Trader Joe’s

I will start by saying I love Trader Joe’s and would feel cheated if they were to disappear. My only criticism, and it probably applies to all the locations, is that they do not check the fruit they put up for sale; most of which comes from Mexico. This especially applies to melons which are often tasteless even after letting them ripen for a few days. It’s difficult and inconvenient to return melons after they have been cut up. I also found that grapes are hit or miss depending on the lot they receive. My guess is that nobody bothers to taste the fruit when it arrives or even if they do it probably makes no difference; quality control seems non-​existent.

It’s like home. I love seeing the same people who work there. Apparently TJ treats people well so their retention is good. Not like Ralphs, where I talk to a guy who says «yeah, I dunno, I work mornings here, then another place».
Good prices, small but nice selection. In and out — done! Much better than walking among aisles and aisles of crap.
Parking… yeah, can be hard sometimes but it’s not that terrible. On entering from Sepulveda, take a left before CVS and you’re good. Otherwise if you go straight you’re stuck behind one of The People Who Wait (urgh!) and it may be a while.
Love the whiskey/​bourbon selection too! Always good stuff, decent prices. Well, there are exceptions sometimes, but if you pay $ 15 for a bottle of Scotch you know something’s not going to be that tasty. Scotches with their brand are fairly decent, especially if you’re not going to enjoy it properly but more of a party/​band practice type of situation.

Closest TJ to my new apartment. Huuuge parking lot and friendly people al aye r day to help:)

Trader Joe’s is a real Super-​market– The kind with a cape that always saves your ass from eating crap. :) I love Trader Joe’s– The food tastes so much better when it’s non-​gmo, organic, priced low and sold to you with above average service and care.

Love TJs. What more to say. This is a medium sized store so can be overwhelmingly busy and it has one of the worst parking lots! Trader Joes are known for shitty and downright dangerous parking lots. That’s why I love the Culver City TJs.

Adding to my enormous amount of my monthly food budget, is hence Trader Joes, where I can spend $ 50 on amazing frozen indian food and Jo Jo ice cream.
Parking: HA. Seriously, I feel like I need to take a Xanax before I come to this place, b/​c the parking is INSANE and hard to find. All I’m going to say is Godspeed.
Ambience: your typical trader joes, fun paintings, clean, lots of available carts to choose from. The people here are meh, everyone is always in a rush, will shove you to get out of the way so they can grab their organic bananas, but whatevs. Like I said, just zen yourself out, and enjoy the plethora of amazing food.
Food selection: this place kills it. Affordable, organic, healthy options that won’t break the bank? I love the reduced guilt mac n cheese, chicken tikka masala, green juice, dark chocolate covered peanut butter cups (can you tell I eat really healthy??), sparkling water, and their pre-​made salads, frozen wonton soup, and chicken pollo asada pizza, just to name a few. They also have Mochi, and a great ice cream selection which I love.
Pro Tip: At trader joes you can actually buy beer by «the bottle!». Not sure if you want a whole 6 pack of beer? Grab one and you can buy it by itself to see if you like it! Also, cheapest eggs in town. Also, grab yourself a free coffee sample while you peruse through the yoga moms.
Staff: Amazing! I’ve only had one encounter that wasn’t pleasant out of the hundreds of times I have been here. I’m vertically challenged and I’m always asking for people to help me grab stuff, and everyone for the most part is great.
I love this place, and will miss it seeing as I’m moving to the other side of town :(

I’m lucky in that there are four TJs quite close to where I live, but this one is the best of the lot. They’re pretty quick with restocking here and the size of the store is just right; not too big to get lost in it and not too small for the variety to suffer. Most of the staff is friendly an helpful. They also have a few of those small, two-​tiered carts that I love, because I rarely need an SUV size cart for my shopping. The only real drag is that the parking can be a bit of an ordeal during the busiest time. It would also be great to have more of those small carts, as they are often all taken. Other than that, this is my favorite TJs anywhere.

This Trader Joe’s is fine– I come on a weekly basis and have no issues finding everything I need. I try to avoid the crowds and come between Tues-​Thurs.
Similar to some of the other reviewers, what I HATE about this location in particular is that my car remote does not work every single time I park in front of or closer to the CVS. The key fob jams and will not lock nor unlock my car… and I know this is not an issue re: the battery in the remote as I’ve replaced it and tried parking there again. There are times where I’m locked out of my car for 10+minutes trying to get back in while cars keep circling around the parking lot thinking that I’m just some crazy lady that won’t get in and give up the parking spot.
My husband runs into the same exact issue with his car as well. Not sure what exactly could be done but according to some google searches it appears that there must be some radio frequency in that parking lot that is messing with the car remotes. I’d rather spend the extra 5 minutes to go to the Trader Joe’s location on National to avoid this hassle altogether.

The greatest Trader Joes ever. And if you don’t think so you can take your cheap haircut and cashew milk latte back to the fucking valley.
P. S. Ask about the special menu

Came in a couple days ago after a long day of training and met 3 of the nicest people I’ve ever met. Prior to that I had very little experience with Trader Joes. Lots of ideas in my head about what the store was about. I watched a female cashier take a person’s EBT without trying to humiliate them (which seems to be a bit uncommon in this area). I also received many compliments from employees, not only about the cuteness of my dog, but also how well behaved she is. There is no higher compliment for a dog owner/​trainer. I’ve found my new grocery store!
Thank you.

This is not only the dirtiest Trader Joe’s I ever been to, but it’s the dirtiest grocery store of any kind I’ve been to. The managers should be embarrassed and ashamed of the way this store looks. It’s not just the random trash that was all over the floor, but the grime that permeated every inch of the store. From the dirty rings on the shelves where cans use to be, to the dirt peaking out from every crevice, to the stains all over the floor. This has really lowered my my opinion of Trader Joe’s and I’m not sure I’ll be coming back.

La majorité des produits Trade Joe’s sont mangeables. À mon avis, dans la catégorie supermarchés c’est la meilleure chaîné à Los Angeles car les produits sont dignes de confiance: pas d’hormones ajoutées, pas d’antibiotiques, pas de substances chimiques ou pesticides. Le personnel est sympa et accueillant au Trader Joe’s Sepulveda.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE THE STAFF HERE! Especially Chris Seaman! I make every effort to hug him every time! the good to continue after «the bad»…
THE BAD:
ELDERLY VULTURES CIRCLING SLOWLY. They are responsible for a large part of all frustration here. They have a pattern: Get a sample — get coffee — get another sample — circle the floor ask for sample from shelf — put one thing in cart — shuffle back to sample station, sometimes adding a «disguise» like a scarf or hat — …and start the whole process over. They will do this over the course of 2 – 3 hours until they are stuffed or their babysitter /​the Reaper comes and gets them. I love the elderly everywhere else on Earth other than in Trader Joe’s. …YES, when they ram your ankles with their cart, it’s ON PURPOSE. I have heard them cackling. «Old age and treachery will always undo youth and enthusiasm.»
VACANT SOULLESS WEST SIDE PARENTS: Yes, I know you have a huge vacuum where there used to be substance in your life. That’s your own damn fault, and no matter how long you ponder your product choices at TJ’s, annoy their staff with banal questions related to the latest trend, or find new allergies to pretend you have, YOUR LIFE WILL STILL FEEL EMPTY. Your solution isn’t buying things. Get what you need for sustenance, or at least to drink away your cares, and GTFO of everyone’s way.
PARKING NEEDS SOME RULES: No, you aren’t «better» because you have a hybrid, you’re still an a-​hole. If you cared, you’d be in a well maintained late 90’s Fiesta getting 45MPG without toxic waste batteries. MINI VANS should only be allowed between the hours of 8a and 11a. Waiting for a space by the door for 10 minutes rather than taking one in the next aisle tempts people to slash your tires. DON’T SPEED– you aren’t any more important than the people you’re about to run over.
WHOEVER INVENTED THE «CHIP» IN THE CREDIT CARD NEEDS TO BE KICKED IN THE JUNK. A LOT. This damn thing is the reason the lines are moving so slow. Time it.
THE GOOD:
ALWAYS something great at the sample station, and… if you don’t treat them like morons, they’re usually pretty cool when you say, «I really like this, can I have another?» — no one believes it’s for your child or partner in the car or anyone else. Honesty and niceness are rewarded.
The store, while hectic is always clean… except the bathrooms, which I know they try to keep up with, but there’s a deluge of poopers trying to make space for more free samples. If you’re waiting longer than 2 minutes for any restroom, you probably don’t want to be the next person in there.
The flowers are always well groomed and plentiful. Cheeses are delightful. returns are hassle free. The boxed wine is delightful: put it in a decanter at parties, and people will always compliment it. The Kentucky Bourbon is a game changer, it’s better than Maker’s. $ 2 Chuck is here… it’s great for helping you know who you don’t want to hang out with.

Ok, I like this store and I really like the employees, so I can’t let my 2 star review be my most public opinion.
I love that I am not overwhelmed by too man choices here.
I love that the ratio of real food to frankenfood is so high.
I would love the choice of pastured organic eggs, grass-​fed and –finished beef, and organic air-​chilled free range chicken.
The employees are excellent. Very friendly, smart and helpful.
A nice man walked me to my car with a huge umbrella in the pouring rain today.

Parking is terrible!!! Circling around for 15 minutes average until you get lucky. Security guard of trader joes is allowing people to park in disability parking without a disability sign. As much as parking is a B*, that’s illegal. He’s not doing anyone a favor if someone who is disabled can’t park in there reserved parking.

This TJ’s is a hit or miss.
Hit:
— You can find gems in their beer selection. I will spare the details, but I found some great stuff here for cheap.
— Nice staff. Their beer guy is really kind and gives nice recommendations. I lost my ID/​credit card on my way to TJ’s and thought I lost it here; the staff were super helpful in trying to find them for me. I appreciated that.
Miss:
— Avoid on weekends as lots of people and zero parking (throw in Monday evenings too, just so many goddamn people… I don’t understand why).
— Low stock frequently with everybody fighting over products.
–Poor staffers sometimes can’t keep up with restocking and check-​out with the hoards of customers.

This parking lot is almost always CRAY! Especially after work and on the weekends. Regardless it’s my home TJ and I find it to always be well stocked with what I need. Plus the employees are always super nice and helpful even during those crazy hours which is really all I can ask of a supermarket.

Pretty good!
Cheap, fresh groceries. Decent selection of flowers. Lovely liqueur/​craft beer selection (for the price). Just don’t try to park there, the lot is always a zoo. The check out line takes forever, plan to wait 10 – 15 minutes. But very nice, friendly people!

This is my favorite Trader Joe’s in LA. I haven’t been to all, but I have been to many of them, and this one still has a place in my heart.
The set-​up for the store is not too crowded. It has wide aisles that allow for good flow. I rarely have to negotiate a right-​away with someone.
They almost always have what I want in stock. The one exception was a Sunday night, but they were still not as empty as other Trader Joe’s.
They seem to offer the best sample and staff seem really happy. One time my son had an accident because he couldn’t get to the bathroom in time, and the employees were super cool about it.
Parking is even ok here. I rarely have trouble finding a spot. The one issue is getting in and out of the parking lo, but that is also endemic to LA drivers (don’t get me started).
Drive a little extra to come here!

Love shopping here at Trader Joe’s! It’s a place where I know I can find healthy and organic produce and items at an affordable price.
I love that each section of the store has an expert that is knowledgeable about the items they sell. I always look forward to learning something new about wines, beer, cheeses, along with produce and shelf items from the workers who govern their departments.
The produce is always fresh and well-​kept. There has not been a single time where I’ve seen a spoiled or bruised produce item. And if the produce goes bad, it gets taken off the market immediately.
The workers are friendly and helpful. Parking lot sometimes gets hectic especially in the evenings but overall this is a great store.

Poor customer service by Management compared to other stores in the Westside… They refuse to take my returns, for some rotten fruit and a cracked humus container.
Not what I would expect from
From TJs website:
FEARLESS FLYER
But if you don’t, you’re covered. Just bring back whatever you haven’t eaten and we’ll refund your money, no questions asked. It might sound like a food-lover’s fantasy, but for us it’s just the way we do business.
(apparently not at the Sepulveda Store!)