Trader Joe’s

When it comes to buying groceries for the week I always choose TJ. Their prices are great, in my opinion. & I love the TJ brand foods. The people who work their are super friendly as well. Their frozen Mac & Cheese is my go to everytime i come here.

I’m a huge fan of Trader Joe’s. I love coming here for anything and everything food. I love these free samples, they have coffee shots and the employees here are fantastic. They are super attentive, anticipatory of my needs, and seem to be able to read their customers very well. I like that they can start and maintain conversations and small talk. One employee recommended this green veggie/​fruit juice which was AMAZING. Another recommended the multi-​grain Trader Joe’s O’s which were also amazing. For all of your grocery shopping needs, vehemently recommend Trader Joes in Gaithersburg for the win.

I like trader Joes but it’s hit or miss. So often I go for specfic items and find the shelf empty. This happens 2 out of 3 times. I don’t live very close, so it’s frustrating. They also carry an item and then stop carrying it. I think it’s due to space on the shelves.

This location is much less crowded than some of the others I’ve been to in the area, but I also have trouble finding certain things that I need that I would think should be dietary staples, so it is not a one-​stop shop. If they carry certain items, they are almost definitely going to be less expensive than most other places which is great, but those items are a small portion of my usual list. I will definitely come back because what they do carry is great, but have to plan around visits to other grocery stores to fill in the gaps.

I’m a newbie to Trader Joe’s; for years I’d been meaning to visit but never found the time with the daily grind of survival. A few months ago, however, this changed as a result of a major lifestyle change, my decision to become Vegan. The decision gave me more of a reason to visit TJ due to their plant-​based selection of foods not customarily sold in larger supermarkets.
My first visit was well-​received; in fact, it was almost as if TJ knew I was coming. I was extremely impressed with the attentiveness and warmth of its employees. This is a definite sign of great leadership!
As a sales-​professional, customer service is HUGE in my book; it really sets the tone and goes a long way to building a meaningful relationship. You’d be surprised how far the common courtesy of a greeting or smile will go in today’s competitive marketplace. Unfortunately, most businesses don’t seem to understand the art of GREAT customer service! Customers generally spend money with people/​businesses they like/​trust; they’re more inclined to patronize a business as a repeat-​customer and share their experiences with other consumers.
Thus, I was further impressed with the number of food-​items that were actually cheaper and better quality than those sold in larger supermarket chains. Fresh herbs, for example, was half of what I normally pay in addition to organic fruits and vegetables… pumpkins, squash, melons, etc.
Overall, I’ve been very pleased with my overall shopping experience at Trader Joe’s. The customer service is exceptional, bar none!

This is a very handy location and I am grateful that TJs maintains this location.
I have my favorite TJ items and I try not to fall in love with them because products seems to come and go at TJ’s. Some are seasonal; some are simply because no one else is buying them.
I do a lot of cooking and really appreciate the availability of nicely cubed mire poix mixes. No celery strings, no rough edges on the onion.
They have great pricing on the things needed for low-​carb or GF Baking — almond and coconut flour, to name 2 specific items.
I love the selection of nuts and the fact that they are fresh. When I have long-​term company, I always get a couple bags of trail mixes and put them out for snacks.
Their selection and pricing of fruit roll-​ups, fruit bars, health bars is impressive.
Their vitamin section is reasonably priced with the basics and the trendy.
Coffees are wonderful; they have the best k-​cup pods, both pricewise and tastewise.
I don’t shop much in the frozen food section except in the summer when I buy a lot of frozen fruit bars. Very popular and frequently out of stock.
Tip: don’t look for parking in the row nearest the store; not that you won’t find it, but that section of the parking lot has a lot of automobile activity with both careless drivers and pedestrians.

So lots of folks have already made this point, but it bears repeating: This whole anti-​GMO thing is the political left’s equivalent of the political right’s stance on climate, gun restrictions, etc., where one must never let reality, evidence, or history get in the way of healthy paranoia.*
I’ll freely admit to having my own hangups and irrational paranoias too,^ so I apologize if coming right out and mentioning this viewpoint is something that is capable of causing a reader grievous offense. It’s not that Trader Joe’s is unique in its corporate commitment to this kind of silliness; Whole Foods does it too. But I mention it at the start of this review because they really were hammering it home in all their signs and marketing all over this location, more so than anywhere else I’ve seen. If you want to cave in on account of your customers, fine, but bragging about it is not a good sign.
The store itself likely suffered from my heightened expectations, as I have met many, many Trader Joe’s evangelists over the years and eaten many of Joe’s products, which I recall as being «fine.» The arrangement of the store reminded me of nothing so much as a discount clothing or thrift store, with oddly laid out aisles, seemingly haphazard stocking, and a surprisingly small collection of items. The private label branding is of course the main selling point, but I was surprised to find so few competitive prices for the products. I guess I needed to know about specific sales, but it definitely felt like «we save on all the branding and marketing costs and pass the savings on to ourselves!»
So the dissonance between my expectations and this location’s reality really messed with me throughout my visit. It wasn’t bad, but I must confess that I did not leave a Trader Joe’s convert. It’s fine, but I’ll try a different location and bring an experienced guide for a future visit. Just need to grab a Monsanto T-​shirt.
* Todd Snider described this kind of fact-​free fear as «the kind of thing that scares people who don’t have [beep]-all else to be scared of.» The brief version is that we genetically modified everything all the time for our entire history so that fewer of our children would die from malnutrition and bears. Now that we’ve become really good at it, suddenly it’s a bad thing. (The really brief version is «Look at what we’ve already done to maize and wolves!»)
^ Though of course I don’t know what they are. You could tell me, but I would go to extraordinary lengths to avoid hearing and understanding what you’re saying and then deny doing any such thing if you called me out on it. Temet nosce indeed.

This is not a huge location, but has everything you would need. Ample parking and friendly service. They have good prices on dried fruits and cookies and seasonal item. Tip: they do discount their seasonal items… just after the season or holiday is over. You just have to catch it at the right time. Those holiday chocolate stars that you can’t put down? Yup I’ve seen them highly discounted!
Also the frozen section for prepared food is wonderful. Good selection and haven’t tried anything I didn’t like…

I drove all the way from Hagerstown to get to the closest TJ’s. I love this place!!! Inexpensive organic foods and unique tasty treats?.. yes please! Plus the employees were so nice. The lady that was making food samples was so sweet and outgoing. she talked to me and my son for a bit, plus helped me to find what I was looking for. Please put a Trader joes in Hagerstown! Until then, I will make the 50 minute drive on occasion.

My husband and I have been big fans of trader joes, but the commute for groceries from Frederick MD is just a bit too far for us to come here regularly. We can’t help but stock up on pantry items when we happen to be in the area. It’s a bit smaller than other trader joe locations we have been to, but overall same great stuff.

I normally shop at the Rockville Trader Joes and also at the Bethesda Trader Joes. Occasionally I stop by the Gaithersburg branch on my way home down 270. About a year ago, I was there and went to pick up some Olive Oil — noticed that all of it for the most part was cloudy. I went up the manager and mentioned that the cloudiness is definitely a result of placing the olive oil products at the front of the store, closest to the front shop windows. He seemed perplexed by this idea but I told him to simply research it on the internet: direct sun is bad for any oil.
Yesterday, I went back to this TJs and was going through my list. I need olive oil but sadly had to pass on it when I saw the oil parked in the same dumb place, in direct view of the parking lot and good olé’ Mr. Sunshine.

This is the first Trader Joe’s I’ve ever been in, but for some reason, I expected a lot more. They do not have wine selection (super sad panda), and the store is quite small– so the photo is deceptive. They do have a very large selection of prefrozen meals that actually look healthy and delicious. Although their selections are small, it covers many types of cultures, many baking goods, great deli meats, and pasta selections. I can see myself returning, but I feel as though their portions are more for the individuals and smaller households.

I favor Trader Joes because they promise not to have any GMOs in their products. This is not the prettiest store but it’s really clean and has a descent selection.
No meat or seafood counter (minimal non frozen seafood in the meat area) but I must confess that I love their frozen shrimp. There is a plethora of fresh fruits and veggies at reasonable prices. They offer gourmet options as well. The cheese section has great variety and the packaged food does as well.
Shopping here you will get the Trader Joes experience and it’s one that I’ve grown to appreciate, especially the music.
They definitely need to update their technology. I decided against an item at the register and had to wait for a manager to void it. Though the manager responded immediately, I expect to be able to change my mind easily in 2013.
Happy healthy shopping!

Perpetually crowded despite being in a sketchy shopping center with seemingly a new vacancy every week. TJ’s selection and prices are pretty standard; mostly store brands, with fixed, reasonable prices. Always get good service at this location. I’m a fan.

Most items are reasonably priced, in comparison to other gourmet grocery stores. The only issue I frequently run into is that their produce is not always the freshest. Their wraps & sandwiches aren’t that fresh either.
Great selection of:
— frozen items
— baked goods
— fresh flowers and plants ($ 5 for a bouquet and they usually last awhile)
— chocolate
— cheeses
— VA locations sell wine
You will always get great customer service at Trader Joe’s and it’s just a fun place to shop.

Just love the stuff they sell, love the service,
NO artificial flavors, colors or preservatives NO genetically modified ingredients NO MSG NO added Trans Fats… for a great price. Thumbs up

Its sad that its 2012, And people can be sooo damn rude here. So I went here because they have the best crispy choco chip cookies. Customers here like to abandon their shopping carts. People have a hissy fit when you say excuse me. So next I should just mow you down with my cart right?
The selection is very limited and I do mean limited. No fresh seafood here. Limited produce. The aisles are quite tight so I guess that explains peoples lack of patience. I can say this, their chicken sausages are good. But they lack in lots of things. I like WF better but in some things Traders Joes is good but I wont be making a speical trip.

I have always loved Trader Joes, ever since I discovered one of the first stores on the West Coast. I was thrilled when I moved to a cheap apartment in Montgomery Village and discovered a Trader Joe’s a block away!
The Montgomery Village Trader Joe’s is great. It’s always clean and well-​stocked, and the staff are very efficient and friendly.
Trader Joes offers gourmet food at reasonable prices. I really appreciate that Trader Joes strives to carry natural, minimally processed foods. It is wonderful to know that most (maybe all) Trader Joes products are naturally sweetened, without high fructose corn syrup. Trader Joes offers organic, humanely raised meats and non-​genetically modified foods. Most of the smoked meat and sausages at Trader Joe’s are processed without nitrates. I care about these things, but even if you don’t, the food from Trader Joes’s still tastes great!
My very favorite bath soap is from Trader Joe’s. It’s an all-​natural verbena-​scented castille soap that smells wonderful and feels great on my skin. If you like the way I smell, that’s why. If you’re more curious, give me a lick. LOL.

I found a Trader Joe’s driving around town, so I figured I would stop by and check it out.
Trader Joe’s specializes in hormone-​free, vegetarian, and organic foods. I like to look at it as a smaller version of Whole Foods, which seems to be more of a supermarket than a specialty store like Trader Joe’s is.
While I have complained about the size of Trader Joe’s in the past, in retrospect it doesn’t need to be much larger. They’re not trying to be the Giant of niche markets, and I like that.
What I don’t like is the organization of the store. The aisles are arranged diagonally, meaning that they are wasting space. I feel like Trader Joe’s stores also tend to be poorly-​lit and slightly dirty, this one included.
While I might not like the layout, the selection is above average. I’ve seen supermarkets back home in Ohio, where organic markets can only be found in certain chains and nowhere else, with as large of a selection as Trader Joe’s. While it might seem small, it sufficed. I found some pretty damn good all-​natural peanut butter, some hormone-​free milk, and other stuff I can’t recall.
Another downer: no beer. I was hoping for a selection of organic beers, but that won’t happen in MontCo due to their monopoly of alcohol sales.
I still prefer Whole Foods over Trader Joe’s, but I can see myself coming back here.

It’s almost unfortunate that the nearest Trader Joe’s to me is the one that is right behind the H Mart. This means that there is almost a *zero* chance that I will visit this place, because after battling cranky Asian moms over bok choy, my energy is sapped and all I want to do is go home and block out the horror of the great Napa Cabbage Massacre of ’11 out of memory.
However, when I have friends over, I do try to serve them food that won’t make them faint (I still don’t know why anyone would be offended by braised tripe and stewed chicken feet), so I’ll head over to Trader Joe’s to grab some nice hipster-​approved organic something or the other.
Of all the Trader Joe’s I’ve been to, I must say that I find the selection in this store a little lacking. The produce section is pretty lame — but then, with Hmart right next door, I can see why this isn’t a huge draw. The frozen section is decent, but it doesn’t have the selection that the Trader Joe’s in Rockville has. And the nuts section is OK, but when I was looking for a special kind of peanut that my dad discovered at a Trader Joe’s in LA, I couldn’t find it at this store (my brother was later able to get it at the Trader Joe’s in Rockville).
For me, it’s meh. It generally has what I’m looking for at a fairly decent price. However I’ve noticed that the Giant and the Safeway by Goshen (just down the road) has begun carrying a lot of the branded organic products that Trader Joe has been carrying, and they have better produce and meats, so I have been finding myself heading over there for my needs.