Trader Joe’s

Are you vegetarian or vegan? You have come to the right place.
Are you gluten free? You have come to the right place.
Are you health conscious? You have come to the right place.
Basically, do you eat? You have come to the right place.
Organics, breads, fruits, veggies, meats, sauces, soups, dairy, non dairy dairy, nuts, seeds, coffee, chips, beer and wine… Trader Joes has everything!
The store is well organized and it makes sense so you’re not back and forth through the aisles wondering where they keep something.
The staff is friendly, knowledgable and always around to help and answer questions.
It’s got a real local market feel and has a feel good vibe. The weekends can be busy, but it’s not chaotic.
Don’t be fooled because it’s not a larger grocer. The store is small but mighty.

I’m as in love and crazy about Trader Joe’s as the next fresh market gal who loves great prices on great food… but does anybody feel me on the fact that this place is hopping almost ²⁴⁄₇ (a good sign of greatness I know) and makes me feel like I am ALWAYS in someone’s way… AH! Either I am swerving around someone, saying, «I’m sorry» for being in someone’s else’s way (or imagining I am in someone’s way), or trying to get to a product where someone is in my way! Ha! Can I continue to deal with all this fiasco time and time again… is it really worth it you might ask… HECK yeah! This place is AWESOME!!!
The workers… always helpful!
The grocery store itself… pretty much always in great order (minus all the people, lol) and from time to time things running out and your like, «where is the…» and a staff member sayings their all out but the new shipment will be coming «in a few days» (those moments btw are a bummer, but also something I can live with)
The prices… SO GREAT!
The quality… Oh so good, Oh so fresh… your body will thank you profusely for buying the «good stuff» (and don’t be afraid of the off brands, they are JUST as good… Trader Joe brands are really really good as well, so go with it without reserve or hesitation if you’re asking yourself right about now «is this really as good as it looks?!» Why YES, it REALLY is as good as it looks!
Trader Joe’s knows what it’s doing… and does it VERY well! I am POSITIVE they put forth a LOT of time and effort to make this place what it is today, and for that I say THANK YOU, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! My whole family thanks you guys! We are Trader Joe fans for LIFE!

Pros:
1)Great selections and they are rarely out of stock of any items.
2)Speedy checkout regardless of how long the lines are.
3)The location is convenient.
Cons:
1)The staff can be hit or miss on the friendly-​factor.
2)The parking is a NIGHTMARE during peak hours or on the weekend, because TJ’s shares a large lot with other businesses (Ulta, Petsmart)
3)The store itself is definitely on the small size, compared to other stores I’ve been to.

Haven’t been in a Trader Joe’s until today, finally popped my cherry. I finally see what all the hype is about. I walked through the automatic doors, and they swooshed me into grocery heaven. My family, and I walked down the aisles about 5 times each, in a meager attempt to take everything in. We walked out with a cute little shopping tote full of just snacks, but it’s okay because they’re organic, gmo-​free, free range, and the like right? Hahah.
Honestly, I can’t really say anything negative about this place. It was worth the 2 hour, total, drive.
Did I mention that it was all reasonably priced???
Take notes, Whole Foods.

Love Trader Joes — mostly for their Dark Chocolate peanut butter cups, dark chocolate dunkers for coffee and their brownie mix is, hands down, the absolute best we’ve ever had — no other mix can even come close. Prices are moderate and reasonable. Service is exceptional, always — if you are looking for something and cannot find it staff will go to the back storage and find it for you. Once, they were out of the dark chocolate peanut butter cups in the 1 lb packages, so they manager grabbed about 10 .99 bags of about 9 to a bag and just gave them to me because they were out — would not allow us to pay for them. Amazing service and commitment to their customers. NOW, if only they would build one in Fredericksburg VA — I’m positive it would be highly successful. They are missing a real opportunity as more and more people from NOVA retire to the outer burbs. They are missing their Trader Joes.

I love this Trader Joe’s because they’re always fully stocked on majority of their items and all the employees are so nice! They always take the time to explain what certain items taste like before you purchase. You can also get to sample the products prior to purchasing!

Trader Joe’s is just the best place on the planet as we know it! Great wines, amazing cheese, tasty snacks and a policy that says if you don’t like something bring it back and they’ll refund your money.

I was always under the impression that everything that you buy from Trader Joe’s is unique and great but always a bit pricey. Although I stand corrected since not everything is great here, I’m still right about everything being a bit too pricey compared to other grocery chains in the area. I recently purchased several frozen entrees and snacks and most of them did not taste as well as I thought it would be. Also, there are usually no sales or coupons which makes it difficult for people to shop here regularly. This store is also on the smaller size than other TJ’s that I have been in the past and is always crowded. You can never find parking in the their lot and have to drive around in circles for hours! :(

I love Trader Joe’s, but I do not love this Trader Joe’s. The store is too small and too crowded. Plus, they are always out of items… I get you occasionally run out of items, but I don’t understand how the store can’t anticipate it’s needs and order accordingly. While the staff is lovely and friendly, what makes this store so horrible is the clientele! The people shopping are in their own worlds, bumping into you, and just plan rude.
Sorry Trader Joe’s Shorty P, I wanna love you, but I just can’t.
Hopefully they will soon open a store in the not so far away West End. (please!)
Cheers!

It’s my favorite store. I chose to live in this area because it has a TJs. At home in So Cal, it was my favorite store. So, this helps me to not miss home as much. Great selection, especially the frozen food section.

I love the place, but not on a Saturday (busy). Short Pump Mall was swamped today, too. You’d think it was Christmas.

Love love love Trader Joe’s! I’ve been to this location twice and I’ve been able to avoid the crazy crowds. I usually have to come in with a specific game plan, otherwise I get distracted by all the goodies. I love having goat cheese with Naan. That was the reason I stopped in today. Some honey goat cheese and blueberry goat cheese on naan, or pretzel bread, which is what distracted me today. Ever since I had burgers on pretzel bread buns, I fell in love with pretzel bread. Thanks TJ’s for having it in store. You name it and TJ’s has whatever you need for all your taste buds. I used to frequent TJ’s a lot more back in California. Ravioli, Indian food, salami, cheeses, salads — you name it and it all tastes good. Will definitely be back. It’s a good thing I don’t live in the West End!

Why wouldn’t everyone love T-​Joes? Well, I’m clueless. I love it. They know where everything is and generally great pricing. We bought a Half-​Spiral Cooked Ham… for Christmas,…no nitrates, antibiotics, water or other junk in the ham. One Spiral Ham… bought! Ham… yey! I didn’t buy any wine but they have a good wine selection esp. for value. The best IMHO!
Sounds like I’ll have one on the Southside out Hull St. In about a yr-​18 months… can’t wait… well, I’ll have to, I don’t have a choice ;-)…but looking forward to it. Even I can normally find the items I’m looking for… getting smarter w/​repeat trips…

In dire need of stocking up on some December staples for my pantry, I stopped in to Trader Joe’s.
The customer service here is the best. Very helpful staff roaming the store answering questions and helping you find items.
After stocking up on the half a dozen items i went into the store specifically to buy… one of the staff pointed me toward the special holiday buys they offer for the month. All over the store are fantastic gift ideas from Cookies to Chocolates to Baked items, and more. I never though of buying stocking stuffers in Trader Joe’s, but thats just what I am doing this year!
As I looked over a box of Holiday Chocolate Caramel squares I mentioned out loud to my sister shopping with me that I wonder what they taste like.
Then an employee said they would be glad to open a box to taste if I wanted them too. I thought she was joking but she wasn’t!!! I said thank you but that isn’t necessary, I’d feel too guilty.
Once ready to check out, they always jump to open a register thats available so you won’t stand in line. Great service. Very clean and appealing store. Trader Joe’s Glen Allen, you rock!

I visit Trader Joe’s fairly often, usually when I’m in the shopping center at another store. Last night, I went in search of food. I found a steak, Yukon gold potatoes and was going to make a savory meal. I decided to venture down the most crowded aisle and that completely changed my meal decision. I ended up purchasing frozen orange chicken, chicken shumai a three pack of microwaveable brown rice, sparkling pomegranate juice and dark chocolate peanut butter cups (I can never resist an impulse buy). the meal was delicious The chicken took about 20 to 25 minutes to cook the rice took 3 mins and the shumai were ready in 2 mins. overall a tasty, simple meal for 1 under $ 20. I will be back soon to see what other dinner lunch items i can discover.

Can’t say enough great things about Trader Joe’s! I love that this place makes eating healthy (and even organic) budget friendly. They have a few things that I have incorporated into my everyday cooking routine (pesto pizza crust, delicious seasonal ravioli flavors, sun dried tomatoes, indian food, organic stevia extract, etc.) and I always try to get something unique or new when I shop. It’s always a different experience because new items are constantly on rotation with the different seasons and holidays which makes walking the aisles really fun.
Everyone who works here is so friendly and helpful and even when it’s crowded on weekends, I don’t feel like the shelves are ever empty or lacking. I also like that they get super excited when you bring your own reusable bags.

I get it now. The secret is shopping at Trader Joe’s Monday through Thursday. Avoid it like the plague on the weekend.
I can’t get enough of the pre-​packaged fresh salads. My current favorite is the roasted butternut squash, red quinoa and wheatberry over baby arugula with cranberries, toasted almonds, goat cheese and honey sesame vinaigrette. Mmm!
Oh, and they also have these salted butterscotch caramels that I am also addicted to.

After coming here a few more times since my initial visit, I think it’s about time to write a review.
One thing that I like about and is immediately apparent with Trader Joe’s is that the place has a neat, down to earth vibe coming from it. I suppose one could say it’s a bit hippy, but it’s a nice feeling. The employees are all chill people too and every time I’ve left with a warm feeling.
My favorite part about coming here is just walking down the aisles and finding things that you just don’t find other places. Or rather, things you normally have to look for is just among the other «normal» items. For example, there are Korean bibimbap bowls next to the fried rice. Or mochi mushroom dumplings next to the normal dumplings. Non Asian food aside, they have a lot of neat varieties of their other foods too.
There are some really great natural snacks like puffs and chips that you won’t find in other stores. Outside of chips, there are tons of nuts, trail mixes, and cracker type things as well.
Another great thing is their fruit, vegetable, bakery, and meat items. They have a lot of good looking produce and going on from the previous paragraph, the variety is nice.
The presentation of the items is top notch too. Trader Joe’s carries almost all of their own brand of items, and the packaging is very aesthetically pleasing. Each of the price tags and signs are hand drawn and really makes the experience all that more enjoyable. I will admit that if you’re looking for a certain item, the location might not be intuitive and you might have to peruse the aisles or ask someone about it, but it’s not a large enough place to be a problem.
To clarify this as well, many of the items they have are either Organic or more humanely raised (antibiotic free, sulfite free, etc). Given that, the prices all seem pretty fair. While some of the prepared items may be a bit more expensive than your typical Kraft or [insert main name brand], the quality is noticeably better and definitely worth the extra $ 0.50 or $ 1.00.
All in all, I really like it here. You could probably get all of your grocery shopping done here, but my fiancée and I just stop by occasionally and get some of the more novelty items like mango mochi ice cream, organic snacks, and Asian frozen items. I haven’t been to any other Trader Joe’s so I’m not really sure if it differs than other ones, but I’m a huge fan of this one at least! If you haven’t been to one or love another Trader Joe’s, definitely give it a go and see what you can find!

I remember now why they tell you to not go grocery shopping when you are hungry! Overall though what I purchased on my visit was a definite bang for my buck. Their frozen food selection is AMAZING! I love their Steamer Clams in Garlic Butter Sauce and the Turkey Bolognese Sauce. We all have that box of pasta in our pantry and both of these are perfect for creating a wonderful meal quickly.
I used to come to TJ’s a lot to get their seaweed snacks, but I’ve sort of OD on them and can’t buy them anymore at the moment. Now it’s peanut butter filled pretzels that I’m hooked on.
Staff here are friendly and helpful. The line was a little long and another worker immediately jumped onto another register and got things moving. If you bring your own bags you get tickets to enter into a raffle to win a gift certificate. (Not sure that I will ever win. My luck just doesn’t run that way, LOL.) While I enjoy the occasional trip to Whole Foods, I find my overal shopping experience at Trader Joe’s just a bit more enjoyable and I still get a wide selection of healthy choices.

I cannot get enough of Trader Joe’s. It is the most affordable healthy shopping experience that you will find. The wine selection is ridiculous (in a superb way) and the snacks are unique and delectable. I love the laid back atmosphere but I agree with other Unilocalers that it is definitely worthwhile to go midday during the week and NOT on a weekend. It is simply too crowded in Short Pump in general and TJ’s teeny parking lot cannot handle the influx of hungry customers. Although the store is small, I can find items there that I have never seen anywhere else. I am in love with their personal products such as the face lotion, shaving cream, Vitamin E oil, and tea tree shampoo and conditioner. I have even gotten their canned cat food for my kitty (who loved it).
I wish they had a frequent shopper card (like a Kroger plus card), but they do have a few weekly sales. Nonetheless, if you are wanting to shop for healthy foods on a budget, then Trader Joe’s is by far the best place to go in Richmond.