Trader Joe’s

Everyone working at this store is always nice, just what you would expect for a Trader Joes. I am surprised at how well stocked this specific store seems to be as its usually pretty busy here.
I wish they would dedicate another cash register to fewer items as those lines always seem to be the longest and move the slowest due to conversation or who knows what. Might just be quicker for you to jump in another line behind a carriage thats full sometimes. as a heads up!
So amazing that TJ’s in California can sell alcohol — what a great price!
The only purchases I ever regret at Trader Joe’s come from the CHEEESE department –
So, If you are looking for a good cheese try one of these and you won’t regret it:
Goat Gouda (blue sticker on the packaging with a windmill?)
English Sharp Cheddar (Old clipper ship on the sticker)
Creamy Camembert (this is better than any of their brie selection)
Rosemary asiago (so goooood) and all the Manchego options are the best!

This is great store for customer service. They rock! But the products from the frozen food section are sketchy to say the least. Not the fault of the San Rafael store but the parent company. I think the parent company needs to rethink what they are offering customers because of the numerous times I’ve had to return foods. And I’m not picky normally but it was incredibly bad — awful. I had to return. I’d say to Trader Joe’s — you have a great brand but look at what you are offering, double check it, correct it… and you will be golden.

TJ’s has been my beloved go-​to grocery store that has gotten me through college, grad school, and a few years of «adulthood». That being said, I dislike this location.
1) parking lot is busy and getting in and out is a pain
2) shelves are not well stocked in the evening. Certain items do not look too fresh (eg. moldy berries, wilting salad).
3)the store layout feels extremely crammed and for the same reason, I feel like the selection is more limited than most other TJ’s I know.
4)lines are long/​slow.
If you have ever been to TJ in Inner Richmond in SF or LA, then you know what to expect.

When I shop at Whole Foods or Mollie Stone’s, I always walk away with only a few items and feeling very poor. But when I shop at Trader Joe’s, I always walk away with multiple bags of goodies, and feeling like a rich man. And I’m not gonna lie — I LOVE that feeling!
For just $ 50, I walked out of TJ’s with a few pre-​packaged salads, roasted turkey cold-​cuts, a few lbs. of organic chicken breasts, a quart of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, a bottle of spicy tomato sauce, a few European cheeses, a bottle of vodka, and a variety of frozen meals (potstickers, chicken samosas, etc.). All this food is going to last me for a few weeks! For the same price at Whole Foods, I wouldn’t have been able to afford half of these treats. Oh, and as an added bonus, I was able to purchase a beautiful orchid for just $ 12. The same orchid would’ve cost me double the price at Safeway!
Friendly service has always been a TJ’s staple. And this location is no exception. They always offer free food samples in the back of the store. On this particular day, they were giving out samples of a Thai Curry Chicken over rice. It was so good, I decided to buy some to make at home (proving once again that experiential marketing really does work!).
The only downside to this Trader Joe’s (as with other TJ’s locations) is that parking can be a bit of a pain. The Montecito Shopping Center parking lot is kind of a zoo. But it’s hard to fault them or Trader Joe’s for this situation. They’re clearly victims of their own success. And at the end of the day, I guess there are worse problems in the world.
Trader Joe’s — thanks for making me feel like a million bucks (even though I only spent $ 50)!
:)

Most healthy food in the area. A lot of parking. Helpful people. Love the prices. Good gourmet food. Nice specialty items. My son loves it!!!

I love Trader Joe’s to death but to go to the San Rafael location I need a horse tranquilizer. I end up parking by Petco on the other side of the parking lot because trying to get a parking spot near the store is like expecting to find a parking spot for free in the Financial district. Good luck! Then you have to fight snobby Marinites for a shopping cart. When you are finally in the store you realize it is crazy crowded and apparently everyone has a sense of «no holds barred» and all manners have gone out the window. It’s seriously nuts. I never can get over how rude people are.
The products are of amazing but the amount of drama it takes to get my groceries is not worth it. I will go to the Corte Madera location or the Novato location on my way home from work to avoid the San Rafael TJ’s.

I love this place like most everyone else so I’ll just focus on my biggest pet peeve: For over a year their coffee grinder (s) have not worked well. When you want fine you get coarse. So either one gets home with something they don’t want or they leave it there to be donated. It’s seems like a multi billion dollar company would be able to buy and maintain a workable coffee grinder?

Go here for things in the frozen section because they are awesome.
Other than that, I lovingly refer to this store as the «Everything Is Expired Store». Go ahead, check the eggs, the milk, cheese and 15 other items and I bet you half of them are expired or about to be

Super expensive tasteless & rotten produce. Apples taste like cardboard, roasted nuts taste burnt, avocados appear unripe but are black inside. I don’t know why anyone would shop here. I used to buy raw almond butter but they jacked up the price so much I just buy it online now. Made the mistake of going here the other day & it reminded me just how bad joe has sunk in quality standards & competitive pricing.

It is just OK here. Way too much small talk when I’m checking out. I know it’s part of the cashier’s job to be engaging, but I am not a big fan of waiting behind someone because it’s taking foreverz to wrap up a conversation.
Yes, I am a curmudgeon who just wants to race home and eat the dark chocolate covered coconut almonds all by myself.
Great prices on organic produce and imitation Cheerios.

Your typical Trader Joe’s! Nice people work here and they have the usual selection. Clean store and lots of registers open which is always appreciated. The only reason they lose a star is due to the fact that there’s no self check out. Sometimes I’m only there for one product and to have to wait in line for that product can be annoying. However, I guess it’s just not their business model. Great job though to the people who do work at this location!!!

What’s not to like about Trader Joe’s :-) great location, worldly food selections, friendly employee, And an all over great place to shop!

This location is especially good because of the ample parking, and there are several outdoor areas with tables and chairs to take your TJ’s lunchables, and eat them in the lovely Marin weather – look to the right and left of the store by several storefronts to find these alcoves. It’s Trader Joe’s – everything is good. Montecito Plaza is a few blocks from the freeway, so you could hit this store up, going up or down the freeway.

The staff here is upbeat and friendly. This store continues to provide interesting alternatives at good prices. Although some items have gone up (like everywhere in this sucky economy), they still have the best values on many items including their monster chocolate bars (get the dark with almonds), cheeses and wine. I’m not a connaisseur, but I love their French imports like the Beaujolais Nouveau, and especially the «Cotes de Rhone Villages» red from «Valreas», as have several of my friends who assumed it was a pricey bottle after tasting it’s light, fruity, dry and clean character. Price? $ 5.99. Now that is a bargain worth fighting for a parking spot!

I’ve been shopping at this Trader Joe’s for about 15 years. I keep going back. I find it to be upbeat, cheerful, and it stocks some great food at very reasonable prices. I think of it as a poor man’s gourmet shop. The only down side I’ve found is the produce. A lot of it comes from Mexico, and though it may say «organic,» I have my doubts. I’m also leery of their already packaged fruit and veggies, though I understand that it is necessary in order for TJ’s to stock as much inventory as they do. Overall, a great place to shop.

TJ’s is great, however the fruit is
Unreliable and often not worth the risk. Strawberries are white inside, mandarins are dry or putrid.
Service is great and everything else is too. Bad fruit.

This has the best variety out of all the TJ’s in Marin in my opinion. Parking is a huge royal pain in the butt so I’m gonna suggest going the first two hours they are open. Don’t go right when all the high school kids get out or on Sundays. I love the produce and the assortment of organic products. Lots of kid friendly snacks for school. I did just notice they stopped carrying my favorite organic corn chips, ten times better than Fritos. Hoping they are back soon. The aisles are narrow so you have to show patients when trying to maneuver. The seasonal holiday foods are usually amazing and the floral department is super cheap. Give our more samples and a better variety of sushi and this place would be golden.

It’s Trader Joe’s. They’re all basically the same. Awesome food, great prices. The employees here are friendly. I’ve seen some complaints about parking. If you want to park right out front, yes, it gets crowded. If you park about 4 – 5 rows over by the Petco it’s no problem at all to find a spot.

Oh yeah Trader Joe’s, I love it when a plan comes together. Even if that plan is impromptu.
After a quick hop across the Richmond/​San Rafael bridge on a lazy Sunday, the girlfriend & I decided to do a little grocery shopping before heading home. The San Rafael TJ’s was conveniently along the way.
Located in a strip mall, the parking lot near the store front was pretty full but we found a spot ok. Inside was just about everything you’d expect to find in a TJ’s, just rearranged. It seems the floorplans of no 2 TJ’s are alike. It’s like bizzarro land.
I kept thinking I knew where something in the store was, but completely different items would be in the aisle I was looking. It’s all good though. We found what we were after & checked out easily.
For groceries, I’m a big fan of TJ’s. 1 reason is that I often make some kind of discovery while shopping at different TJs. This time I noticed that this TJ’s has a good selection Lagunitas beers in 22oz bottles for only $ 4. Nice.
Oh yeah Trader Joe’s, good looking out for my beer needs too.

Crazy busy on new years eve, but they still had all the essentials!
Also, the guy in the wine section was incredibly friendly and comically recommended a few different bottles for a new years eve bash. Very helpful, seeing as I was scatter-​brained grabbing at anything (since we were in a hurry).
Also, they CARDED ME! I’m young but not THAT young, and don’t get carded that often. Thanks for making my day, LOL! ;)