Trader Joe’s

If you ever feel lonely and that people are not nice to you just visit Trader Joe’s ! I guarantee you can have a conversation that will lift up your day with any of the employees. These people are just nice and really seem to live their jobs.
I love when the flyer magazine comes in the mail, I actually make my kids read it. It not only entices you with extremely descriptive mentions of their specials but you learn a whole new food lingo.
Long live Trader Joes!

To begin: I. Friggin’. Love. Trader Joe’s.
Since I crossed the rivers and moved from the South to the North Hills about 2 years ago, I find myself subconsciously comparing my local dives from where I grew up in Whitehall to where I now live in McCandless. The Mt. Lebanon TJ’s was new and exciting when it moved in, and that is the only TJ’s I had been familiar with otherwise. Nice store, but I feel the location here in McCandless goes above and beyond.
Honestly, it’s a no-​brainer to give this Trader Joe’s location a 5-​star review. Their employees are hands-​down some of the nicest, most approachable people you could ever ask for help. I’ve had my shoes complimented. I’ve had long conversations about applying for, and working two, jobs. I’ve discussed German kuchen and apple cider in great detail at the demo table. They’re in general very cheerful and easy to talk to. That makes a huge difference in the entire store environment (and come on, how much more fun must it be to wear Hawaiian shirts to work every day?).
My mom was always describing Trader Joe’s as some magical paradise of groceries I’ll never find at any other place, and I didn’t believe her until I went to my formerly local Mt. Lebanon location for myself. TJ’s really prides themselves on offering unique goods — she was totally right. I love that their brand is very fun and casual… this shows through in the store as well. I can always find something with unusual or interesting ingredients right alongside traditional produce. Plus, the prices are perfectly in my budget. Cheaper than Giant Eagle by a longshot, but with more quirky and diverse offerings than Aldi.
The McCandless location is always clean and I’ve only ever had an issue finding something there once, which an employee was able to clear up in a minute or two. For a relatively new store, it seems like the staff has been managing the busy traffic (indoor and out) quite well. I am always happy to go there because I know they make things hassle-​free.
TJ’s for life. I’m so glad I live near one now.

Love TJ. Great selection, awesome variety and lively staff. Don’t forget to find the hedgehog.

Enjoy shopping at Trader Joes, lots of prepared foods in the freezer section. Also, many house brands of staple foods to stock your pantry. I love sampled items in the back too. Easy in and out at the McCandless Crossing store. So happy to have a Trader Joe’s in the area.

This store is really nice! We always heard about Trader Joe’s, but never had one close enough to go shop at.
This store is in the new McCandless Crossing shopping center. They poorly organized the parking lot, so you will most likely have to search for a spot. I will say though, weekdays are a LOT better than weekends. It’s impossible to find a spot, which isn’t Trader Joe’s fault.
I love the variety and prices. You walk out feeling like your money was well spent. They have so much fall foods right now, which is awesome. (pumpkin coffee & kcups, pumpkin tea, Pumpkin O’s, pumpkin cookie butter, pumpkin granola bars, pumpkin pudding, cheesecake, literally pumpkin everything. even dog treats!!)
The produce is always very fresh too. And they have great flowers for cheap prices.
While we don’t buy ALL our groceries here, we do shop here often and will continue to do so!

I’ve tried the east liberty location many times and I just really couldn’t enjoy it. Too crowded and small. I’m not sure if this location is bigger, but there weren’t as many people everywhere. I was actually able to browse! I checked out everything and loved how they had different varieties to offer. They had better items than other discount grocery stores (rice vinegar for example & 4 different kinds of mustard, a block of mozzarella marinating in oil and seasonings!) is it worth the 25 minute trip here for me? I think so. I’m excited for my next Trip here and grocery shopping isn’t a task I enjoy so that’s saying a lot.

Can’t give it a full 5* as they don’t sell alcohol here. I realise this isn’t their fault, but due to PA laws.
Anyway, in short, I liked this location much better than the one on Penn Ave. It’s newer, more spacious, and less crowded. Contrary to the other reviews, I had absolutely no problem with parking here, it was plentiful, but my visit was early on a Monday afternoon as opposed to a Sunday afternoon.
I found the staff really friendly, cheerful, and helpful! What really stood out was at the checkout, the cashier noticed that the tortillas I picked up were crushed/​ripped, so he rang his bell to ask someone on the sales floor to grab me a new package. So that’s what the bell is for! :) I was really impressed by this and it was soo fast, like magic really!
Trader Joe’s is a novelty for us Canadians, but I don’t think my glee for visiting any TJ location will ever go away.

Very happy we have a Trader’s Joe, loved them in Vegas and California.
They may not carry everything but what they do is great!

It is too small. Parking is a problem as it sits next to BJ Brewhouse & Longhorn steak. I would like to do my grocery shopping here … I like the company’s approach.
Poor location choice.
Side note: They donate their flowers that have only few nice days left to UPMC Passavant … the volunteers distribute them to the patients.

Okay, so I am addicted to shopping at Trader Joe’s. Before, it was next to impossible to visit on a regular basis, since the closest location for me was in East Liberty. This one is much more convenient! Located in the new McCandless Cluster f, it’s probably best to shop at off times. The store is clean, bright and well laid out. I also love the customer service here. Everyone is so helpful and friendly, and happy to offer up recommendations and suggestions. I am always leaving the store with more than what is on my list. Produce is fresh, live the selection of bagged salads and veggies. Love the selection of nuts and freeze dried fruits. There is a great selection of frozen foods. And the cheese selection is incredible. Love this store!

This new Trader Joe’s location, situated in the overhauled McCandless Crossing area, conjures pleasant memories of trips to the Trader Joe’s location near my old apartment in San Diego. That particular San Diego Trader Joe’s was a few blocks from the beach, but the friendly beachy vibe is alive and well at this Trader Joe’s in the landlocked North Hills.
I’ve been here a couple times during the last month, and on both occasions my mission was simple: Chocolate Brooklyn Babka. Life changing and representation of all that is good in this world, the babka is incredible. Dense, moist, flaky layers of bread mixed with layers of rich chocolate – all in loaf form and garnished with lots of chocolate chips.
I’m not a Seinfeld fan, but, go ahead, YouTube the Seinfeld scene about babka. Funny stuff, and relatable because I think at some point we’ve all been in situation where someone – how dare he/​she! – took «our» last [fill in the blank].
Came to Trader Joe’s last Thursday because we wanted a couple babka for our Independence Day festivities. The babka section of the baked goods table was empty. Initially panic ensued when there was no babka in sight, but thankfully when we asked an employee he went to the back room and emerged after a few minutes with 2 frozen babka. Crisis averted, and, incidentally, the babka thawed beautifully.
While we waited for the gentleman to return from the back room we interacted with several other friendly, helpful employees – a total of 6 by the time we left. It had been an exceedingly stressful day, one during which our offer on a house had been accepted but not before our having to endure loads of drama at the hands of our mostly incompetent realtor… and whattaya know, it was the babka and the Trader Joe’s employees – not the house – that put the biggest smile on my and my husband’s faces!

Let me just say I LOVE trader joes and their prices!
However I’m only giving 3 stars because:
Their bagged salad lettuce goes bad incredibly fast and well before the use by date. While most of the produce is usually fresh and awesome I have had moldy strawberries.
The big reason for the 3 stars is the logistics of «checking out»
It’s an absolute nightmare with kids, and I assume a lot of families shop here with children.
First off the carts are small… Way too small for more than one child, you can’t even fit an infant car seat in the basket of the cart. So it makes it difficult to shop here if you’ve got a toddler and a baby.
The checkout lines are confusing… And a little awkward… Do you keep your kid in the cart the whole time or take them out or what?!
The bagging area is crowded and not well thought through. There is very little space to bag your groceries and even less space for your cart.

Always loved trader joe’s. This particular one is probably the cleanest I’ve seen. When you go in, you are greeted by the lovely scent of fresh flowers and fresh herbs.
I love the produce selection here as they are clean and fresh! You can buy some veggies that are packaged and already trimmed, and they come with cooking instructions in case you’re trying something new.
It’s hard for me to find radish, capers, various asian and mediterranean ingredients and sauces, but they have it! They even have new potatoes and heirloom tomatoes that you can’t just find at a giant eagle or shop and save. I think the prices are very reasonable for the quality.
The people who work here are all very courteous and helpful, and they really seem to love their job. All smiles! If you ask anyone, even when they are stocking or busy, they walk you to the aisle instead of just telling you where to go. I appreciate it and almost makes me feel bad.
I also love that they encourage shoppers to bring their own bags. Save the planet!
Only downside is the parking. Not the store’s fault though.

Oh, Trader Joes, I would be lost without them. From great food, to fresh flowers that bloom forever, there really is nothing bad I could say about this ‘Joe’s.
The isles are wider than their sister store in the South Hills, so it’s so easy to navigate through this store, unless you’re here when church lets out, or there are a whole bunch of people that don’t know «about» how trader joes works.
They always have a great selection of fresh flowers, that from my experience last forever. AND, they are super duper cheap. I had a $ 3.99 bouquet last almost 2 weeks! Crazy.
My go to’s at Joes are usually their Dried Mandarin Oranges, they taste just like candy, and that cookie butter! Oh man. Don’t get me started on the cookie butter. You could put that on anything and I’d love it.
This store, since it’s so recently opened, always has a ton of lanes open, and everyone that works there is sincerely friendly. I like that a lot.
I’m so glad the North Hills store is open!

The most helpful staff of all of the TJs in the city – by far. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s so new, but I’ve been there three times now and two out of the three times the staff has been helpful. The first time, they were out of single-​limes. The staff went in the back and didn’t have any and gave me one from the bag and gave me one. The second time was through the chit-​chat at the checkout. I learned you can freeze their ready-​to-​make pizza crusts which I had asked before at the East Liberty store and the staff didn’t know.
The like how spacious it is. Much better than East Liberty. Their product selection in what I call the «normal foods» (i.e., dried pasta, spices, sauces) does leave a little to be desired, though. Hopefully they expand that.

I really like this store. I’ve always wanted to shop at one, but none were near by. I shop there after church almost every week now!

AMAZING! I am a big fan of Trader Joe’s anyway – I love that you can get organic produce and quality gourmet ingredients and snacks for a fraction of what other stores (Whole Foods, etc.) would charge.
This location is by far the best in Pittsburgh. I am equidistant to this and the East Liberty store, but I will be frequenting this one from now on for a few reasons: the parking lot is spacious, the store is larger (and the aisles are wider!), and it’s in a less congested area of the city – so if you’re driving, it’s just much more convenient.
I have also found the staff to be very welcoming and proud of their new store – I would be too; it’s awesome!

We’ll call this new store TJ3.
Smell the newness of this store, the carts are all in working order, no wiggly front wheel. The isle are wider, the store is brighter, new TJ associates eager to please you, their customer.
Alas, it may be a new store but the old familiar items are stocked on the shelves, waiting to be placed into that new cart. The fat free feta, salty and briny, just waiting to be tossed onto a Greek flatbread. The California Estate extra virgin olive oil, cloudy from its unfiltered first cold pressing, waiting to flavor a peppery rocket salad. The pretzel bagels, waiting to be smeared with Trader Joe’s Seville orange marmalade, after a trip to the toaster. The super fresh Bok Choy, ready for a brush of a little olive oil, dusted with TJ’s pink sea salt and roasted in the oven. The red raspberries waiting to be covered in TJ’s honey Greek yogurt. All my favorite items under one big, brand new roof.
I’ve read reviews that exclaim that TJs is a glorified Aldi’s. Don’t listen to their overhyped BS. Trader Joe’s is quality food sold at cheaper prices that the Greedy Eagle. One thing I don’t like is how Trader Joe’s is perceived as a Heath food store. It’s far from the truth, look at the labels, high fat, high sodium, but if you know what’s healthy and what to look for then Trader Joe’s will fit nicely into your weekly shopping.
TJ3 is further from me than TJ Original and TJ Squared, and for me it’s a drive out the much hated McKnight road, so I won’t frequent it as much. But it was nice to be one of the first people to help baptize it.

Trader Joe’s is finally in the North Hills! This one just opened in the new complex at Mccandless Crossing. Just a heads up– it’s picked up a lot of attention and gets busy at the usual hours (weekends and evenings). That being said, similar to how I feel with many other TJ’s, I love it. Interesting items and a much cheaper price tag than Whole Foods. Plus the produce is often dramatically cheaper than Giant Eagle. Again, as per usual, the service is fantastic here. Couldn’t be more excited to have a TJ’s finally up North.

I was pleasantly surprised that a Trader Joe’s finally opened closer to where I live. There is ample parking at this location, which is a major plus! This location seems to have wider aisles than other locations in the area. They sell the same items as the other locations, I did not notice anything different in terms of other items. It was very busy, which is understandable as they just opened, but I cannot wait to go back for my next shopping trip!