“It Comes From California”

Trader Joe’s opening as reported by the Villager:

Three days after its grand opening on St. Patrick’s Day, the specialty grocery store at 142 E. 14th St. attracted more shoppers than it could handle. So 30 people had to wait outside before a Trader Joe’s employee allowed them to enter. “Are you serious — this line’s for a grocery store?” one woman hissed before joining the queue.

Inside, Trader Joe’s aisles were packed with shoppers. Employees dodged carts and baskets as they tried to restock the rapidly emptying shelves. The line for the cash registers looped around the entire store, all the way to the bread section. There, a cheerful employee dressed in a Trader Joe’s signature Hawaiian-print shirt held up a sign indicating “End of Line.”

. . .

As Monday’s crowd indicated, Trader Joe’s has its share of fans. Waiting on line for the register, a couple asked the stranger in front of them to snap a photo of them in front of their overflowing shopping cart. The man obliged as the couple grinned from ear to ear.

Vida Mulec, 25, an international affairs graduate student at New School University, exited the store, pleased with her purchases. It’s cheaper than the nearby Whole Foods Market, she said. “I got a dozen eggs for 99 cents,” she gushed.

Other first-time Trader Joe’s shoppers were less impressed with the store. “It’s not that cheap, but if it’s organic, you pay a special price for that,” Alex Brunavs said. Brunavs, a 64-year-old retiree, read about the opening of Trader Joe’s in the newspaper. “I heard it comes from California,” he said.