Trader Joe’s

4 stars cause they’re not whole foods! Small, not the typical trader joes from the city. Great for buying flowers and organic foods.

I’ve come to be a regular at this TJ’s location. I still go about twice a month, but experience has soured me some. I take it as given that my experience as a shopper might be vastly different depending on which day I go.
During my last couple trips, especially those made during the first half of the week, I’ve observed employees complain about their work and disparage customers. I get it, I’m a complainer by nature, too, and I know some of the customers’ behavior is ridiculous, but leave it for the break room or parking lot or after shift’s end. Lest you get the wrong idea, I’m not lurking around the store eavesdropping, people watching, or even browsing — just looking for items on my list, in and out. I heard at least three such conversations on one recent trip and had to interrupt one of those conversations to ask for assistance finding an item which is usually in stock but had a bare spot on the shelf. (I also had to follow up to get a yes/​no answer after quite a bit of waiting and then circling back, and the person I asked was kind of snarky when I eventually asked if I should ask someone else.) I also had to move over at one point for employees who wanted to hug/​greet one another in one of the tinier awkward aisles (???). Cool.
And speaking of finding items, I’ve noticed more empty spaces/​out of stock items lately — refrigerated produce, I’m looking at you. Wish they had more seasonal/​local items as well.
On the flip side, I’ve also particularly good experiences, including observing employees track down customers who dropped personal belongings, being helped super quickly by people with an obvious knowledge of the stock, etc. Check out is pretty solid even when the store is packed.

For a girl who didn’t grow up in NYC, having a TJ’s that doesn’t require a 3 hour checkout line, I’m hooked!
The store itself was very easy to get in and out of and really had a pretty decent parking lot.
The store itself it small but in my opinion had everything one goes to Trader Joe’s for!
Good experience!!!

There are a lot of people who swear by Trader Joe’s but not I and more so for this specific location, which sucks!
People shop here for the reasonable prices and for that they’re great but the buck stops right there!
The Parking Experience…
This Trader Joe’s is located inside of a mini mall and shares a very poorly designed parking lot with Michael’s & Staples needless to say most of the traffic in this poorly designed, cramped, haphazard parking lot is filled with die hard Trader Joe fans with the majority of them having a very aggressive attitude so much so that many times the police department has been called to the scene for the parking lot fights that have broke out here for a space or someone trying to squeeze out of a space while someone is trying to ensure they get in the space. An absolute Nightmare, ding one star less for that. Generally I park in Bob’s furniture parking lot and walk over but there’s the inherent risk of being towed if your caught not actually shopping at Bob’s.
Floral Dept…
Next up that has me very, very frustrated is the floral department that needs to be completely abolished especially here at this location. Trader Joe’s brings in more flowers than they have space for and therefore cram and jams all the delicate flowers in floral canisters so much so that the flowers are almost always broken up, wilted of thirst, leaning over begging for space, half dead and raggedy looking but still we struggle to find some that look like there’s life left for the price, but don’t be fooled the one’s that look hearty enough to go home with you are a day or two shy from wilted death. Your savings is no longer. Do yourself a favor and don’t even bother buying florals from here, you’ve got a better chance of finding decent florals at your local Bodega and at about $ 1.00 or so more that will last a week and ½ or maybe more.
Your down two stars right there.
Shopping Experience…
Navigating the aisles in here to just shop for groceries is JUST RIDICULOUS! You can’t navigate in here comfortably most days at regular shopping hours without there being an issue with someone who is already mentally challenged and the risk of a fight breaking out because in general the shopping carts are to big to navigate the poorly designed and cramped aisles, people are in a hurry, frustrated, hungry and rude. The only shopping carts that should be used here are the miniature ones. But try telling this to management and they chuckle, pacify you with «I know commentary», nod in agreement with your concerns but at the end of the day they’re making that money and could care less about the hazards imposed upon its shoppers. Another Star gone we’re down to two stars.
Groceries, Prices & Checking Out…
Most of the groceries are of decent quality and well of course the prices are pretty darn good but not enough for me to shop here on a regular basis, you have to prepare your mind for a great parking hassle and headache to shop here on a regular basis and for this location it just isn’t worth it. Where they excel at is with the floor sales assistance and cashiers who for the most part are all speedy, pleasant and knowledgeable.
2 stars!

I was here doing a fill in grocery trip 2 weeks ago and I have to say, though it is not as big as the location I went to in the city, they more than made up for it with all the specialty food they had.
I found ravioli filled with lobster and ricotta… my favorite ravioli ever. I found my very favorite type of salmon — sockeye. They had lots of lovely varieties of bread and ice cream and I was in a rush, so I didn’t get to linger the way I normally do in the grocery store. My only complaint: I couldn’t locate any riced cauliflower. This wasn’t a huge deal though. I will just try again another day.
I can’t wait to go back.

Trader Joe’s is a Real Housewife from Long Island’s paradise.
«Susan, have you tried these kale chips? Soooo yummy.»
«Barbara, if you love the kale chips you MUST try these snap peas. Delectable.»
«Cookie Buttah, my personal traina says it’s the only obstacle between me and my summah body. But I simply can’t resist. It’s heavenly.»
These are the comments you hear as you push your shopping cart down the aisles. If you’re like me, you’ll contemplate hari kari once a trip. Luckily, there’s never anything sharp enough to impale myself with.
TJ’s gets 5 stars because they have great products, fair prices, and top notch help. Unlike the mouth breathers at my local Stop N Shop, the staff is friendly and knowledgeable. And they actually assist in ringing you up (Self checkout infuriates me).
Couple negatives :
The parking lot when busy is a total clusterfuck.
They don’t carry many NON — TJ’s products, so depending on your needs you might find yourself at another supermarket anyway.
Overall, if you can make it out of the parking lot alive, and you can deal with the crazy yenta ladies that shop there, TJ’s is a homerun.

I’ve been coming to Trader Joe’s weekly for years now and pray that they’ll always be around where ever life takes me.
Pros: Trader Joes organic produce and dairy is cheaper than in other supermarkets. The gallon of organic milk is $ 6.99 which isn’t a bad deal. A bunch of organic carrots under a dollar, even there organic condiments are reasonably priced since Trader Joe’s has there own brand and cuts out the middle man. Love trying their daily tastings with a free cup of joe while shopping.
Cons: I wish they had a bigger selection on meat and fish. You may not find everything you need here and may need to visit other supermarkets to supplement.
Highlights/​Tips: Some great finds include their Island Teryaki sauce (marinade their flank steak with it to make an impressive dish), boil some of their pork ribs and throw them in the oven with their brown organic barbecue sauce, their organic ground beef makes 5 awesome burgers when mixed with their panko and an egg.
Try to avoid coming here on weekends and if you must use the express line to checkout. Although it’s the longest it goes really fast.

Love this store! On the weekends it is incredibly busy yet the staff is always pleasant and helpful and they treat the customers with respect. I am positive that this is due to both the training and the philosophy of the store owners and I appreciate this tremendously.
The food selection is also great, lots of organic products, even the processed foods do not have crappy ingredients in them for the most part and last but not least the prices are decent.
Keep up the good work!

My favorite store for random finds. The crewmates are normally in a good mood which creates a great atmosphere for a supermarket. I don’t go for the organic stuff (not everything is organic), I go for the items I won’t find at my local Keyfood, Stop & Shop, etc… Their packaged food also carries less artificial ingredients. I can find a little bit of everything here but it is pricey so I only buy what I can’t find anywhere else. I love the sampler bar — never leave the store without tasting what’s on the menu.

Have been to every Trader Joe’s in NYC.
Union Square which has the Wine and Liquor store nearby has a great selection to select from. But the store next store is totally a madhouse and a zoo. Prior to the snow storm lines were out to the streets that is how crazy it is.
My favorite is still the Trader Joe’s at Chelsea.
Great to have a Trader Joe’s here in Queens. Parking is somewhat cramped and be careful of cars darting out after their shopping adventure.
This is a smaller Trader Joe’s compared to the one’s in Manhattan. Items goes fast in this store. Weekends are a mob scene here. Watch out for carts whizzing by. Since this is a residential area. You will see more families shopping here.
Area is expanding with more stores and traffic congestion is common.

This is one of my favorite trader joes locations. The staff is incredibly hospitable and you can find just about everything you need here. I recently bought whole wheat dough from here that I ended up making pizza with and we loved it! They have lots of organic options and I once overheard a staff member telling a customer that they stopped carrying a certain brand because they were not meeting trader joe’s standards. I loved that!

I’ve been shopping at this TJs for over 2yrs now. Do not be fooled or scared by the people saying that this place is ghetto and/​or a nightmare… like no it is not. It’s a supermarket for christ sakes, like what do you people expect? This is Queens, not Long Island, stores are tiny over here. Anyhow, so this TJs is indeed very tiny, and the parking lot is a total jungle when is crazy packed, which is most of the time. To justify, they do share parking space with Staples and Michaels.
The thing is, that you must come here with a plan. That’s the key to having a good shopping experience here. You have to know and be ready for what you’re getting yourself into. If you hate crowds, don’t bother coming here on the weekends, ever. I find the perfect time to come is during the weekdays before 2pm. Having a shopping list at hand helps too. The majority of the people who slow this place down are the ones staring into space wondering what they are going to buy. Sorry, not sorry. Perhaps eating a little snack before would help too. We all know hungry people can be the meanest.
As far as the food goes, everything is fresh. The staff is constantly restocking the shelves, so you’ll get what you come here for. The items that might not be in stock are the really popular items like your coconut oil or the Australian shrimps that I love, those items sell within a day. The staff here is awesome. Jose is an expert giving recommendations. He has put me on to the Mediterranean hummus, Italian bread sticks, Blue cheese roasted pecan dip and a few other items. The only thing that’s annoying to me is the egg situation. Being cooped up in that corner by the sample bar and back room doors is challenging to get to. I understand their logic, though, I am pretty sure that’s where the eggs are safest at.
Overall, I highly recommend TJs to everyone I know. Is a good place, with great prices, and a cool staff. For being the only location in Queens I don’t think they’re bad at all. Just mentally prepare yourself, take a deep breath and dive right in, you’ll live.

I have come to believe anyone who has given it good ratings is
1) either trolling
2) giving a higher rating to the establishment in general, but not this particular trader joes.
My god this place is a mess. The staff have no idea how to handle the crowds. Parking lot is full of cars, and if u decide to skip the idea of parking there after waiting for an hour to find a spot. Nope, you are stuck.
the check out lines are huge and there are actual fist fights in the lines, and the management or the staff cannot even handle their customers. Its not like they want to be bad to their customers. They just are purely incompetent. I tried to talk to their manager, but they get super scared and refused to even give me an email address.
An earnest appeal guys. When you review a place, review that exact location. Not the chain. Trader joes is an amazing retail chain. But this location is ghetto, and not staffed well. Please do not mislead people into thinking this is a great location.

Probably my favorite/​go-​to TJ outside of Manhattan. The parking lot is a plus, but it can be hard to find parking during peak hours (11am-​7pm?). This TJ has a pretty good selection (I think the spice rack is usually a good indicator: the ones in Staten Island and Brooklyn both have a much smaller selection).
The staff here (like the ones at all TJ locations) are super helpful and friendly. The products are usually being stocked regularly and in an organized fashion. Really no complaint here! Just that it’s way too far from where I live. :(

This location was REALLY crowded on a Sunday evening around 6pm. The lines were long, but nearly all of the registers were in full swing and were able to keep things moving at a steady pace.
Prepared, packaged foods looked fresh and inviting. They were still putting out fresh salads even at that time which was awesome. The packaged sushi looked decent as well.
I only went there for granola bars, but I would return again. Most likely during a weekday though when it is hopefully less crowded.

I was so happy to accidentally stumble upon this location on our way back from Fall fest at Forrest Park. The store is very neat and well organized. The employees are really nice and super helpful. A few of them stopped to interact with my toddler and others noticed me selecting between two items and comparing and added their own input to assist with my selection. I’m not sure if I just stopped in on a good sale day or if the prices are overall lower than the one on Garden City. I was going to that location until I knew this one existed. The quality of the items was also unbeatable. The produce was top notch all except the bananas which were looking pretty green lol.
They had ever single checkout open and staffed. This helped move the customers on their way very quickly. There was never more than 2 – 3 people ahead of you on line at any given point. It took me about 5 minutes once I arrived to wait on line to finish up my purchase.
The one downfall of this place is the parking lot. It’s small and is being shared with other businesses. Not only that but the spaces and paths are tight so when once car is trying to get in or out it pretty much holds up all incoming and outgoing traffic everywhere. Lesson learned, when I come back I am going to park next door at Bob’s. There’s plenty of spaces and a lot less traffic and it’s just a short walk over the parking lot divider.

I personally love Trader Joe’s and their variety of international treats. I have an insatiable hunger for all things foreign, and Trader Joe’s allows me to have a taste of it all, for a very reasonable price. This particular store has great variety, but it is located in a small mall with very limited parking. This store is also quite smaller than the other TJ stores I’ve been to, so it is almost always packed to the brim. Your best bet is to go very early on a weekday morning to avoid the crowd.

This Trader Joe’s get crowded the most during weekends. I suggest to go during weekdays for less people!
I enjoy coming here to pick up a few items, such as frozen Mandarin Chicken, frozen Kung Pao Chicken, soft Chocolate Chip Cookies, and crunchy Salt-​and-​Vinager Chips.
The staff here is super friendly. They randomly make recommendations while my husband and I are browsing around and informs us that we can always make a refund if we are not satisfied with any of their products. Not bad, I didn’t even know about this policy of theirs!
I like how a lot of Trader Joe’s groceries are oranaic and gluten free.
The prices are high but well worth it for the quality.
It does feel good to eat healthy! =)

Cashier fit everything in very few bags. Packed nicely.
Food selection is great. You can purchase organic and not feel guilty for over spending.
Clean store. Friendly staff.
A bag of Kale $ 1.99

Well Unilocalers, the time has come. I have officially reached ELITE Status and i received the email in no other than one of my favorite places to shop, TJ’s. While I conveniently had my hands on a pair of melons (…nah saying)…ahem and broccoli, I recieved a buzzing and tingling sensation in my jacket pocket. It was the coveted email from Jando S. The one that started this whole crusade. The one my friend Michael K. and I were looking for in 2014. The one we worked arduously for with our speedy thumbs and verbose reviews. Man, it feels good as a MF.
Ok, lets switch gears and get into TJ. What do I really say but this place is the best!!! Food, produce, veggies, even the Beer, aptly dubbed, JosephBaur, is awesome. TJ never disappoints and I always love their fruits. The prices are a little steeper than other places but definitely get the bang for your buck.
Check out TJ’s for all your needs. And lets get a petition going so they can open up more locations. Tired of driving all the way to Metro. lol