Trader Joe’s: A one-month review of Asheville’s newest grocery

It’s been nearly a month since Trader Joe’s opened on Merrimon Avenue. Its parking lot and and store aisles are still busy. As the store Captain Collin Carson puts it, “We love foodies, and Asheville has tons of them, so it’s a perfect fit for us.” (Yes, his title is “Captain” not Manager. Carson explains, “We have a nautical theme here at Trader Joe’s. We’re traders on the culinary seas; the title goes along with that.”)

At Trader Joe’s, there are no sales or specials. This low pricing is possible because of an alternative business model. “At Trader Joe’s we keep approximately 90 percent of our products under our private label, the Trader Joe’s label,” said Carson. “Keeping things under the private label allows us to strip away some of the things that you pay for with other situations, like big advertising campaigns.”

This labeling resembles Asheville-based Ingles stocking mostly Laura Lynn products; however, Joe’s goes a step further, claiming that its products contain no GMOs, no partially hydrogenated oils, no artificial flavors and no preservatives.

One of the most revered (and perhaps legendary) items sold at Trader Joe’s is “Two Buck Chuck,” an affectionate name for the cheaply priced Charles Shaw table wine. Pricing varies in different parts of the country, and a bottle sells for $3.99 in Asheville. “It’s one of the big things that we’re known for and people are defiantly over the moon for that.”

A new business in town means jobs, but not all are local. The company’s website states that in new stores, “The management team is selected from existing Trader Joe’s stores and transferred to the new store location.” Carson said, “We have a lot of good people on our staff. Quite a few of them are local Asheville folk, and they have been wonderful.”

What about locally sourced ingredients and supporting local businesses? Carson shared, “We carry 30 local beers from Asheville. … We also have locally sourced artisan breads.” Carson mentioned Asheville Brewing Company as one of the breweries, but declined to name the local bread supplier, as those products are sold under the Trader Joe’s private label.

As to the logistical presence of the store on the already busy Merrimon Avenue, Carson commented, “Whenever a new store opens, the traffic volume does tend to increase. … We hope that members of the community will be patient with us because typically those traffic patterns will die down over the course of the first couple months or years or however it happens. I can’t comment on any further additional plans for parking expansion, but that’s kind of what we’ve seen, that typical spike in traffic. It doesn’t stay that way forever.”