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?