A light rain didn’t put a damper on turnout for the highly-anticipated opening of the new Trader Joe’s store in the Short Pump Station shopping center. The colorful, Hawaiian-themed store, which opened Friday morning, drew in a huge crowd. During our visit around 10:00 AM Friday, the checkout lines were backed up well into the aisles, despite seemingly dozens of employees on hand to handle the massive amount of customers.
Unlike at the grand opening of Whole Foods Market, which we covered a few weeks back, customers seemed to know what they wanted and made relatively substantial purchases. The shopping carts of most people we encountered were filled to the brim in the checkout lines when we visited. Visitors to Whole Foods seemed to be more interested in scoping out the store’s selection and unique products than making purchases.
Trader Joe’s specializes in hard to find natural products and prides itself on reasonable prices. The shoppers we talked to seemed to agree. “I like their organic foods and low prices,” shopper Jaime Gates said as she waited to check out. “[They have] great packaged stuff that doesn’t come with all of the fillers.”
The shelves were stocked with organic and all-natural versions of grocery store staples, as well as specialty products from all over the world. It could best be compared to the World Market store, but for groceries. The company scours the globe for new and unique products every week. Fresh seafood had a dominance in the store as well. Fresh fish other seafood encompassed an entire aisle from the checkout lanes to the back of the store.
Employees at a counter near the rear of the store sample out some of the store’s specialty offerings. This morning, Trader Joe’s house blend coffee and chicken glazed in an Oriental sauce were offered to customers.
It remains to be seen how the competition will pan out between Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, which are only a few blocks from each other on opposite sides of the new West Broad Village development. Both stores cater to niche markets and have been eagerly awaited in Richmond.
This is the first Richmond store for the California-based chain, but there are plenty others around the state. There are almost a dozen Trader Joe’s locations in the Washington, D.C. area, and the company has also opened stores in Williamsburg and Newport News.
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