Last year I was obsessed with Trader Joe's. This was partially due to the fact there was one on my commute home from work and when traffic was bad, or when I was depressed about how boring my job was, I would stop at Trader Joe's for some retail therapy. Since starting grad school and not passing by the store as frequently, I've been shopping more and more at Whole Foods. Well, I went to Trader Joe's a day or two ago, and it seems like they've made a real push to emphasize their low prices. I guess the gourmet/natural food market is getting pretty crowded with Whole Foods becoming more mainstream and grocery stores offering higher quality fare. Looking at the people in line at the Trader Joe's I was shopping at, it didn't seem like the majority of customers were there primarily for the low prices. I overheard one woman ask an employee if they sold iceberg lettuce and he responded no, and that Trader Joe's only carries things that are "cool" and/or that can be sold at a significant discount. Apparently iceberg lettuce is a "give away" item in supermarkets with practically no margin. I understand that with limit space Trader Joe's has to be selective with what they sell, but I think there is something to be said for having a selection of the most frequently purchased foods so your customers don't have to also shop elsewhere (and develop brand loyalty etc.). I would have called it sacrilege at this time last year, but I have to admit that I now prefer Whole Foods. I think we're planning a trip to Trader Joe's later today so I can get another taste.

Salt Spring Island

Have been on the west coast of Canada this week partially for my grandmother's 80th birthday and partially for a bit of sight seeing.....of course this also included scouting out the local grocery scene. On Salt Spring Island, a beautiful island off the coast of Vancouver Island, I went to "Natureworks", the local natural food store. Salt Spring Island is an interesting place-- to generalize, it's half affluent retirees and half hippies. This natural food store was certainly geared towards the latter-- it had a lot of complementary medicines and all the produce, even the berries, were in communal bins, where you scoop your own out. Where possible, the fresh food--fruits and vegetables, baked goods etc.--was made locally, though in reality this was a small fraction of the items. Every Saturday during the summer, Salt Spring Island has a wonderful farmer's market. I imagine the offerings in this store would vary similarly by season. In terms of frozen or branded product it was largely similar to what you find at whole foods, with a bit less selection. One big draw back for me was that it smelled like insence--I much prefer freshly baked cookies.
One of the other grocery stores on the Island was a bit more my style-- Thrifty's Foods: http://www.thriftyfoods.com/common/index.html.
Thrifty's is a chain of grocers that operate only on the west coast of British Columbia. They are full service stores--bakeries, butchers etc., and offer leading brand name products as well as some house brand ones--but they retain a local and somewhat intimate feel. In terms of dairy products, they feature Island Farms, a local company.
More to come on my west coast trip....