Trader Joe’s

It’s rarely so crowded that the lines are long, which is a huge plus. Usually, I’m in and out within less than 20 minutes, like tonight. Cashiers and staff are always friendly.
The store is usually fully stocked when I visit, but SOMETIMES they are out of things I specifically come to TJs for — arugula, the small thing of organic half and half, grated parm cheese and/​or frozen palak paneer — like it was some cruel joke or something, but I’m not mad…
Glad it’s in the area! I like the one on Diversey better, but I can’t walk there, so this place wins.

Firs time shopping at Trader Joe’s and I cannot wait to return. This location however is always packed. I had much difficulty navigating my way in and around the sea of folks who seemingly were just as in awe of the prices as I was. In comparison to the other grocery stores in chicago, I absolutely love the price point. Coming from the South, I was simply unprepared to the prices I discovered at the other stores but this was a refreshing change. I cannot wait to return.
The staff here were also very accommodating and very bubbly! I enjoyed the samples they were giving out too. Its just the basic family grocery store. Very excited to return, indeed.

I wanted to leave this excellent review to counter-​balance the reviewer that left a bad review for Trader Joes over the busy parking lot. Ummm… seriously? They are busy because they they are a uniquely different store with brands you will not find anywhere else. Not a reason to give a terrible review.

Love this place. It doesn’t matter what TJ you go to you get the same excellent service from the staff. Always friendly and ready to help out with anything. Of course they also sell all the great foods that you would expect. The one in Chicago was no exception. And I was able to buy all the staple foods I normally buy.

I’ve been to better Trader Joe’s in other cities but I get why this store is smaller than say out west and it’s because this one is right in the city and space is more of a premium here.
TJ’s is much more economical than the new Whole Foods near Grand and Columbus but the new WF by is much larger and has much more selection in food.
I was disappointed to see that TJ’s didn’t even have refrigerated water and other cold drinks. That is something you can get pretty much anywhere except this TJ’s.

Shopping at the River North Trader Joe’s often makes me forget that I’m in downtown Chicago. Step through the door and it often brings back memories of going grocery shopping with my mother as a little girl in our small town grocery store. Like my hometown grocery store of the early 80’s, at Trader Joe’s customer service is king and your cashier greets you with a smile and small talk as he or she rings you up.
Though a chain grocery store and located in the middle of the city it somehow manages to deliver small town hospitality– impressive. It couples small town style customer service with a sophisticated urban selection of fabulous and unique food items that can’t be beat. I was going to list off some of my favorites but then realized that list would include EVERYTHING. Trader Joe’s is not your place to run through your entire grocery list because it certainly doesn’t carry a wide enough selection to fulfill all of your grocery needs. However, this is your place for picking up all of your special favorites.

Sadly, living in Canada we don’t have access to Trader Joe’s and at least for my household, that’s quite unfortunate. My wife is a big Whole Foods devotee and does the bulk of our grocery shopping there every week. I like it just fine and would probably be largely indifferent were it not for the fact that I’m the one footing the bill for these super expensive Whole Foods excursions. If only there existed a place that had the same basic stuff as WF but without the exorbitant prices. Wait, there is such a place but it’s only south of the border? Major bummer (says my wallet).
So they have a good selection of organic stuff, neat private label items, fresh foods and a whole bunch of other stuff that the vegetarian /​gluten and dairy intolerant /​food snobs in my family enjoy. Like I said, prices are markedly better than that other place that I keep mentioning AND they have a pretty impressive selection of good and reasonably priced wines. Me likey.
I haven’t had the most interaction with Trader Joe’s locations but this one was clean and well stocked, the staff was friendly and I was pretty impressed with the selection despite the fact that it appeared to be a smallish downtown location. Other than the all the food we bought at restaurants (which was a lot), we made sure to stock up on various essentials here for our time in Chicago and for the drive home. Definitely enjoyed it and can’t wait to have them expand into Canada, even if our antiquated liquor laws mean that the «Two Buck Chuck» wines won’t happen north of the border. Guess I can’t have it all!

This was my first Trader Joe’s experience, though I live in area fairly close to one. I never expected this first trip would be on vacation.
I stopped in because this hungry pregnant lady needed snacks and I knew they’d have healthy options. What I love about Trader Joe’s is that they have food of their own brand you cannot get at other big chains. I guess that’s why it’s so cheap? You must try the coffee concentrate and the PBJ Greek yogurt… yum! For being small, the produce section had a wide variety and the alcohol on the other side of the mart was pretty expansive.
If you’re looking for a large meat, seafood, deli, or bakery departments, this isn’t for you. After shopping here, though, I could definitely see myself doing without those.

Trader Joe’s was across the street from The James Hotel which my friends and I were staying during our vacation to Chicago. We stopped in here many times throughout our trip for quick snacks for our touristy days ahead. In my hometown, there are not many Trader Joe’s within a short distance of my house so I’ve actually been to this location more times than the one in South Jersey. They have a huge selection of items for when we were on the go.
We stopped in right before our flight home and I was able to score an awesome eco-​friendly bag with the Chicago skyline printed on it for only $ 2. I used it to carry my souvenirs and extra goodies that I wanted to bring home on my flight. Two years later, I still love using this same bag when I’m traveling out of town or need to carry extra items. I actually haven’t been to a Trader Joe’s since (again because of it’s location to my home), but I wonder if they have these same bags in each store because I’d love to have a Philly one.

I don’t get the obsession with Trader Joe’s. I went in and it was pretty small. I didn’t see anything special and just seemed like a smaller version of Whole Foods.

A Trader Joe’s is a Trader Joe’s to me but the people who recommend or talk about TJ’s talk so highly of it.
You probably don’t need to read my review to understand what this experience will entail. Come here to get all the obscure food items that you can’t get at your regular grocer. Others will give you a more glorified version of what shopping here may be like.

This my local TJs and it’s pretty busy. Ppl can be a bit mean and don’t be surprised if someone rams you with a shopping cart. It’s small but has the basic stuff I need and a pretty decent wine selection.
Just stay way from a cashier named Katie (the one with the nose ring). She tried to charge me 50 something bucks for 20 something worth of groceries. When asked what’s going on she mumbled something about having the wrong amount when she tries to scan organic apples. Hu… h. So apples show up as 10 bucks or are you just trying to pocket some change thinking we won’t notice?!
Anyway, she corrected it but when I got home noticed that she still ended up charging me for 6 apples when I bought 4. SMH. They need to just hire cashiers who can count. I’ve had no issues with other employees there.