro, pesto, parmesan cheese, and a couple of bag salads. I’m a fan of the one with butter lettuce and radicchio. I also got broccoli florets to roast later in the week, and a few sparkling Italian sodas that caught my eye. It’s easy to get distracted as I find something new I want to try each time I visit.
The new items we picked out to try today were Maple water and a basil garlic linguine. The maple water says it’s supposed to ‘refresh and hydrate’ but let’s be real; it’s a valid excuse to drink maple syrup flavored water so sign me up.
I’m always surprised when I get to the register and they tell me the total. The dollar seems to stretch much further here. I got 11 items for $ 23 which I feel is pretty impressive. Check out their webpage too for recipe ideas and to see what’s new and on sale each week.
Added two cents– The TJ’s I used to shop at in Dallas would let you put your name in a raffle each month if you brought your own shopping bags to the store. The winner would receive $ 25 store credit which was a great incentive to be eco friendly. It would be awesome to see this store do something along those lines one day.

I finally checked out this brand new TJ’s this week and was impressed! the Sehome Power Plant is coming along nicely and the best part is ample parking. Everyone at TJ’s is super helpful and cheerful. The produce looked amazing, I couldn’t leave without picking up some gorgeous raspberries. All the TJ labeled products are non GMO according to their signage and most of the products are a great value. They buy direct from suppliers which saves both TJ’s and us money.
I am obsessed with rose wines lately and was pleased that they have many. From French Bordeoux rose to Italian rose they have a lovely selection. I picked up a bottle of Pinot Noir rose out of Monterrey. I also like that they carry Applegate products and bought some of their turkey to with the cheddar cheese and TJ’s sprouted bread.
This location is 5 minutes from my workout studio so I see frequent stops on the weekend here in my future.

Checked this store out today, and I love it. It’s the same as most other Trader Joe’s, but I like that it wasn’t crowded at all at noon on a weekday and had that sparkly new shine to it. Parking in the garage was a cinch, just remember to give your ticket to the cashier when you check out so they can validate it. I think people are intimidated to come check it out because of the construction, but it really was easy to get in and out of.
Cute Austin specific art around the store to entertain you as well and samples in the rear righthand corner.
I went in for a salad and ended up spending over $ 30 on two potted flowers, yogurt, oatmeal, fizzy waters, a Luna bar, creamer, and popsicles to go along with said salad. The cashier was so sweet and commented on how much he likes a few of the items I was buying and went out of his way to get me a box to hold my flowers on the drive back to work. Talk about service with a smile.

Another new grocery store is now open for business in this town.
Let’s see…
Cheerful, helpful staff who go above and beyond the call of duty to make your shopping experience as pleasant as possible. Check.
Spotless store. Pristine bathrooms, nicely decorated, even. Check.
Extremely reasonably priced grocery items. Check.
Inexpensive «extras», like 99-​cent greeting cards and $ 2.99 flowers. Check.
Could it be another Trader Joe’s? Yes, indeed. Welcome to Austin for the third time, y’all!
Now, if only they would offer small bagged ice packs at checkout to keep your cold stuff cold. Other grocery stores do this, and it is such a small but welcome gesture when you are in the middle of running an afternoon’s worth of errands in hot weather. I’ll bet you’ll sell more stuff that way too, TJ’s. I know I’ll be more inclined to add a couple of tubs of ice-​cream to my cart if I can be sure they won’t be a goopy mess when I finally get home…

Maybe I can do this one quicker than I thought: If you like Trader Joe’s, will you like the new one at the old Seaholm power plant? Yes. Is there anything here you can’t get at the Westlake or Arboretum locations? No. Can Austin now officially declare itself «The Live Supermarket Capital of the World?» You bet.
Now I’ll tell you what I really found fascinating — when I left this TJ’s and walked around this area on 3^rd & West, I kept wondering, «When the heck did all this happen?» Look past the immediate construction of new condos & businesses, give this place a little time, and this section of downtown will be its own city within the City. And if I was reinventing myself — with a substantial disposable income — I’d be living here in a flash. And taking our doggies out for their daily stroll, to the new Trader Joe’s.

It’s about time! What was intended to be the first Trader Joe’s in Austin, finally opened today as of the third Trader Joe’s in town.
Delays from the Austin Seaholm development pushed out this opening, while two other Trader Joe’s opened and schooled Austin in what they are all about. If you go check out their new downtown location, it was worth the wait. Don’t let all the construction on street parking deter you. They will validate parking for one hour in the Seaholm parking garage, which can be easily accessed from Cesar Chavez on Walter Seaholm Drive between Lamar and West, on the west end of the power plant development. Just remember to give your ticket to the cashier upon checkout for validation. NOTE: if you go over an hour, the minimum charge is $ 4 for up to 2 hours. Payment is automated and does not accept cash/​coins, just plastic.
Enough about access. When I walked into the Seaholm store it feels much bigger than the Rollingwood store, but I am told that is it is exactly the same size. It feels bigger because they don’t have as many displays towering up. You can easily see everything in the store from one vantage point.
They did a really nice job keeping it Austin weird with all of the murals and décor with just the right amount of Trader Joe’s funk. My personal favorite of the murals were: the Congress Avenue Bats and the Rollingwood Trader Joe’s postcard. Honorable mention goes to the selfie waiting to happen mural of Matthew McConaughey, alright, alright, alright.
And let’s talk about food. Every item with the Trader Joe’s name on it has no artificial anything, no MSG, no GMOs. They have a nice selection of ethnic, organic, gluten-​free, vegetarian, meat lovers, comfort, and off the beaten path. You can always get the sample of the day in the back right corner. The have a nice combination of fresh produce, prepared foods, frozen items, Ingredients for cooking/​baking, cheeses, meats, dairy items, vitamins, wine, beer, beverages, pet treats/​food, sweets, cut flowers, plants (including herbs), 99 cent greeting cards, and stuff I have failed to list. Their prices are reasonable and their packaging uniquely Joe.
Get your kids involved looking for Banjo the bat. If they spot him, they can get a prize at the demo station.
The staff is friendly and helpful. The store is open and groovy. DT ATX residents and workers are in for a treat. They can head to TJ’s on a whim for a salad ready to go and so many other ready to eat foods, groceries, wine and more. Thank you Trader Joe’s for bringing your unique funkiness to Austin!