Trader Joe’s

Searching for gluten free, organic or health food, snacks etc. You will be amazed at much food n busy is this place. I have a shopper in Trade joes for for 10 years.

This Trader Joe’s is one of the larger ones I’ve been in. The entrance and exit are on different sides, so it’s a bit confusing when walking up to the store, but I figured it out pretty quickly. My first stop in the store was the restroom and one of the associates pointed me in the direction when I asked. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the bathroom was super clean and it was only about 15 minutes before closing. I then started walking through the aisles and was looking for some blondies that we had at our Trader Joe’s in Virginia, but couldn’t find them. I asked an associate for help and he went looking for me and asked another associate, but apparently they are only seasonal in Santa Fe. I appreciated the help and diligence of the associate helping me out. Since this is Santa Fe, they don’t give you bags, so you either have to pay extra or bring your own. Trader Joe’s is great and it’s definitely a tried and true store that I love going to no matter where I am in the country because I know I’ll always find the great products I love.

I’m from California and have shopped in many TJ’s in Southern Cal, but this is the only out-​of-​state TJ’s I’ve shopped at (unfortunately, none in Flagstaff, AZ). I’m amazed at some of the complaints on here — I mean, complaints about the parking. There’s plenty of parking for the center, if you’re willing to put one foot in front of the other — walk, you know. Many, many shopping areas in Southern Cal have very big parking lots, that are very busy and you often have to walk a couple of aisles from your parking spot. But to include that in a complaint about a specific store, inside a shopping area! Grow up and use your feet.
I agree about the customers being rude and not pleasant, except for a few who have spoken to me in response to my greeting or comment. And it’s true about customers being rude if you want to examine any product, or read ingredients, or in fact, do anything except pick something up as you’re passing by. However, I find it strange that some people expressing these sentiments appear to be SF residents as I find people generally in SF to be unfriendly and self-​absorbed. People in Southern New Mexico are much more outgoing and friendly. I hope people who shop at TJ’s and are unfriendly, take something away from these reviews and treat their fellow-​humans a little better.
Oh, and the employees are very friendly, and if you feel «chipper» describes them in a negative way, perhaps you’d like it better if they were unfriendly.

trader joe’s is a great store. we shop there for certain items. the employees are very friendly and helpful. i cannot say the same for the people who routinely shop there. they are unfriendly, rude, and self-​absorbed. if you try to greet them just to be neighborly, they look at you as though you are crazy, or don’t invade my «personal space.» i know most shop there because they are trying to stay healthy, but i believe it should start with a mind-​set first.

The employees at Trader Joe’s are the friendliest in Santa Fe. Consistently, they are engaging and helpful.
After shopping during a Holiday season rush, I went back to my car to realize that I had locked my keys inside the vehicle. What a bummer! Work had been extra hard that day and I was ready to get home. It was too cold to hang out while waiting for a kind friend to bring me spare keys, so I got on my hands and knees and shoved my groceries all the way under my car.
I wandered around for a couple of hours waiting for the keys and trying to keep warm. When I finally returned to my car with keys in hand, i triumphantly unlocked the door and then went on my hands and knees again to retrieve my groceries. They were gone! Someone had stolen all of them. I felt devastated. Yuck.
I went back into Trader Joes and went straight to the wine sample guy for a sample. He recommended telling my story to someone at the front. I did, and Anita was amazing. Despite the fact that she was about to clock out from what was probably a hard day for her, she comped the groceries I had in my second, and spare, cart. My husband is going to school and so our budget is super tight. She also gave me a few reusable grocery bags, and maybe most importantly, a hug. When life feels hard and someone kicks you when you’re down, the kindness of strangers can be amazing. Thank you, Anita.

Parking is pretty much a zoo. Definitely a high alert zone. I don’t understand the check out bells. Kinda irritating. The store layout is confusing. No rhyme or reason. But I have found great frozen food items there often and good wines. I just wish there were more readable signage… or arrows… a map maybe. They carry good stuff but it’s hard to find.

We are Vegans with 4 vegan kids — so affordability and food quality are important to us. We like this Trader Joes and have found the staff and variety to be excellent. Our 2 year old dropped a glass jar of tomato sauce on the floor and one of the employees swooped right in without hesitation.
The parking lot is tough and busy but overall this is a hard quality/​value to beat.

Funny to read all the complaints about this store, but I guess it is all relative. Moving here from Arlington, VA, I’ll tell you that this TJ store is better in every way than what I was accustomed to.
Crowded? Well, somewhat at peak hours, but the aisles are wide and I find the store easy to navigate.
Bad parking lot? It gets a little busy, but again, a relative thing, as it is nothing like the zoo in the Washington, DC area.
I’ve found the staff courteous and knowledgable, with some exceptions, but overall a good experience.

Just got off the phone with the morning manager to explain that I just opened a pack of cheese I bought yesterday that has mold on it and when I looked at the date it said ⁷⁄₃₀. Today is ⁸⁄₁₄. I explained that this is the third product I have bought in the last month that had mold on it when I opened it the next day. The other two were both loaves of bread. No apology. Excuses. «No one else has complained». I have always been a huge Trader Joes fan but the Santa Fe store had lost my confidence and business. I’d rather pay more and shop at Whole Foods where I know they take pride in their operation and food.

July 18, 2015, 4:00−4:30
Our «cashier» was Arthur. Before he rang up our purchases, he shoved a handful of chocolates into his mouth and proceeded to smack away like a pig at a trough. Thus, he could not/​would not/​did not greet us, make eye contact, nor thank us for our business. Indeed, he seemed irritated that we were interrupting his snack time. We are recent transplants. Is this what is meant by the City Different, or is this just a business with rotten management?

I will admit I am not a Trader Joe’s fanatic. So perhaps I expect too much. But this felt just demoralizing.
Daughter and I were visiting Santa Fe, it was evening and we were craving some healthy snacks and a chance to not feel like tourists. She suggested Trader Joe’s.
She said this one was much like the one she knows in Connecticut. Concrete floors, a «this fell off the truck last week» vibe and glaring lights. Ugh.
Some good variety, a lot of stuff that didn’t look appealing, and a few great deals.
Overall, it didn’t convince me I was wrong about Joe.
No thanks.

I have visited 20+ Trader Joe’s from the Pacific Northwest, the Southwest, California, Ohio Valley, Washington, DC, and New England — this is by far one of the busiest. Oddly, one of the smaller stores also.
In any case, it is a good store — but beware of buying fruit at the Santa Fe TJ’s. From apples that are mushy and brown inside, to bananas that only last a few days (one even that was red inside — never seen that before).
In high school I worked at a local grocery store. The produce manager had his people cut apart one sample from each box. Sending back any boxes that failed that test. Surprising that TJ’s does not follow a similar policy. Selling bad produce is akin to selling spoiled meat, if you want to keep customers, just don’t do it.

SUMMATION: Interesting, different, and upscale products with good prices. Excellent, friendly, even enthusiastic, service.
GENERAL: All Trader Joe’s are pretty much the same; therefore, I will not go into great detail.
NAME: Trader Joe’s
MY RATING: Excellent
CHAIN: yes, but a privately owned company.
TITLE: «Different Things» [Yelp, review #149, 16 November 2014 (Tripadvisor, not posted) and 4 January 2015]
NEW MEXICO TRIP REVIEW NUMBER: 3
TELEPONE: (505) 995‑8145
STORE CAPTAIN: Phil Wofford
LOCALITY: 530 W Cordova Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87 505‑1844
OCCASION: Shopping for supplies and I had not seen one for years [1]
HOURS OF OPERATION: 8 am-​9 pm
GREETING: excellent
FOOD AND DRINKS: My First Mate had free coffee, a sample of excellent red wine, and we both had samples of extra sharp, white cheddar, and prosciutto with fig jam on toast.
BATHROOM: They had 3, uni-​sex, clean, spacious bathrooms. Toilet only, but with plastic-​coated germ-​free handle. Push up for no. 1 and down for No. 2. Super flush, foam soap, and good-​quality paper towls.
PROBLEMS: (I) Their «sushi» [=makizushi] was not very good [2].
(II) A Navel Orange was dried out.
(III) Cut mango was not ripe.
(IV) I am a little concerned about their vilification of all things genetic [3].
NOISE LEVEL: A little crowded, but quite. Almost as many people were restocking as shopping.
HEALTH:
(I) They have many health-​food things, but an equal amount of yummy, sinful ones.
(II) In 2007, they eliminated all added trans fats, artificial colors, artificial flavors MSG, preservatives, and genetically engineered ingredients [3] from privately labeled products.
CONFUSIONS: Some things are difficult to locate, but their clerks are quite helpful.
ENVIROMENTAL: (I) They had many organic things.
(II) Hearts of palm is not very ecologically friendly.
MADE IN THE USA: Their Granny Smith Apples were from Chile.
REVIEWS: rated Very Good, 8.2 out of 10, 195 votes (Foursquare); Very, Very Good, 4.5 out of 5, 158 ratings (Facebook); Very Good, 4 out of 5, 31 reviews ( Unilocal); Very Good, 7.8 out of 10, 30 reviews (MapQuest)
HISTORY: Started as a series of «Pronto Markets» in 1958. In 1967, the name was changed to TJ. In 1969, «the uniform» (Hawaiian Shirt) was adopted. In 2002, 2-​buck-​chuck was added.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Fruit, coffee, cookies, canned smoked herring and trout, Ghee (Indian clarified butter), spices, dried green beans, French vanilla coffee syrup, mesquite smoked almonds, macadamia nuts, cut fruit, navel range, Granny Smith Apple, sunflower flowers, triple ginger cookies, pecan praline granola, etc. I bought their packaged salad with heart of palm, asparagus hearts, slivered almonds, and raspberry vinaigrette dressing, and my First Mate had a baby spinach salad with blue cheese and balsamic vinaigrette dressing. We also had a «sushi» [=makizushi] tray.
[2] I enjoyed different sushi all over Japan for a year and learned a little bit about it.
[3] We have been genetically manipulating our foods for thousands of years, just on a more macro level. Most of our foods are already abominations, which bear little or no resemblance to their natural ancestors.

This is the busiest, most insane TJ’s I’ve ever been to. The parking lot is nuts, the store is nuts. It’s everything you love about TJ’s though. Unfortunately it is so busy all the time that they’re usually out of stock of something. This isn’t the staff’s fault by any means and they’re usually great. I wish there was a second store in Santa Fe though, this one is beyond crazy. TJ’s itself is 5 stars but adding the Santa Fe-​ness to the mix makes the necessary shopping trips a dreaded adventure.

I’ve been to several Trader Joe’s in different states and this one is great. They have all of the fresh stuff you’d expect.
There isn’t much more to say that hasn’t been said by other great reviewers. I go back every time I’m in Santa Fe for provisions.

I have always had a positive experience at any Trader Joes until today. I will NEVER go back to the Santa Fe location. The parking lot was chaotic and drivers were not considerate. The store was dirty and the employees were not friendly. Our cashier, John, was a complete pompous a$$! We had 14 items in our basket and were in a 15 item express lane. He pointed at the express lane sign, told us, «he’d let us pass this time» and then proceeded to slam the glass items into a box and threw rest of groceries at us to bag ourselves. Completely rude and unacceptable, Trader Joes Santa Fe.
Only plus, cheap wine.

I am a reluctant fan of Trader Joe’s. It’s too socially acceptable within several demographics of our cities cultures. I’m a rebel. I seek to flip off the establishment and would prefer to shop at a cooperative market. Yeah, I’m a rebel with my own eco-​friendly reusable shopping tote emblazoned with the Trader Joe’s emblem. So much for rebelling.
See, I tried to not like this place, but the more I shopped here and compared to other small and big time grocers I became more and more of a convert. There are so many great things to explore on the shelves of TJ’s. Like, last night, I ate about a ¹⁄₃ of a jar of Cookie & Cocoa Swirl and drank a whole liter of Orangina. Both were made possible by shopping at TJ’s.
Not to worry, the morning after my binge I downed 8oz of aloe juice. Aloe Juice, in the economy size (whatever that means… I have never seen another size to compare it to), brought to you by Trader Joe’s!
And all us adult kids know that the best part of TJ’s is the liquor section. I can find 6’s of a lot of regional favorites, even some selection from my lovely state of CO, for about $ 1 – 2 less than near my house. Envy is a cruel mistress and it makes men do silly things. I brought home a couple of mixed cases of beer…
The only thing I am truly disappointed in with Trader Joes is their coffee. I have tried so many of their coffees to find that it is truly in the brewing of their beans that bring out the best result. TJ’s has the right, carefully selected machine to give people a taster cup in the store. Every time I bring home one of their coffees it leaves me drinking a lot of water post cup. Their beans dry out my mouth severely. No bueno. MINUS 1 STAR!!!
Since I read a lot of food politic articles I feel morally superior shopping at TJ’s rather than Whole Foods. All the gossip is Whole Foods sells hybrid vegetable-​offspring that have copulated with donkeys and frogs, all sourced from underground labs at Los Alamos. I have also heard rumors about midnight black-​masses in their dairy cooler. I’m all for freedom of expression, but not within proximity of my coconut water, please. That’s just insulting.
That said I will shop at TJ’s again. The worse thing that could happen there is someone is high when restocking the butternut squash.

Hello Joe, old friend.
Yes this is my new TJ’s and it is always jumping up in here. Being that Santa Fe’s population is smaller than one square mile of Manhattan you’d think that one TJ’s would satisfy the masses, however its not. I like it though! It’s like the social center of SFe, and you see all the peeps you know there and all peoples from all walks of life doing their shoppinz for cheese, wine and cookies. I enjoy the fast paced action here and there is never a dull moment. The shelves are always full and being filled as soon as an item item is taken and put in a cart, or a basket like I always carry. I only use the basket because I’d never get around as stealthily as I prefer if I had a cart. When I get to the check out my basket is over brimming to the point where it fills four bags which I can barely manage to carry to the car. This TJ’s is a great TJ’s. I love it!
Just an FYI, they have the best prices in town on Gruet, my fave NM Bubbles. However their booze prices are not as competitive as you might think. Try Susan’s Fine Spirits for the fullest line of Gruet bottles and more selection of booze at good prices.
Cheers!

This place is a flipping nightmare from trying to turn into the parking lot, to trying to not run over the other patrons, to trying to not run over the parking attendant, to trying to find a cart, to trying to reach the groceries you want to purchase, to trying to not run over people who are blocking the aisles while they complain about ingredients to employees who clearly do not personally manufacture the products, to trying to remember where they moved the frozen Chinese food, to trying to get out of the parking lot, without hitting the other patrons and not hitting the parking attendant and not getting into a wreck with some woman who is overly Yoga-​ed out and not paying attention to the fact that you are backing up.
yup.
cheap booze.

I think it’s a given that every Trader Joe’s parking lot is a nightmare. Crazy drivers and I swear, those parking spaces are smaller than other spaces. That being said, this Trader Joe’s is double the size of the St. Louis Trader Joe’s so it wins points in my book! (Although I hear that St Louis is expanding… so that point might be moot soon.)
Lots of choices here, which I love. I also love how it’s right off the road to northern New Mexico which makes it so convenient for me to stop by. There is a wide variety of produce and a wide variety of grab-​and-​go choices. And an expanded selection of alcohol. What’s not to love about that?