Trader Joe’s

I love Trader Joes and am very happy it has made its way to Colorado. The store is always clean and service is good and friendly. They have some great food items at an affordable price.

Most things I don’t like but the things I love keep me coming back! A bouquet of flowers for $ 5 that lasts a week, fried rice and pot stickers! I hate that you can’t do all your shopping here the bread selection always sucks and it’s weird to navigate but I will continue to stop by weekly for the easiest dinner and cheap dinner! I keep buying pre made salads and say never again…

No matter how busy this place gets, there is always enough room to get what you need (some stores are way too crowded but this one isn’t). Fresh products and the cashiers are always incredibly friendly.

Trader Joe’s is one of my favorite grocery stores ever. They have different products that are often delicious and inexpensive. I went to this particular location last week for the first time.
Pros:
*Great parking lot with lots of spaces. Didn’t make me want to punch anything.
*Very spacious aisles where you could get more than 2 carts down at any one time.
*Friendly workers complimenting my hair and shirt.
Cons:
*Many of the items there had very close expiration dates. I’m talking 2 days away for bread, belgium chocolate pudding and chicken salad. I mean I love a chicken salad sandwich but I can’t be expected to down a loaf full of sandwiches in 2 days.
*No alcohol.

going to trader joe’s is better than going to disney world.
it’s affordable, it’s delicious, and it’s just the best. unique, delicious food for a fraction of the cost of the food (even the store brand!) at king soopers.

I just recently moved to
Colorado Springs from Southern California and was stoked to see a familiar grocery store!!! Even though it’s a smaller store, the fact that it’s CLEAN, has healthier food selections, and friendly employees is the reason I shop here.

I have mixed feelings about Trader Joe’s. I also don’t know what the hype is about. Small floor space and the amount of people in here sometimes is comparable to walking around in the IKEA in Denver but with much less floor space. I love the cool and unique products yet I’m wondering where all of their products come from. Country of origin is hard to find on their food. Bananas are cheap but I found out why they are so cheap. I bought 19 cent bananas after school at UCCS. The next day they started turning brown and black. I wouldn’t buy anything from the produce department due to the complaints I hear and see about their vegetables and fruits not being fresh. They have unique products here for a fraction of the price. Very busy here and it’s hard to find things due to unique packaging. The cookie butter is some pretty neat stuff so try a jar of it. They sell mochi ice cream here!

People are always friendly here, was so relieved they have a Trader Joe’s after moving from Burbank to here it seemed like all they had in this town was Walmart and King Soopers (we don’t have those). The selection is alright for the size of this location and it’s close to our home here which is awesome. The staff here are always helpful and knowledgeable even if they don’t have an item they totally help point you in the right direction. The store is in the university village plaza across the street from UCCS and near the Costco and a bunch of restaurants and shops which is convenient and I never feel creeped out or unsafe here unlike some stores in Colorado Springs. I will say though that coming from California it’s weird that this state doesn’t allow sale of alcohol at this or any trader joes locations in this area, I think they said there was like one in Denver that did but still it’s strange. The layout of the store is good and easy to find everything, very clean, has better produce than most of the super markets here. Overall a good local Trader Joes, oh they also have an excellent sushi selection.

Sad to report this but… This location is pretty much always out of stock on the essentials… It’s worth the trip to go up to Denver to the big one off Colorado… Most Team members have poor attitudes… From personal working experience (I worked for trader joes for over a year) I would have been fired for the poor attitude portrayed by the team members at this location… The female team members seem to be a bit more friendly than the males– don’t understand why but this has been the case each time I have gone to this location (I have visited this location over 30 times so far). Word of advice to management, please train your team members the importance of good attitude and if they don’t want their job, show them the door because it shows.

Good selection and no thanks to the CO liquor laws the only downfall is their lack of booze like the one in Denver. However, their meats and cheeses are always good and the snack crackers are great!

Finally, I got to see what all the fuss was about. I’m definitely impressed. It smelled like fresh flowers upon arrival and it was really really clean! Go during the day on a weekday and hardly anyone is there. We went overboard on their salads. They looked so fresh, full, flavorful, and they had so many different kinds. We were helped by Mike Curtis at the check out today. He was really sweet, genuine, and made good conversation. We will definitely be back.

The main downside to this store is the lack of a wine section (thanks, archaic Colorado liquor laws) — compared to the stores I frequented when I lived in LA, there is a ton of parking (though the tendency for drivers in a TJ’s parking lots to be oblivious still stands true)
All of my favorites are here and the staff is always friendly and accommodating (as with most TJ locations)
They have some hard to find items you won’t get at other stores (excluding Whole Paycheck, I don’t shop there) like shishito peppers, fresh chestnuts in winter, cookie butter (aka crack in a jar) and corn relish. There are also quite a few things that I found cheaper here than at King Soopers and Safeway.
Their ready made stuff is good and I prefer it to the Stouffer’s variety found at King Soopers and Safeway.
Just enjoy browsing and grab some new things from time to time — you might discover something really wonderful.

Strange experience with Jon the check out person who acted unprofessional by not even greeting me, saying hi or thank you or anything. Didn’t look me in the eye once. I perceived he was talking to another guy and hitting on him but either way, not expected at this trader joes. Apparently employees work here for their social lives and not customer service. Back to whole foods for me.

This TJ is MUCH SMALLER in fresh items selection compared to most other stores I have been to around the country. I guess they cater most to the students that live right above them at UCCS and down the street in the brand new condos they just built. Most of their selection is dry goods and frozen. They have very little in selection for fresh cheeses, produce and deli meats :-(
STILL, I am thrilled to have a TJ nearby. I can find Mortadella imported straight from Bologna, Italy. :-)))))
I also by many items that I can only find here: Chocolate covered coffee beans (a staple at carnivals in Italy), Pane Guttiau (from Sardinia), a delicious rice blend containing daikon seeds (yummy!) and much, much more.
Bring your own shopping bag and get entered in a monthly drawing to win groceries. MAKE SURE YOU ASK FOR THE DRAWING TICKET. So far I have NEVER had a clerk offering it to me sponteneously. I just know about it from my previous visits in TJ’s all over the country, so I request one all the time. ;-)

Not a bad place and I liked them when I stayed in Cali for a while but most of their stuff is frozen. Which isn’t all bad but we want our food fresh and ready to go. So we go to King Soopers for most of our produce.
I would like to say Trader Joe’s filled a spot for us for some things but it actually hasn’t. Now if Sprouts or Natural Grocers wasn’t in town then yes they would be a must. But it all honesty it hasn’t worked out that away.
I do NOT have anything bad to say about them just it isn’t on our list of places to go to. Oh and their service is top notch hands down!

I guess I just don’t get the hype. Everyone bemoaning how we don’t have one, now we do and I fail to see the big deal. The store is clean and funky in a chain trying hard not to be a chain way. Employees are very nice. I was excited to get any sort of a grocery store (besides Costco) in the neighborhood. We couldn’t possibly do all of our shopping there, however. I say the same about Whole Foods but at least TJ’s isn’t quite as yupscale and the prices are a bit lower. Crowded and the parking lot is a nightmare (and chock full o’ expensive cars). University Village seriously needs to consider a parking garage or something as more and more stores cram into this little chunk of real estate.

Please STAY AWAY from Trader Joe’s! It’s haunted! It smells terrible! There are vicious dogs!
Just kidding, I just want this awesome store all to myself. Being from California I had missed «Trader’s» all these years. It is awesome to finally have one here in The Springs.
The employees at TJ’s are always really rad. They are friendly, and have even suggested recipe ideas while I’ve been checking out (i.e. the whole grains medley from the freezer section, with their pesto, served with grilled chicken or TJ’s chicken sausage. Yum). My wife and I have a cookbook that has recipes that can be made with stuff from Trader Joe’s. What’s awesome about that is, we can meal plan easily, and get everything we need in one stop.
Trader Joe’s isn’t Whole Foods. Everything in the store isn’t «healthy», but they do sell many items that are; just shop wisely. The best part is your money goes pretty far here. The items in the store are all Trader Joe’s branded items, this keeps the prices low.
Even if you just need a quick lunch you can pop in and grab a delicious pre-​made salad.
Trader Joe’s… I hope you love it too.

Trader Joe’s opening was the event of 2014 in Colorado Springs. For me, at least. We got there early on opening day and found a parking spot right up front. I love the smaller selection of items here because I feel the buyers are selective. I also like the small size of the space. I don’t have to walk half a mile to get to the dairy and another half a mile to the meats. Most grocery stores are about psychology and marketing and forcing people to pass a ton of products to get to the staples in hopes that some of those products will end up in a buyer’s cart. Trader Joe’s feels like it’s more about being easy and convenient.
Some TJ products are truly legendary: cookie butter, peanut butter filled pretzel nuggets, apple cider, microwavable macaroni and cheese. I also go for the convenient produce. There’s a big jug of pre-​chopped and packaged mirepoix (carrots, celery and onion) for like $ 3 and it makes for easy soup preparation. Packaged, cooked beets are affordable and on any give day you can find a dozen different types of prepacked salads. Trader Joe’s is made for busy professionals and it won’t break the bank. I’m usually surprised when I leave because my tab wasn’t near what it might have been at an organic grocer.

What I like best about TJ’s is there selection of unique items at good prices. And I actually like their limited selection. This makes shopping faster because I don’t have to decide between 15 different peanut butters and the store is smaller.

Here’s the thing…
I LOVE Trader Joe’s. I’ve loved Trader Joes since my first trip to California several years ago. I’ve never had a bad experience! I don’t expect I ever will.
This particular location has been extremely busy since it was built recently, and that doesn’t bode well for the best shopping experience. Not to mention the parking and traffic is nuts right now! I went at 8 am after dropping the kiddo off at school and it was way less crowded. I was able to shop without feeling too anxious. I still love the normal things like cookie butter, instant coffee packets, pumpkin cheesecake, great produce and so many other staples. I also enjoyed the new gluten free goodies I was able to buy for my gluten free kiddo. :D
The people there were all so very friendly. Something I’ve come to enjoy and expect from all Trader Joe’s stores.
The only reason it’s not a five star is simply because of the parking and traffic at this location. It’s a bit of a mad house. I’ll deal with it though, all in the name of Speculoos!