13 replies to this topic

[gsupstate]

For all those of you that want an inclusive shopping experience downtown with great prices, healthy food and a hip attitude, give a big   for Trader Joes.  They have received an e-mail from yours truely with the UP website, so the more positive noise we make.....who knows.  It can be our own little micro-activism!     

[Greenville]

Wow!  Wouldn't that be awesome for our city, as well as downtown?  

Edited by Greenville, 24 April 2006 - 09:42 PM.

[jaxpalmer]

whoa! that would really be great!

[DigitalSky]

So now they've got a Cary store and a Greenville store for the Carolinas

[Greenville]

Trader Joe's would do so well in Greenville.  We are one of the top markets for alternative grocers, and Trader Joe's offerings are unique enough that nothing else here is quite like them.  I have  no doubt that people would really get into the experience that Trader Joe's offers, not to mention the healthy food and excellent prices!

[RestedTraveler]

cantnot, on Apr 25 2006, 01:58 AM, said:

So now they've got a Cary store and a Greenville store for the Carolinas

Nothing in Greenville ... yet.  That's the point of this thread.  Our friend gsupstate has contacted them and is asking us to speak up to show our interest for the prospect.

I've not been to a Trader Joe's, but I must say that the concept seems interesting.  They remind me of the grocer version of Mast General.

[PalmettoChick]

Oh, come on.  You guys just want TJ downtown for the Two Buck Chuck.  

Seriously though, Trader Joe's would be an excellent addition to Greenville.. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

[Greenville]

PalmettoChick, on Apr 25 2006, 05:36 PM, said:

Oh, come on.  You guys just want TJ downtown for the Two Buck Chuck.  

Seriously though, Trader Joe's would be an excellent addition to Greenville.. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Ah yes, the Charles Shaw wine.  People actually buy that stuff by the case!

[RestedTraveler]

Greenville, on Apr 25 2006, 10:12 PM, said:

Ah yes, the Charles Shaw wine.  People actually buy that stuff by the case!

*HIC*  

[Fiddlestix]

Look, I don't want to be a wet blanket, but this is a pretty bizarre reaction to the Greenville Journal's "Piggly Wiggly has expressed some interest in a downtown location" comment.

I see that one of the posts above connects Trader Joe's to Cary, NC...but their own web site reveals a geographical footprint that doesn't take their distribution network anywhere close to Greenville.

http://www.traderjoe...tions/index.asp

I don't see Cary listed...not even in the "Coming Soon" blurb they have on the site.

While I agree it would be neat, there are several reality checks I'll toss in:

1) Dreaming real hard about a far-fetched idea doesn't make the Big Bad Piggly go away.  If you want to fantasize about grocery stores, why not at least start from a more realistic foundation...like imagining a cool outcome that originates with the company that has actually expressed an interest in downtown (as opposed to one that got an e-mail today that isn't even in Charlotte or Atlanta)?  

2) Trader Joe's does not provide a full-service option.  You get what they happen to offer -- which just doesn't cut it if you actually live downtown and don't want to drive out to the Pleasantburg Publix.  It's still a specialty store with limited offerings.

3) Is it really easier for so many people here to imagine Trader Joe's being downtown than a Piggly Wiggly spinoff with a cool image and full offerings?  Or, put another way, how can people be so bullheaded about locking in to Piggly Wiggly (which may mean its existing SC franchisee, a new Western Carolinas franchisee, or the parent company -- we don't know) coming to downtown as a big box, using its flagship brand, and plastering its name and logo in the most contemptible fashion AND still be so open-minded to allow themselves to suspend disbelief and think that Trader Joe's will lick their chops over coming to Greenville -- the very same place that they're convinced that Piggly Wiggly investors apparently think will go ga-ga over a tacky pig logo?

I'm not saying Trader Joe's won't ever come here.  I'm not saying hydrogen-power cars aren't going to be humming around downtown either.  I'm just suggesting that there are some intermediate dreams worth imagining and some more likely realities worth facing before that happens.

This thread is like my child at dinnertime.  There's a choice of vegetables to eat and he wants ice cream.  Fine.  He can have the ice cream, but first he needs to have at least one vegetable.  He's talking ice cream.  I'm talking vegetable.  And ice cream ain't gonna happen no matter how much he talks about it...at least not until the vegetable thing happens.  It's not because I don't like ice cream or because I think vegetables taste great.  It's just the way things are, that's all.  (And to further extend this metaphor beyond its elasticity, if you've gotta eat a vegetable, why not at least put some effort into thinking about which ones are easiest to swallow?)

[charlie swords]

I have often said that a downtown Earth Fare would probably do well, especially if they have the large hot bar like the Pelhame Road store.  And with the closing of the Lewis Plaza store there is nolonger one on this side of town.

[gsupstate]

^^ Woah, Thats a pretty long post and reaction just because some people want a Trader Joes to come to Greenville.....talk about reality check!       This has everything to do with Trader Joes and nothing to do with any other company.  I contacted them and let them know there is interest here.  Many have done the same with other national chains not represented here (ie: Cheesecake Factory).  A little activism never hurts.  The day when we can't dream on this forum.....well that would be a sad day.  

[btoy]

I am not so sure myself that the Greenville Journal even said Piggly Wiggly was looking at Downtown.  I think what they implied was that another chain is looking at downtown, don't know who it is but recent news has Piggly Wiggly looking at our market, maybe it is them.  You know, connect the dots and all that jazz.

[Greenville]

Fiddlestix, on Apr 26 2006, 12:41 AM, said:

Look, I don't want to be a wet blanket, but this is a pretty bizarre reaction to the Greenville Journal's "Piggly Wiggly has expressed some interest in a downtown location" comment.

I see that one of the posts above connects Trader Joe's to Cary, NC...but their own web site reveals a geographical footprint that doesn't take their distribution network anywhere close to Greenville.

http://www.traderjoe...tions/index.asp

I don't see Cary listed...not even in the "Coming Soon" blurb they have on the site.

While I agree it would be neat, there are several reality checks I'll toss in:

1) Dreaming real hard about a far-fetched idea doesn't make the Big Bad Piggly go away.  If you want to fantasize about grocery stores, why not at least start from a more realistic foundation...like imagining a cool outcome that originates with the company that has actually expressed an interest in downtown (as opposed to one that got an e-mail today that isn't even in Charlotte or Atlanta)?  

2) Trader Joe's does not provide a full-service option.  You get what they happen to offer -- which just doesn't cut it if you actually live downtown and don't want to drive out to the Pleasantburg Publix.  It's still a specialty store with limited offerings.

3) Is it really easier for so many people here to imagine Trader Joe's being downtown than a Piggly Wiggly spinoff with a cool image and full offerings?  Or, put another way, how can people be so bullheaded about locking in to Piggly Wiggly (which may mean its existing SC franchisee, a new Western Carolinas franchisee, or the parent company -- we don't know) coming to downtown as a big box, using its flagship brand, and plastering its name and logo in the most contemptible fashion AND still be so open-minded to allow themselves to suspend disbelief and think that Trader Joe's will lick their chops over coming to Greenville -- the very same place that they're convinced that Piggly Wiggly investors apparently think will go ga-ga over a tacky pig logo?

I'm not saying Trader Joe's won't ever come here.  I'm not saying hydrogen-power cars aren't going to be humming around downtown either.  I'm just suggesting that there are some intermediate dreams worth imagining and some more likely realities worth facing before that happens.

This thread is like my child at dinnertime.  There's a choice of vegetables to eat and he wants ice cream.  Fine.  He can have the ice cream, but first he needs to have at least one vegetable.  He's talking ice cream.  I'm talking vegetable.  And ice cream ain't gonna happen no matter how much he talks about it...at least not until the vegetable thing happens.  It's not because I don't like ice cream or because I think vegetables taste great.  It's just the way things are, that's all.  (And to further extend this metaphor beyond its elasticity, if you've gotta eat a vegetable, why not at least put some effort into thinking about which ones are easiest to swallow?)

Trader Joe's has 95% of what people want.  They might not have what you consider to be important items or services, but numerous people do all of their grocery shopping there (I did so when I lived in DC).  In fact, I drove 15 minutes out of the way to do so, despite a Safeway being only a few minutes away.  Guess what?  Trader Joe's was cheaper and healthier, and I actually enjoyed shopping there!  How does that fail to meet the needs of most people?  We give lip service to having a store that isn't priced out of most people's means, yet the talk of a grocer that has prices comparable to (and at times, cheaper than) other grocers in the area, and just happens to be unique and original, gets dismissed as inappropriate.  That screams of double standard.

But according to you, we aren't supposed to go after Trader Joe's because you haven't deemed that "realistic."  I am guessing that you were not involved in many of the "unrealistic" things Greenville has accomplished in the recent past, were you?