Jackson Heights Life

Done

Oh man, Wegmans in Queens would be a dream come true.

Sadly though, I think since Wegman's is a smaller, regional, family run chain they'd be a lot less confident the ROI would be significant enough here in Queens. It's just not a universally known brand here. Also their price point, while better than a whole foods might not get people out in droves like a TJ's would.

BTW that Wegmans coming to Brooklyn is a bit out of the way. It will have parking but is an 18 minute walk from the closest subway in DUMBO. For the record they announced that store in 2015, filed plans in 2016 (https://ny.curbed.com/2016/6/14/11937840/brooklyn-navy-yard-wegmans-nyc) and it's now said it won't be completed until mid-late 2019!! Maybe they're having second thoughts? http://www.businessinsider.com/wegmans-in-brooklyn-wont-open-until-2019-2017-5

Thousands of people live within an 18 minute walk of that Wegmans.

It will be a good employer, I believe they win annual best places to work awards. They have scholarship funds, and flex time and opportunities for advancement.

Upstate, they are very popular. However, in recent years, they've switched to filling shelves with mainly their own brand name products, which makes shopping hard, when you're loyal to other brands.

Stores in PA and NJ have lots of prepared food options. My bet is they are looking to me a mid-priced whole foods here in BKLYN.

That may well be true for Cornell alumni, though Wegman's fame obviously extends beyond Ithaca. You probably won't be surprised to know Upstate has its own (admittedly beautiful) Bermuda Triangle, covering the space between the points of Syracuse, Albany, and Binghamton. Anyone who has the means and desire will drive for miles outside that food desert to shop at Wegman's, just to find more nutritious options than roadkill. 

I went to the Trader Joe's Queens on Sunday morning, which might be the worst possible time to go there. It was solidly packed throughout the store, all with people with carts piled high. It was almost impossible to shop. The line itself for checking out moved quickly, though.

When I was at the checkout, the cashier happened to mention to me that he believes the Queens store, while small, is the highest-grossing Trader Joe's in NYC, because people do exactly what I described above -- take their cars there and fill huge amounts of products into carts and then take them away with their cars. In Manhattan, they probably have more individual shoppers, but since people are usually carrying their groceries by hand, they buy smaller amounts.

So...my question is: why doesn't Trader Joe's open another Queens store if the money is so good here??

Was traveling around California for a few weeks and went to the Trader Joe's in La Jolla (fancy suburb of San Diego). It was nearly empty and pleasant on a Saturday morning...the clerk had worked at TJ's in NY and said that stores in CA never get that crazy. I imagine that this is because CA is much less dense than NYC, and there are more TJ's.

Right now TJ might be taking advantage of a bit of artificial scarcity as it slowly opens new stores in the Northeast. If they open too fast they might saturate the market. Fairway opened a ton of stores in this area over the last 10 years and then had to declare bankruptcy. TJ's might not have the same problem, but having fewer crowded stores rather than dozens of less crowded might be an intentional business strategy.

Noticed this with In 'N Out Burger in CA as well. Not that many of them compared to other fast food, but every single one is busy, even at off-peak times.

FYI- We had asked Trader Joes cashiers if it is ever not busy and they said Friday evenings are usually quiet. Go figure!

Good to know!

it actually makes sense in that area, given the higher percentage of observant residents. not so true at Manhattan locations.