Trader Joe's

[jstanthrnme]

http://www.okctalk.com/content.php?r...ng-to-OKC/edit

After much speculation, OKCTalk has learned that Trader Joe's has signed a letter of intent to lease the old Crescent Market space at Nichols Hills Plaza.

Also, we've learned Recreational Equipment Inc., commonly known as REI, will open a store in a new development to the immediate south.

Both properties are owned by Glimcher, a national retail developer which bought the properties outlined in red below from Chesapeake Energy in 2013. See our previous story on the company and what they've done in other markets here: Glimcher.

Since the acquisition, Glimcher has been filling up Classen Curve, signing leases with West Elm, Zoe's Kitchen, Kendra Scott and several others. The center is now very near full occupancy.

Although exact plans have yet to be revealed, the company is now turning it's sights to filling the largely vacant Nichols Hills Plaza South and developing several large empty lots. REI will likely be part of a much larger lifestyle center on the south side of NW 63rd and west of Western. We have learned Glimcher is in deep negotiations with several other new-to-market retailers.

Trader Joe's is an American privately held chain of specialty grocery stores headquartered in Southern California. Although half of its 400+ stores are located in California, the company has been in rapid expansion nationwide and now has locations in 38 states.

While a typical grocery store may carry 50,000 items, Trader Joe's stocks about 4,000 items, 80% of which bear one of its own brand names. Trader Joe's describes itself as "your neighborhood grocery store" or "your unique grocery store". Products include gourmet foods, organic foods, vegetarian foods, unusual frozen foods, imported foods, "alternative" food items and staples like bread, cereal, eggs, dairy, coffee and produce. Non-food items include personal hygiene products, household cleaners, vitamins, pet food, plants and flowers.

Many of the company's products are environmentally friendly.

[fuzzytoad]

Whole Foods has gotten a lot of attention on this board, and this has been mentioned in that thread, but I personaly prefer Trader Joe's to WF.

If you are a facebook user, please follow this link to their new page (they have under 300 fans). Perhaps by flooding the page with comments from people from Oklahoma City, they will take notice of the demand for an upscale, unique grocery store here.


Trader Joe's | Facebook

I was going to write up my feelings about Trader Joe's and why I think WF or even WMNM would be a better choice but I found this online. It sums up what I would have said way better than I could have: Cart Snob

[huskysooner]

I was going to write up my feelings about Trader Joe's and why I think WF or even WMNM would be a better choice but I found this online. It sums up what I would have said way better than I could have: Cart Snob

I hope by WMNM you don't mean Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market? They are all over the metro area. And even if they weren't....you can not even make a comparison between WF and a neighborhood market.

[fuzzytoad]

I hope by WMNM you don't mean Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market? They are all over the metro area. And even if they weren't....you can not even make a comparison between WF and a neighborhood market.

no you can't, but a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market located Downtown would certainly be better than what we have now, which is nothing.

--edit--

Oh, Sorry, I see what you mean, I haven't been keeping up with the WF thread and was under the assumption that we were all still talking about a downtown grocery solution.

[betts]

I don't know. I'm a Walmart boycotter, so it would be reaaaaallly hard for me to shop at a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market, even if it was the only supermarket downtown. I do not expect a downtown Whole Foods anytime soon, however. I'd be satisfied with a real neighborhood market.

[fuzzytoad]

I don't know. I'm a Walmart boycotter, so it would be reaaaaallly hard for me to shop at a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market, even if it was the only supermarket downtown. I do not expect a downtown Whole Foods anytime soon, however. I'd be satisfied with a real neighborhood market.

Why are you a Walmart boycotter?

[betts]

I hate their buildings. They abandon them after a fairly short time and move to another site. They have huge ugly parking lots in front of them. They lower their prices to drive local retailers out of business. They never have enough employees to help shoppers or to check them out. They don't give very good benefits to their employees. There are a surprising number of people who boycott Walmart. Now, I realize there are probably other businesses I should be boycotting for the same reason, but it's easy to focus on one.

[okcpulse]

I like to call them Joke-Mart.

[soonerguru]

I hate their buildings. They abandon them after a fairly short time and move to another site. They have huge ugly parking lots in front of them. They lower their prices to drive local retailers out of business. They never have enough employees to help shoppers or to check them out. They don't give very good benefits to their employees. There are a surprising number of people who boycott Walmart. Now, I realize there are probably other businesses I should be boycotting for the same reason, but it's easy to focus on one.

I'm a Wal-Mart boycotter as well. Another good reason you didn't mention, betts: I do not want to be a part of their dominance and exclusivity in this market. There are already something like 21 Supercenters in the OKC Metro right now. It's ridiculous and it's why we don't have any competing national grocery stores right now.

[JerzeeGrlinOKC]

I'm a Wal-Mart boycotter as well. Another good reason you didn't mention, betts: I do not want to be a part of their dominance and exclusivity in this market. There are already something like 21 Supercenters in the OKC Metro right now. It's ridiculous and it's why we don't have any competing national grocery stores right now.

Amen to that, I am in complete agreement, and everything mentioned here are the reasons I also boycott Wal-mart. Except for maybe the employee treatment thing, because actually, I think they are pretty decent compared to other discount big-box markets for similar types of jobs, and its so easy to get a job there. And they murder local business in small towns. And their produce and meat generally are of sub-par quality and pricey given the product. I hate Wal-fart and will not go there unless I'm truly, truly desperate.

I agree, the key to us getting/keeping national upscale chains, and even keeping the local grocery chains we already have, is for us to prove that Wal-mart will not be a competitor the way they are now, and I'm committed to contributing to that in any way possible.

Anyway, to contribute to this thread, there is no way we are going to get a Trader Joe's in this century. They steer clear of the center-bar of the country. Texas doesn't even have one. You can check out the spatial pattern in their locations below:

Welcome to Trader Joe's - Your Neighborhood Grocery Store - Locations

At least with the WF discussions, we are in the running to get one. I'll hang on to that one.

But I admit, I love TJ, they are amazing, and would probably go there more often than a WF if I had the choice.

[krisb]

They steer clear of the center-bar of the country. Texas doesn't even have one.

I love Trade Joe's myself, but I can't take the arrogance of a store who completely ignores the middle of the country. That really irks me. I'm glad there are few elitists in OKC.

[stlokc]

That's a silly argument, no offense. They are in St. Louis and New Mexico already, and are rumored to be coming to Kansas City. Are you saying that because they are not already in Texas, that means they are actively boycotting the plains states? I see no justification for that argument. In my opinion, Trader Joes would be a good fit for OKC, their prices and goods are a happy medium between Homeland and Whole Foods.

[gen70]

I guess maybe I should start a Wal-Mart thread. (Can't stand the place)

[JerzeeGrlinOKC]

That's a silly argument, no offense. They are in St. Louis and New Mexico already, and are rumored to be coming to Kansas City. Are you saying that because they are not already in Texas, that means they are actively boycotting the plains states? I see no justification for that argument. In my opinion, Trader Joes would be a good fit for OKC, their prices and goods are a happy medium between Homeland and Whole Foods.

I sure hope you're right stlokc, and you're right, it is a lousy reason on its own, but I just have a feeling its another tick against us. I've become discouraged in general. When we can't even keep Albertson's here and have to beg borrow cheat and steal to get a WF to even consider opening one store, when their headquarters are 6 hours down the road and it seems every other city has one; when I see a map like that, I honestly just say "forget it". I am surprised about Texas though to be honest, since the big cities have such a healthy-support for the upscale or trendy grocery concept. Plus I'm sure our liquor laws don't help (but are NOT the only reason). I don't know much about it, but sometimes I think the grocery distribution lobby in OK also has something to do with this issue, too.

Overall: everyone on this board has speculated for the reasons why we can't attract national upscale grocery chains, but nobody can agree with certainty on the overall cause. I'll air on the side of pessimism and say I just doubt we'll get a TJ any time soon.

[soonerguru]

I don't know much about it, but sometimes I think the grocery distribution lobby in OK also has something to do with this issue, too.

Bingo.

[bluedogok]

I sure hope you're right stlokc, and you're right, it is a lousy reason on its own, but I just have a feeling its another tick against us. I've become discouraged in general. When we can't even keep Albertson's here and have to beg borrow cheat and steal to get a WF to even consider opening one store, when their headquarters are 6 hours down the road and it seems every other city has one; when I see a map like that, I honestly just say "forget it". I am surprised about Texas though to be honest, since the big cities have such a healthy-support for the upscale or trendy grocery concept. Plus I'm sure our liquor laws don't help (but are NOT the only reason). I don't know much about it, but sometimes I think the grocery distribution lobby in OK also has something to do with this issue, too.

Overall: everyone on this board has speculated for the reasons why we can't attract national upscale grocery chains, but nobody can agree with certainty on the overall cause. I'll air on the side of pessimism and say I just doubt we'll get a TJ any time soon.

Albertson's closed all over the country and pretty much have only stayed open in a few select markets like Dallas, their closing had more to do with their company being leveraged to the hilt and competition than it had to do with markets. HEB down here pretty much drove them out of Central and South Texas, they couldn't come close to competing and all of them closed in the Austin area. I know my dad wishes HEB would open up there after going to the stores down here.

I've always wondered why Safeway hasn't come back into the state or Kroger's hasn't moved in. My sister went to Kroger most of the time when she lived in Little Rock, we have Safeway down here under the Randall's name, in DFW they operate under the Tom Thumb name.

[CCOKC]

In Boise ID the Kroger's brand is called Fred Meyer. It is kind of like a Wal-Mart supercenter in that is had furniture and bedding, jewelry and such. It had a larger selections of bulk items and the stores were definitely nicer than anything we have here. It just didn't have certain items that I was used to here e.g. pecans (have you ever tried to cook Christmas dinner without pecans?) peter pan peanut butter, Sister Shubert's rolls (yum) and Luzianne tea. All of us southerners would have large suitcases full of staples when we came back and would share with all the others who were missing our staples.

[flintysooner]

Trader Joes is owned by one of the Albrecht brothers (trust actually) who own Aldi's (Albrecht Discount). Rather wealthy owner as in Theo, who owns Trader Joe's, is ranked at number 9 in the world.

The founder of Trader Joe's, Joe Coulombe, is quoted as saying he built the chain on wine first. They have an exclusive wine of some notoriety and are known for a large selection of California wines at least in the California stores.

[bluedogok]

Yeah, Kroger and Safeway operates stores under many different names, Kroger in Denver is under the King Soopers name.

[jstanthrnme]

Trader Joes is owned by one of the Albrecht brothers (trust actually) who own Aldi's (Albrecht Discount). Rather wealthy owner as in Theo, who owns Trader Joe's, is ranked at number 9 in the world.

The founder of Trader Joe's, Joe Coulombe, is quoted as saying he built the chain on wine first. They have an exclusive wine of some notoriety and are known for a large selection of California wines at least in the California stores.

I didn't know this, but it doesn't suprise me from the stores I've been in.

A wine that they are known for is Charles Shaw, or "Two Buck Chuck" that runs $2.50-$2.99 a bottle.

[soonerguru]

I've heard that about the wine in TJ's as well, one more knock against them coming to OKC.

[krisb]

That's a silly argument, no offense. They are in St. Louis and New Mexico already, and are rumored to be coming to Kansas City. Are you saying that because they are not already in Texas, that means they are actively boycotting the plains states? I see no justification for that argument. In my opinion, Trader Joes would be a good fit for OKC, their prices and goods are a happy medium between Homeland and Whole Foods.

Look at their distribution of stores. There is obviously a trend towards staying away from this part of the country. That may change in the future, but for now I think it's safe to say that Trader Joe's does not see this part of the country as profitable to them.

[stlokc]

KrisB-Well, there's no way of knowing who is right. If you are right, then just keep in mind that things change. I am reminded of a family acquaintance who, at one point, tried to buy the franchise rights to Sonic Drive-Ins in one of the upper Midwest states, only to be told that the chain would never go north of Missouri "due to the weather." Well, today there are Sonics in New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, etc.
I have to assume that if Trader Joe's is interested in continuing to grow their business, they will eventually look at unserved markets. But the more salient point is the liquor question. We have to get those laws liberalized.

[Pete]

LOVE Trader Joe's -- way more than Whole Foods.

Both have their places, as WF is much more expensive with more extensive deli and meat departments.

But TJ's has fantastic prices on lots of very unique and interesting things.

I shop at Trader Joe's every couple of weeks while I only go to WF about once or twice a year.

[Celebrator]

I too love TJ's and WF, but we just moved here and are VERY pleased and PROUD to support the Oklahoma Food Cooperative. Check it out Oklahoma Food Cooperative - Local Food, Local Farmers - Farmer's Market, Natural, organic, health, sustainable, locally grown, meat, vegetables, nuts, produce, bread and spread the word! A little bit more expensive, but you are supporting the state's local producers and therefore our collective economy.