8 weeks into the shutdown and Trader Joe's is the only establishment I've found with a line to get in. There were lines at Publix and Winn Dixie for a day or 2, but they've largely stopped monitoring capacity and just let everyone in. Trader Joe's continues to count 1 by 1 as if people were dying in the streets.
The woman in front of me was scolded multiple times for her tote bag; she had to promise not to put food into it to get them to leave her alone.
When you get to the door they scold you if you don't stand right on the tape; because the 30 people behind you have to move up another 2 feet. Notice their pandemic policies adorning the entrance.
Notice that they've cut hours even further, which give you less time to shop and more time on line waiting to get in. Any talk that they're doing this to "sanitize the store" can be dimissed; this is about taking advantage of the public to save on payroll.
Once inside you don't have to worry about a crowd. Shopping is quick and comfortable, despite the creepy masks.
One of the things I buy at TJs is lemons. Big juicy lemons for 39 cents. Why are lemons twice the price at Publix and 3x the price at Fresh Market?
My feelings about lemons are well documented. Now that I'm not going out to lunch, I'm making a lot of iced tea at home.
Other things I buy at Trader Joes:
Olive Oil
Orecchiette
Coffee Ice Cream
Cheese
Vegetables
Wine
I never buy meat or dairy other than cheese here; they have reasonably priced quality cheese (Blue, Gouda, Pecorino Romano, Parmigiano-Reggiano). You won't find broccoli rabe and they bag the asparagus; but they always have nice eggplants at a good price, for you die hard Italians.
3/26/20
Adding to the horror show that is this world on shutdown, Trader Joe's is implementing their own "Social Distancing", by only allowing a certain number of people in the store at a time. So even though the parking lot was relatively empty, I had to wait on line for about 15 minutes to get into the store.
There was a guy with gloves and he was rubbing his face; people are so dumb it's unbelievable.
Inside the dopes were keeping 10 feet apart while waiting on line to pay.
All of this because I ran out of blue cheese.
The lines were longer than usual even though there were less people in the store. None of this made any sense to me. I went to Publix after this and there were no such measures in place.
Initial Musings
If you think that the opening of a Trader Joe's in Fort Lauderdale is no big deal, you're wrong.
I really didn't need to buy anything, but I thought I'd check it out. Something that needs to be emphasized is that you MUST avoid E Sunrise at all times for the foreseeable future. It's an absolute disaster.
I sat in this mess for 15 minutes; it was moving like 2 cars per light cycle. When you get down the the intersection from hell you realize the problem; car crossing from US1 to E Sunrise south are stopped in the middle of the intersection, so even when the light turns green, nobody can go. While I was sitting there trying to get through, I was thinking that a cop was really needed here. This is holding up 1000s of people. Then I got to Trader Joe's.
Of course a police officer at the Trader Joe's parking lot was much more important than some jam down the road. This is a big event!
The lot was virtually full, and the "lot" is designed for multiple stores. There's an office max that's already open, and there's going to be an Anthony's here, because we need another Italian Restaurant.
The place was a madhouse.
I didn't really need to buy anything, so I just looked around to see the prices. They have a lot of organic stuff that would be overpriced at other places, but the prices weren't crazy low for regular food.
I saw this and I thought about Pizzacraft. "Artisan" Baguettes. Reminded me of the Artisan Pizzas.
In the corner, they give out samples. Today they had penne with vodka cream sauce. I passed on this one.
Given the volume of people, the checkout goes pretty quickly. I just grabbed a couple of things to try. An $11 bottle of wine and some protein powder.
Look at all of the smiling faces. Saving money is Fun.
The crowds will likely subside next week. Trader Joe's is here.
Wine at $2.99 is a steal. I've tried several of them and for a bottle around the house, it's pretty good
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