What's so special about Trader Joe's?

Popular grocery store chain Trader Joe's is opening a long-awaited second location in the region later this year and the store's loyal customer base reflects a mixture of excitement and frustration over the plans by the new grocer coming to The Shoppes at University Town Center later this year.

Hundreds of potential customers and area residents dove into the chatter on social media about the soon-to-come location following the company's announcement of the second location in development at 8473 Cooper Creek Blvd. in University Park near the Total Wine and Nordstrom Rack shopping plaza in early May.

A 2nd Trader Joe's is coming to Sarasota-Manatee. Here's where it will be and when

"YES!!!! Finally." wrote Bradenton resident Helen Miras.

Many others echoed Miras, sharing news of the new location on Facebook along with various versions of their own exciting posts.

However, not all Trader Joe's fanatics were as excited about the new location.

"That whole area is so congested already!!!," wrote Bradenton resident Pamela Wright on Facebook.

"I’m happy to have Trader Joe’s close but, that parking lot is already a nightmare!!" another Bradenton resident wrote.

South county residents chimed in as well— adding more pleads to the brand to open a location closer to the border of Sarasota and Charlotte Counties.

Venice resident Hayden Heaney wrote he was frustrated that a store hasn't come to the southern area of the county.

"They are opening another one in Sarasota? That just ticks me off," Heaney wrote on Facebook. "South Sarasota (county) and Charlotte (county) (Venice, North Port, Port Charlotte, and Punta Gorda) need one!!"

Although loved by many, TJ's, a moniker given to the brand by its frequent shoppers and fans, sometimes chooses locations that its customer base dislikes. Despite complaints about the site and tight parking, the original Sarasota Trader Joe's on Tamiami Trail in Sarasota continues to be a regular experience for store lovers.

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There are plenty of shoppers who don’t need an introduction to TJ’s aisles of wine, store-branded pasta, and seasonal snacks but for those that don’t know why these stores are so popular, or why there are Trader Joe’s fans' Facebook groups (with millions of members), here are a few reasons for the Trader Joe’s hype.

Sustainability

Those small stores and cramped parking lots some TJ’s customers locally find annoying are by design — but for the betterment of the community and environment, not to make shopping difficult.

The mostly private label company constructs new stores in a smaller footprint with a neighborhood feel. TJs typically measure around 12,500 square feet. Other grocery chains are mostly big-box retailers with footprints that span into the ten of thousands of square feet in comparison.

Low-impact refrigeration systems for its products are staple in each of its new locations and each store is complete with energy-efficient LED lighting and minimal building materials. Sustainable operations are built into Traders Joe’s neighborhood model with its shorter store hours, which help to contribute to lower energy consumption than competitors with later store hours.

Unique products

A variety of tasty snacks, vegan ready-to-cook meals, and of course, the well-known wine selection are big draws for Trader Joe’s frequenters. The options don’t stop there.

Each season, Trader Joe’s releases signature and craveable items that store lovers stock up on each year. Shoppers fill the locations the most in fall when the store releases around 75 pumpkin spice-flavored items. In early 2023, the company released its annual list of customer favorites and top products, while spinoff rankings of the best TJ’s store items are regular content on social media and online food magazines for its customer base.

The store's ranking listed its popular chili and lime-flavored rolled corn tortilla chips as its number one overall product and highlighted dozens of other customer favorites like its 'Hold the Cone' mini ice cream cones, vegan pesto, and frozen store-branded butter chicken.

And, there's no mentioning Trader Joe's without its popular wine known as Two-Buck Chuck.

Community service

Trader Joe's also helps its community. Through its Neighborhood Shares program, which aims to help end food insecurity in underserved neighborhoods, the company provided 85 million pounds of food last year. Additionally, Trader Joe's supports local hunger-relief organizations in the communities surrounding its new store openings. Ongoing work includes aiding the local charitable food systems and addressing fresh food access through its 23 Florida locations.

What we know about the new location

Trader Joe's officials confirmed the new Sarasota-Manatee store will be coming later this year, but an opening date hasn't been released.

The University Park location will be the second in the Suncoast region. It will be the sixth store on the Southwest Florida coast.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Trader Joe's second location at UTC welcome addition for fans of store