When a new Trader Joe’s opened on Gunbarrel Road on Aug. 25, over 200 people arrived to stand in line for a chance to enter the store.
“From Wednesday to Sunday, you couldn’t see the floor,” Chris, a recently hired cashier said.
It was chaos. Even a week later, the store was still overflowing with customers. This may seem like a surprisingly enthusiastic welcome for the opening of a grocery store, but Trader Joe’s has a reputation that precedes it.
Since it was founded in 1967 by Joe Coulombe (the original Trader Joe), branding has always been an essential part of making the chain unique. Inspired by time in the Caribbean, Coulombe filled his stores with a South Seas theme. The employees wear Hawaiian shirts and offer friendly smiles to their customers. When they need to summon a coworker, they use a system involving ringing a ship’s bell beside the register.
In 1979 the growing franchise was sold to Theo Albrecht, one of the “Aldi Brothers,” though the Aldi Grocery stores and the Trader Joe’s are operated independently of one another. Originating in California, the grocery store has been spreading across the United States with increasing rapidness in the last 28 years, and has finally opened its doors in Chattanooga.
For students unfamiliar with the brand, walking into Trader Joe’s for the first time, particularly after all the excitement it’s generated, may come as a letdown. The store is small, and most of the basic food products like produce and milk are pricey when compared to Walmart. However, it’s not the bargains that bring people back to the store.
From the beginning, Trader Joes has specialized in interesting foods - often from around the world - that are high quality and often sold for comparatively good prices. For students looking for a treat, Trader Joe’s is a fun choice. Dried mandarin oranges, dark chocolate peanut butter cups, frozen microwavable meals inspired by Indian cuisine, peppermint tea, blueberry goat cheese, chocolate bars, and high-quality coffee are only a few among the array of products that bring customers back again and again. The excellence of the customer service is another big draw, as well as the wide selection of California wines.
Like its sister stores, Trader Joe's Chattanooga is decorated with bright artsy signs advertising the various products for sale, and nautical trimmings, as well as details that lean towards the more immediate locale; murals on the upper walls celebrate the city’s history and culture. One depicts the downtown Chattanooga skyline, while in the foreground a box of “Trader O’s” cereal is poured into the Tennessee River by an enormous hand. The uniforms of local sports teams are framed and displayed on the walls, including a Lookout Mountain baseball jersey.
For fans of the store, its arrival in Chattanooga is a big deal, as evidenced by the opening day lines. For Chaplin Lowe, who has been a Trader Joe’s fan for many years, the importance of the new addition to Gunbarrel Road is immense. “This —” he said, looking around the freshly minted store, “—is proof that God loves us. This is the happy place.” For students looking for some tasty new treats and a welcoming atmosphere, Trader Joe’s may become a happy place indeed.