Trader Joe’s

Love the mango mochi ice cream! High quality food without the inflated price. The macaroons (dessert section) are also delicious and less the half the price of a macaroon in a dessert shop (a dozen for $ 5). Great place to pick up some beautiful flowers for mom on the way out or a nice card to let a friend know you’re thinking of them. Staff are always friendly and proactively helpful.

What’s not to like about TJs? It has all the delicious things you could ever want to eat and it doesn’t break the bank. Great for snacks and frozen food (and pumpkin flavored things, if you’re into that). The only reason I can’t give it five stars is the parking situation– very cramped and difficult.

Loove Trader Joe’s! Don’t know how I ever shopped anywhere else before! Prices are great and quality is good! They always have free samples which are amazing! Anyone who hasn’t tried Trader Joe’s yet needs too! All the employees are also really friendly.

Small and cramped, but I can’t complain about my go-​to staples from TJs. Parking is tough too. Staff are very friendly!

Your average Trader Joes

It’s a Trader Joe’s, so all the normal positives are still here. They have some amazing products, affordable prices, occasionally dodgy produce/​meat, and the friendliest (but not unbearably so) employees that you will ever encounter. However, one point off for:
1) The size/​location. Almost all Trader Joe’s stores are «cozy» but this one seems worse than some of the others I’ve been in. The parking lots are very small as well, so I tend to avoid coming here during peak times so I can get a spot. In my experience peak times are essentially all times except early in the morning and late at night.
I say location too because for other small Trader Joe’s stores with tight parking lots (both locations in Cambridge) I would be able to easily bike to them, but it’s a little more dangerous doing that on Washington St.
2) No alcohol. I’ve seen some comments here saying «Oh it’s not their fault, MA liquor laws prevent this,» which is totally true, but that doesn’t improve my shopping experience at all.

Great store. Super friendly staff. Prices. Quality. Excellent. Parking can be difficult but it’s not a huge deal, you can always park on the street and walk a few feet. Reviewers complaining about liquor and taking a star away should probably educate themselves about mAss liquor laws, it’s not the stores fault. If they could sell it, they would.

Great fresh foods, veges, flowers, and stock of healthy food. Always love their frozen stuff too. I love TD, this one isn’t necessarily the best I have been to, but pleasant staff and they had everything I needed/​wanted. Love the prices and amount of fresh food, here.

I love TJ’s for all of the same reasons as everyone else — great products and even better prices. This location is an attempt at taking all of that greatness and cramming it into one small space.
You can find some of the great products that you know and love from Trader Joe’s here, but you may have to push some people out of the way to get to them. It’s a small space inside with not much wiggle room for the number of customers that frequent this location. The most difficult part about all of this, though, is the minimal amount of parking that is offered. While the location is convenient, it’s not very conducive to the amount of people who shop here.
I stop by every now and again, but it’s not exactly my favorite TJ’s out there. I’m sorry for the residents of Newton who are stuck with this location as their main TJ’s.

Hmm… It looks like disgruntled Unilocalers’ main complaint is that Trader Joe’s doesn’t sell their lovely, cheap selection of booze here.
Well, welcome to Massachusetts, where we have ridiculous arcane laws that govern that sort of thing. From the Telegraph:
«…It isn’t easy making sense of Massachusetts liquor laws. Cities and towns control who can sell beer, wine and liquor. The number of licenses they dole out is limited by their population.
Until this year, a person or group generally could own up to three licenses to sell alcohol. That’s why it’s pointless to look for „Two Buck Chuck“ wine at Trader Joe’s in Shrewsbury. The specialty grocer sells alcohol only at stores in Framingham, Cambridge and Brookline.
Yet under legislation passed last year, retailers can now hold up to five „off-​premises“ liquor licenses in Massachusetts. In 2016 the limit jumps to seven, and in 2020 it goes up to nine.
The numbers are the result of a grand compromise in 2011 between food retailers that wanted to sell alcohol and liquor industry groups that preferred the status quo. The last time the sides clashed in 2006, voters defeated a measure that would have cleared the way for cities and towns to issue licenses to supermarkets to sell only wine. Food retailers had been gearing up for another ballot question this year, but withdrew their opposition because of the new law. Liquor industry groups were glad to avoid another expensive fight…»
So THIS MEANS THAT OUT OF ALL TJ’S LOCATIONS IN MA, ONLY 5 ARE PERMITTED TO SELL ALCOHOL. Hope that clears that up for y’all.
As for the other complaints, I guess you’ve somehow missed out on the pleasure that is shopping retail in Newton, where EVERY customer is always right, special and in a hurry. Seriously, people in Newton suck everywhere, not just here. You can’t fault TJ’s.
As far as this store, the employees are always super helpful and nice, and have gone above and beyond for me many times. They are happy to reserve items for you, or call other locations to track down something that’s out of stock. It’s small, but they get orders in all the time, and I find it a lot easier to navigate. I prefer to shop like a ninja — in and out in 15 min or less — and it’s easy to do that here.
In conclusion, this has been my go-​to grocery store for years, and it will continue to be!

This Trader Joes location is kind of a satellite store which does not carry a full selection of item as the larger stores. It’s small and the is very little parking. I think that the TJ executives were so eager to be in this area of Newton that any space no matter the size will do. No matter the size, lack of wine and shelf space the staff in this location make a big difference on the success at this TJ’s. The staff there are friendly and eager to point out the few cool items they have. Since they do not carry some of the items the larger stores have, save yourself some time and call the store to verify they have what you need.

Trader joe’s makes a Thai peanut salad dressing that is absolutely out of this world! I add my own grilled chicken (it also makes a great chicken marinade) to the salad with this dressing – an easy and delicious lunch!
The only problem with this store is that the parking is a bit tough.

I hate to give this location a horrible review BUT due to its location it deserves it. There is absolutely little to no parking and this place is always busy even though Ive visited nights, weekends, mid day, and morning. Overall the staff is nice, the selection gets the job done although it has less than others location but parking is the deal breaker.
During the middle of the workday around 1 o’clock I visited this location, with an man in front of me to park his car he was waiting for a woman to leave thus I went to the left and waited for a woman to leave. Apparently the man (a total stranger) didn’t get the spot to the right of the lot and RACED me for the parking spot. I got the spot, went to get out of my car and this elderly man (in his late 60’s early 70’s) proceeded to call me a whore, three times! It is because of the other shoppers (this older man) that I WILL NEVER visit this location again. My only response was ‘Happy holidays sir, do you kiss your mother with that mouth!‘
I’d rather visit locations in Burlington, Brookline, Framingham and others where I don’t get verbally harassed for a parking spot.

I am a huge fan of Trader Joe’s!
This location does not have wine or beer, which really stinks in my opinion. I just didn’t have the heart to give only 3 stars though!
What I love about Trader Joe’s is that it seems like you can always discover something new and exciting!
I definitely have my favorite things that I always get there– I usually get hummus and pita rounds to snack on. They have decent produce prices, but kind of a small selection. I usually get fresh basil and fresh mozzarella, and then I pick up cheese foccaccini to make tomato mozzarella sandwiched. I also get dog treats there because they have really good prices for Charlie Bears, cookies, and jerkies.
My friend recently told me she had a Trader Joe’s party– everyone brought a Trader Joe’s app and a bottle of wine. How fun! I will definitely try that sometimes, just have to go to the Brookline or Cambridge TJ’s for the vino!

Trader Joe’s is the most amazing place in the world.
Let me get this out of the way first though, who cares that this location doesn’t have liquor? I give zero craps that they don’t sell liquor. There are plenty of other bargain booze spots within walking/​driving distance of this location.
So once we’ve gotten that out of the way. fresh produce and unique pre-​made dinner options? Yes please. What’s that you say? The prices are miles cheaper than Whole Foods and even beat Stop & Shop? Don’t mind if I do.
Honestly, there is zero reason for you to not at least check out Trader Joes. I’ve very rarely purchased something here that I didn’t like. Their pre-​made frozen items are always great (try the crab-​stuffed Flounder) and they always have a revolving variety of foods. I don’t know enough about the «seasons» of different foods so maybe this is why their items constantly change but I could care less about the reasoning because variety is the spice of life son.
I haven’t even mentioned the staff here yet. I’ve yet to meet a grumpy person working at TJs. Either they are really good at hiding their ‘disgruntledness’ (that’s a word, right?) or the store is actually a good place to work. I don’t usually like the smalltalk that exists between myself and a cashier but the people at Trader Joes seem to excel at it. I’m always getting into conversations about what purchases I love and what they think is the best item in the store. I’ve gotten some pretty good dinner recommendations this way.
«Enough with the unbridled optimism already!» I’m sorry, I can’t help it. I love this place but if you’re REALLY searching for a negative, it is almost always crowded in here. It becomes an experiment in patience to navigate your shopping cart around the throngs of Newtonites shopping for fresh food. I had never really thought about ramming a cart full-​speed into another person’s body until I came to Trader Joes on a Sunday afternoon. but don’t let my rage and aggression issues dissuade you from going. You won’t be disappointed.

I like Trader Joes… but not as much this one… why?
Well, the good
All the TJ’s stuff. Fresh meat, great veggies, interesting new foods, etc, etc
The Bad?
This one seems smaller than most, and it doesnt sell wine :(
I have to head to the TJ’s in Cambridge (which is twice the size it seems, and sells wine and beer). Both are about the same distance, but as you can guess, going Watertown to Newton is a lot easier than Watertown to cambridge, traffic wise or Bike wise.
And no, I am not an alcoholic. But wine is good to drink, and good to cook with, and I would MUCh rather drink a bottle of $ 3 TJ wine on a random tuesday night than the $ 50 bottles I have sitting in my wine rack. Does that make me a snob?

Why one star? I love TR’s as a franchise don’t get me wrong. I never mind braving the crowds the hectic parking situation for this place, but to fight your way in only to find they don’t sell beer or wine?! So I guess this one star is really meant to the Massachusetts licensing board. Until you can Unilocal review your government officials ( Unilocal get on this!) this place is on my sh*t list. They should put up a sign in the window. So let me save you some time…
The closest one that sell beer and wine is:
Trader Joee
1317 Beacon Street
Brookline, MA 2 446
Phone Number: 617−278−9997
Trading Hours: 8:00 am — 10:00 pm Alcohol: Beer & Wine Sold M-​Sat 8am-​10pm, Sun 12pm-​10pm
If you wondering what the big deal is they sell Charles Shaw wine at $ 3 bucks a bottle. The Cab, both Pintos, and the Chardonnay, solid wines. They also have a really good larger at $ 5 and change a sixer. Great deal, this is the only thing that makes the trip out to a TJ’s worth it, you can keep the samples.

I love this TJ’s. They always have a different free sample (I’ve tried everything from veggie burgers to mini ice cream cones).
There’s plenty of parking, and I always have a pleasant experience here. Favorites include the TJ’s brand frozen yogurt (it’s fat-​free, and tastes almost EXACTLY like Pinkberry!) and the seaweed snacks.

West Newton TJ’s all the way, baby.
After going to the TJ’s in Boston, A.K.A the basement fallout shelter with the endless line. Then I found out about West Newton from a friend, so we took the drive from Waltham and saw what was up.
Oh sweet, sweet, TJ’s you have an intense selection and great prices here, its heaven. Never did I think living in Watch City would have a perk like this.
Tiny parking lot means you have may to park across the street and run across four lanes of the Pike service road. Its… fun.

This is the closest TJ’s to my place — and I have to say I’m lovin’ it. It’s a smaller store, so you may not be able to find everything you’re looking for (ie: green cleaning soaps/​materials, a wide variety of canned soups, wide variety of produce), but it does have everything I need for my generic weekly stop at the market. When coming down Washington St, you have to really keep your eyes peeled for the plain white building on the right with the typical red lettering (but this is sometimes obstructed by trees… and traffic is always terrible, so drive SLOWLY for once when you’re checking out this location).
*Parking situation can get a bit tricky; entrance after the store on Washington St. If that tiny lot (I mean TINY) is full, head around the back of the store (next Right drive) which leads to a few more spaces.
*Produce: your basics: peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, garlic, onions, oranges, lemons, and bananas.
*There is still a large selection of pre-​made salads, breads, tea, olive oils, snacks/​chocolate, and CHEESE (thank goodness). If I know that I’m going to need a bunch of bizarre spices and ingredients, then I plan on making a run to a larger market… but W.N. TJ’s takes care of the basics.
*No wine or beer :(
*EVERY staff member whom I have met has been exceedingly kind and helpful. You guys rock!!!
*Prices are always decent (great for organic — especially when compared to that OTHER cruchy-​granola market down the way).