Trader Joe's

Last night I went to Trader Joe's for my weekly grocery shopping. Trader Joe's is usually a challenge to get into. That's why I typically go after 7:00pm. It's easier to get into the parking lot. If you go in the afternoon on a Saturday or a Sunday, the parking lot has a line waiting to get in. The parking on the streets around it tend to be occupied too.

Yesterday, a Sunday, I drive by around 5:30 and it was insane to say the least. Cars waiting to turn in from all streets. Side streets completely full. Cars trying to maneuver their way out of the lot. So I went back about a half hour later. Same as before, except this time I managed to find a spot on the side street behind the store.

Every time I park on that side street I think of the hoe owners on that block and how frustrated they must get with the traffic coming through on their short block and the cars using their driveway to turn their cars around.

I'm used to this. It seems to be true of all Trader Joe's, and it got me to thinking. Why don't hey build bigger parking lots for their stores? Well, because the stores are smaller dummy! Yes, but couldn't they build bigger stores I ask myself. Sure. But it seems to me that the concept of the store is that of a small neighborhood store, right? Right.  But man oh man! They are so crowded inside too!

Its not just my neighborhood store. Its ll the stores that I have been in here in the Los Angeles area. I get it. I do. Because they're a great store with a brilliant concept and reasonable prices. Even back in my hometown of Albany, NY they opened a store about two three years ago in The Town of Colonie. Even there they get crowds. I saw a picture online last week of people dodging traffic on busy Wolf Road to get there because they had to park across the street in another lot to go and shop there. Dodging traffic? Really? Is it worth THAT?

But yesterday...yesterday was the ever loving lulu of crowded Trader Joes. I usually detest the way the people just drive their carts all higgledy piggledy all over the store. Going every which way in the aisles, standing in the aisles, blocking the aisles. Not like in other stores where the aisles are in straight parallel rows as opposed to Trader Joe's which has aisles on an angle running diagonally across the store. Chaos. Always.

And yesterday. It was so crowded that not only was there a line at every single register. But every single line when through past the main front aisle and people were lined up in the sales aisles. No one could get through the front of the store. If you wanted to go in one of the wine aisles, godlike to you because those aisles were full of us standing in line to pay.

It. Was. The. Worst. I've. Ever. Seen. It. Bar None!

Insane. SO the whole time I was in line I thought about it. Why don't they have larger stores? Oh right, kind of goes against their store concept doesn't it? Loses the homey neighborhood market feel.

So c'mon Trader Joes'. Open more stores! Please. Now. Put us out of our misery. Wait! It just occurred to me. Its intentional. Its like a drug. They've got us hooked. Now we can't get enough.
More! More! Now! Feed me Seymour!