"Unfortunately, petitions do not play a part in our decision on Trader
Joe's locations... Sorry, but we do not reveal what factors go into our
real estate choices," Mochizuki said. I then asked her the $64,000
question. Trader Joe's plans stores two years in advance. Is Kansas
City in that year plan?
"No, Kansas City, Missouri is not
in our two-year plan." I must have sounded dejected because Mochizuki
quickly added, "but things can always change."
There's your answer Kansas City. No Trader Joe's until 2012 minimum.
Update: Here's the full conversation I had with Trader Joe's about the KCMO versus other region debate in the comments.
Me: So will Trader Joe's be coming to Kansas City?
Mochizuki: Do you mean Kansas City, Kansas or Kansas City, Missouri?
Me: Either. Kansas City, Missouri?
Mochizuki: No, Kansas City, Missouri is not
in our two-year plans.
Me: Uh...What about in...,
Mochizuki: Sorry but things can always change. Be sure to check back with us if you have anymore questions. Thanks. [Click]
While she knew the differences between KCK and KCMO, she didn't let on to Trader Joe's coming to any part of the area. Instead she was brief and to the point so my two cents is hoping Trader Joe's comes to Johnson County instead is just that-- hoping.
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Trader Joe's is a wonderful store, full of healthy, alternative, ANYTHING but bland and affordable foods (much better price-wise than Whole Foods, for sure!).
Trader Joe's coffee's are incredible; think of it as the 'World Market' of grocery stores - always a blast to shop there - incredible breads, nut selections...and never forget your 'Two Buck Chuck!'
I lived in So. Cal for 17 years and shopped with them religiously much of that time. I miss them, I love them, and I call upon them to hear us, join us, enlighten us!
Michael Donnici
Kansas City, Missouri
We have a small Trader Joe's in Silver Spring MD that does not sell liquor. It's not as cool as the TJs that do, but they did open it even though they cannot sell booze.
I have been shopping a TJ's for several years in STL. I lived in Jefferson City and could get into STL easily. When we moved to KC I was lost without that option. My son lives there and I have a long list for him everytime he comes to visit. I have emailed the company numerous times...the problem has always been the KS liquor laws. They also had a wonderful toothpaste that I loved but removed from their inventory. The last time I was there I asked what had happened to the tooth paste and they told me they had many requests and if I emailed the company he felt they would get it back on the shelves. They did.
You can't beat their foods !!!! Doesn't even compare to Whole Foods in my humble opinion. I would not travel any distance to shop at WF but I would travel miles for TJ's. Let's just hope they come here and soon. The March 2, 2010 KC Business Mag certainly gives me hope and the service between here and STL is a wonderful idea to bring back their foods until they have a store here.
You know that you can order Trader Joe's in Kansas City today and have it next week & on a regular basis.
Trader Joe�s is one of the most beloved & shopped at groceries stores in cities that are fortunate to have one. My Wife is from CA and I had lived there before we came back to settle in KC. We thought that if we form a group of people that order from them on a regular basis, we can show them how much they are missing out, And of course get our food that we love and miss so much.
So we started the service and so excited to tell you that now through KCgroceryService.com we can get Trader Joe�s in Kansas City & send a message to Trader Joe's, NOT ONLY we can still save money this way (compared to shopping at local stores) since Trader Joe's groceries are so inexpensive.
A New Way to Shop . . .
1. We shop and pay online for our Trader Joe's groceries
2. Then swing by a central location where our groceries are in our car
3. And we're off enjoying our Trader Joe's groceries
The first delivery was last week and many Kansas Citians are already getting Trader Joe's in KC. www.kcgroceryservice.com
Would love you to join us in this movement.
and get Trader Joe's every week.
thanks for listening
Matthew & You KCgroceryService.com Team
It seems the concept endears all.. Run with the thought. I help franchise companies. Good luck! Jeff Clark, Esq.
Kansas City has no union problems for such an enterprise.
Just moved to KC from Portland, OR. Because of the liquor laws, TJ's will have to be on the MO. side. Even in Portland, I had to travel to go to TJ's. It's not a typical chainstore to be located on every corner -- and to be honest, it's not one-stop shopping. But it really does bring a dimension that none of the other stores here do (and I commend KC for not having any national chain grocery stores outside of the super Wal-Marts).
In Portland, I hit TJs every few weeks or so for stuff I couldn't find anywhere else.
What TJ's offers that I value: Great frozen entrees made from real meat and fish. Great frozen ethnic entrees. Great ethnic influenced foods in general. Great refrigerated side dishes like seasoned lentils, etc, that you can use to make a quick meal, a quick soup, a quick side dish. Great selection of nuts, trail mixes, dried fruits. Great wines and beers. Great sauces (just as good as homemade). Great seasonal items, such as cider, Christmas candies, pumpkin butter, etc.; TJ's brand of much more expensive items, such as their version of SmartWater, which is plain old water with electrolytes add in. Their produce is great during the winter months where not much fresh is available here.
My personal all-time faves: their kettle-brewed black unsweetened tea in big jugs for summer. Their Pita crackers. Their Christmas-time only dark chocolate and caramel candy with salt-crystals.
In short, TJ's, wherever it lands in the KC metro area will be worth the trip.
Ive been to several Trader Joes, StLouis, Hartford CT. Phoenix AZ and Seattle Washington. Looking at the makeup of each city it falls right in line with Kansas City. Most certainly it should be placed on the Missouri side of Kansas City because they have a great wine selection. I went to the one in Hartford CT and no liquor. Sorry to say not a great experience but they still have the great quality selections of food so Kansas City Missouri needs one now!!
What TJ's does not understand is how big a consumer market KC is. Should they open here, say in downtown or midtown, the store would be swamped with customers as long as it stayed open.
What I think might be holding up the decision is perhaps a union problem. The KC area has always been an open shop. That's why chains like National, Schnucks and Safeway have come and gone. If TJ's is a union shop, they will find it hard to compete in the KC market.
Trader Joe's is WAY better than Whole Foods! The reason TJ's will never come to Johnson County is that they wouldn't be able to sell all the great wines they have access to on the KS side. Sorry Joco!
I work for a development company and I've asked and have been told it is in the early negotiations and they are lookin on the MO side only. I've asked for more details and I haven't been told anything. It is more hush-hush than other deals I've caught wind of.
Well, looks like it's time to be pro-active about this, the same we would with Wal-mart:
BOYCOTT TRADER JOE'S!!
That'll show 'em! If they won't come to KC, then we won't go to them. Which is very easy to do if you are within 100 miles of KC.
Why put one here when they have a ton of Aldi's in the neighborhood? There's not too much extra incentive- the plaza and Overland Park is about it...
http://www.businessweek.com/ma...
I believe that Whole Foods already has a new midtown store planned.
Maybe Trader Joe's would consider the 3 Trails development (redevelopment of Bannister Mall/Benjamin Plaza). The developer is negotiating with Ikea at the moment. Seems to be some common ground there.
It seems KC is always on the back end of St. Louis. I remember seeing Whole Foods there several years before they they started showing up here. I think that the Plaza/Brookside neighborhood would be the ideal target area. There's only the smallish Whole Foods on Main in that part of town. I see a lot of Missouri license plates (including my own!) at the Whole Foods on 91st & Metcalf.
I am so bummed!! I totally fell in love with Trader Joes in Cali! People don't know what they're missing. TJ doesn't know what they're missing either. The market is huge out here and Whole Foods gets most of it since they bought out one of our first local Natural food stores, Wild Oats. Grrrrrrrrr....
I would agree that Trader Joe's will be placed on the Kansas side, if they EVER make it here, but in terms of Aldi's I can't believe the number they have placed in the metro, with most being successful (or at least as successful as they can seem) and all the ones in STL doing fine, and won't even consider one for KC? It makes me feel like not supporting the company at all...Aldi's or the occassional TJ's binge worth way too much will not be in my future.
Actually, Trader Joe's uses separate liquor stores in quite a few of its markets. I don't think KS liquor laws would be an impediment to their expansion at all. Understand that as much as we'd love to have TJ here, most retailers with once-lofty expansion plans are justifiably gun-shy at the moment.
Regarding liquor laws, the Trader Joe's in NYC has a store with the wine store separate and next door...never say never perhaps?
I agree with Lisa, Amber and Rachael...if they do not want our business, then we need to focus on businesses that do want out business. To be honest, I like Whole Foods and Wild Oats much better, anyway. We need a Whole Foods closer to Brookside and the Plaza...
Actually, I think that a location on State Line Road south of 435 wouldn't be bad. Right next to those Johnson Countians.) And real estate prices right now are a bargain (especially if you negotiate). The family that owns Trader Joe's (and Aldi too) has plenty of cash on hand, from what I hear. Now is a great time for expanding a business if you have cash on hand (steal market share and all that, plus Trader Joe's *is* a discount store, and most discount stores are thriving now.)
Wow. Don't marketers usually want to find areas where they already have a built-in fan base of shoppers who'd flock to their location(s)?
@timsamoff - until Kansas or JoCo changes their liquor laws, there is no way a grocery store that markets so much wine is going to set up shop there. That's why all the metro World Markets are on the MO side of the state line....
The key to Trader Joe's is they would need to come to the KCMO side, and not Overland Park, because of the wine and beer stuff that is integral to their charm. Like, the Two Buck Chuck wine. On the Kansas side, they would have to have a separate store for the spirits, which is more expensive to do. This is probably why they aren't interested right now - the reality is the retail space on the KCMO side is either too expensive (plaza, brookside) or too remote and not in their target demo.
But... Did you follow up with, "Will Trader Joe's come to Overland Park, KS?" Being from California myself, I can tell you that people are VERY ignorant about the actual locations of KCMO and the greater metro area (especially in regard to the MO/KS proximity).
I agree, Rachel. If Trader Joe's doesn't want our business, let's find someone who does!
If petitions do not play a part in their decisions why do they even bother putting a location request on their website? I'm guessing that most of the people who signed the petition also requested Kansas City as a location on the site. So, that doesn't really make any sense at all.
Geez... pretty unappreciative commenting from the spokesperson, perhaps we should devote our energy to something else!
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