That’s what’s expected to happen when manic followers of the cult grocery chain Trader Joe’s arrive for the chain’s first opening ever in Utah. The doors open at 8 a.m. Friday for the grand opening in Salt Lake City at 634 E. 400 South (inside The Family Center at East Downtown).
The 54-year-old Southern California grocery chain operates 381 locations in 34 states, but Trader Joe’s will finally arrive in Utah to introduce residents to its off-kilter, high-seas décor and its well-known organic, one-of-a-kind specialty foods.
So what are these delirious devotees clamoring for? How about Trader Joe’s Belgian Butter Waffle Cookies. Or the Trader Joe’s Carrot Cake Cookies. There’s also the Trader Joe’s Puffed Wheat Cereal Sweetened with Organic Agave Syrup as well as Trader Joe’s Hofbrau Brats.
Sure, they have the regular eggs, cheese and produce you can get at any other grocery store. But fans say Trader Joe’s fruits and vegetables are all organic, while still available at reasonable prices.
"There are a lot of unique products," said the new store’s manager, Rory Violette, who is called the "captain" (middle managers are called "mates," while employees are called "crew members.") "Anything under the Trader Joe’s label is free of artificial colors and preservatives. It’s kind of like a food scavenger hunt every day. We have new items every week."
The Trader Joe’s concept aims to replicate the small neighborhood grocery store vibe. The Salt Lake City store will cover 12,700 square feet, the average size of a Trader Joe’s but just a fraction of much bigger grocery stores operated by Smith’s or Dan’s.
Jack Plunkett, CEO of industry analyst group Plunkett Research Ltd., estimates that Trader Joe’s will make $9.5 billion in sales this year, or about $2,000 per square foot of space the company owns. That puts Trader Joe’s in the upper echelon of a list of retailers that includes Apple stores, certain jewelers and the shopping plaza at the Circus Circus Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, he said.
A big part of that success, he added, can be attributed to Trader Joe’s-branded food. More than 80 percent of what the grocer sells is specialty foods, from Trader Joe’s Honey Nut O’s Cereal to Trader Joe’s Garbanzo Beans and Trader Joe’s Chicken Mole with White Rice.
A private label also creates more customer loyalty. So much so that there are Trader Joe’s fan pages on Facebook. One was created specifically for Utahns’ craving for the first store in the Beehive State. Salt Lake Tribune
