Trader Joes opened in The Woodlands last month. I would every now and then drive by and see how far along they were and image myself shopping there 🙂
The day I went to check it out, to check out the line was over an hour long. I decided against waiting and we went on vacation. The day we were back I ran in to check it out for real and do some looking!
I had heard about cookie butter from my Mom. She bought us a jar in May as Mother’s Day presents. I like how she thinks! All my sisters got one, mine was gone about 4 minutes and 36 seconds after it was opened. We dipped HEB gingersnaps (the BEST!) into it and wished we had another jar. I can’t even describe what it takes like, maybe ground up cookies in the PB consistency? Anyway it is awesome, and you need to try some.
This is how dumb my sister and I get over things like this (actual Skype conversation):
Anna: Oh my gosh the value of the coupons is so insanely high, that is craziness
Tiffany: DId you just now try cookie butter!
Anna: Mom gave that out in May!
Tiffany: OMG
Anna: I ate half my thing already
Tiffany: Thats weak, I ate the jar then, i ate it that day
Anna: I opened it in the car and was using my hand to get it out I ate a whole box of nilla wafers because of that stuff
Anna: I put some with peanut butter AND nutella.
Tiffany: CRAZINESS
Anna: All 3 together
Tiffany: I out did that. I did nutella and cookie butter, beat that…
Anna: No no no I did nutella, cookie butter AND peanut butter, I think the only thing you could add at that point is apple/pumpkin butter but then that is just weird
Anna: That made me have to get a bowl of REd Velvet ice cream. WAy to go. I won’t be able to run in the blogher 5k I’ll be staying inthe hotel room snuggling a half empty jar of cookie butter.
Tiffany: But it will be empty because I already ate it…
Anna: *cries quietly in the corner*
Basically, that was 6 minutes of my life I can’t ever get back! Just grab some and see what we are talking about!
Our Story
It all started in the 50s… Would you believe we started out as a small chain of convenience stores? It’s true. Way back in 1958. We were called Pronto Markets. In ’67, our founder, the original Trader Joe, changed our name (yes, to Trader Joe’s) and the way we do business.
We made the stores bigger (if you can imagine), decked the walls with cedar planks and donned our crew in cool Hawaiian shirts. Most importantly, we started putting innovative, hard-to-find, great-tasting foods in the “Trader Joe’s” name. That cut our costs and saved you money. Still does.
And that’s important, because “Value” is a concept we take very seriously. And by value we mean great everyday prices on all of our great products — no sales, no gimmicks, no clubs to join, no special cards to swipe… How do we do it?
- We buy direct from suppliers whenever possible, we bargain hard to get the best price, and then pass the savings on to you.
- If an item doesn’t pull its weight in our stores, it goes away to gangway for something else.
- We buy in volume and contract early to get the best prices.
- Most grocers charge their suppliers fees for putting an item on the shelf. This results in higher prices… so we don’t do it.
- We keep our costs low — because every penny we save is a penny you save.
It’s not complicated. We just focus on what matters — great food + great prices = Value.
We scoped out all the really nice cheese, produce and breads. I thought that the prices were VERY good for natural and organic items.
Almost 90% of everything in the store was store brand. All Trader Joes brand. They buy in bulk and frequently rotate what they have in the store.
They DO take coupons. HOWEVER, not many things in the store are national brands so not many coupons will match up. They also don’t have sales.
If you have been thinking about making a trip up to check it out, I would suggest you do. Then you know what it is all about. The store is very small for a grocery, but they pretty much have everything.
I will be doing matchups for them, based on the prices better than the grocery stores, plus coupons, and interesting things they might have! Check them out here.
What do you think about Trader Joes?
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I went to check out Trader Joe’s when they first opened. They were giving out samples of the cookie butter….wow….it is so good. I’ve heard Nutella referred to as “crack for housewives” and I definitely think that Cookie Butter rates the same!! You can’t have just a little.
YOu have to get me some more. Cookie butter hog.
We love Trader Joe’s. We have made several trips up from Sugar Land to shop there. We used to shop at Trader Joe’s before we moved to Texas. We have a jar of that cookie butter in the pantry!
LOVE me some cookie butter! Did you know they also have candy bars with it in it?!!!! YUMMO!
mine and my family’s other faves include:
JoJo’s-like Oreo’s but better!
this Strawberry (Blueberry,Apple) Walked into a bar…-like nutrigrain bars
Gummy Penguins
Garlic herb Pizza dough
Veggie Straws
White Cheddar Puffs-like Pirate booty
Mango Passion Granola
Lemon Curd
21 seasonong salute
and much more…but thats currently what’s in my stash! LOL
LOVE me some cookie butter! did you know it also come’s in candy bars??? yeah….I ate mine before I even left the parking lot…LOL!!!!
thanks for the info, i had no idea! im in spring, so that would be wonderful! i only heard of this place once from my brother who lives in boston and he said its awesome! can wait for the match ups!
Oh my gosh — those lines were too long for me the first few days! I finally got to go when the store wasn’t packed and there are many items I intend to try! I’m so glad they are finally opened!
A few of my favorites already from Trader Joe’s are:
The Sweet Potatoe Tortilla Chips
Cilantro & Chive Yogurt Dip
Gone Banana’s – find in the frozen food case
Many more things I look forward to trying from Joe’s…a little at a time.
Oh thank you! I will look for these!
We actually do all of our grocery shopping at TJ’s (in New Mexico), so I will be looking forward to your match-ups! For the quality of food that we get, I feel like it’s been an overall very good value. And they take returns on anything for any reason– if the produce isn’t good or if you just didn’t like the item. Very good service.
I just moved from the Houston area and live in Holland now and I can attest to how great that Cookie Butter probably is! I’ve never had the Trader Joe’s version, but the jar in your picture says “Speculoos” Cookie Butter, and Speculoos is a type of ginger/spice cookie here in Holland that is to die for! We discovered it this past Christmas and have been fortunate to buy it all year long. Just a few weeks ago we discovered Speculoos spread that the Dutch put on bread, but we’ve been slathering it all over the original Speculoos cookies! I am so grateful that you posted about this so that I know when we move back to Houston that I can still indulge in this deliciousness–without having to buy out every store here in Holland! 🙂 Thanks!
I wondered what that meant!!! thank you for letting me know! That is what it tastes like, ginger cookies!
I LOVE Trader Joe’s!!!! I love the quality of the food and I think the prices are great also for the high quality ingredients that are used (and no GMOs!). This is the only store my husband actually WANTS to go too (I think it helps for how small it is lol)! Sign up for the “Fearless Flyer,” unfortunately is doesn’t have coupons or anything like that, but alerts you of new products and basically makes your mouth water!
You just had to mention the Cookie Butter….thanks. Now we are addicted to ANOTHER TJ product!!
Had it this morning on toast. YUMM!!!