Visiting the Busiest Trader Joe's in the World on Super Bowl Sunday

Poor planning on my part, apocalyptic vibes on theirs

Shopping at Trader Joe’s at the 11th hour

Two things happened on Sunday:

• The Super Bowl

• A snow storm that delayed a shipment truck to my local Trader Joe’s (which happens to be the busiest outpost in the country/world).

Trader Joe’s has more than 500 locations, but the 12,500 square-foot subterranean store on West 72nd in Manhattan is known to be the busiest. Home to four escalators, two elevators, and 28 check out stands - this particular location employs triple the number of employees of the average location.

Here’s what a typical grocery run looks like:

There will always be a line

The check out line often snakes the store, there’s two lines and they move quickly (because there’s so many cashiers), but a line is inevitable most hours of the day. The best time of day to go shopping is right at opening (8am).

A banner marks the end of the line. It’s very common to shop while waiting in line, but the move is to go grocery shopping with a partner/friend so that one person can shop while the other waits in line.

By the time you reach the front, another employee will direct you to a register. Pregnant women and elderly folks can skip the line altogether by going straight to the front.

The checkout station at Trader Joe’s

Gotta give credit where credit is due, it’s very efficiently run! Even though the store is always to busy, it doesn’t feel overwhelming. Surprisingly, I still enjoy the experience! Just don’t forget the milk—I'd never risk dashing in for just one or two items — madness!

The stroller brigade convenes inside the elevator at TJ’s. Yep, despite the chaos, strollers are a common sight (strollers are the closest thing city dwellers have to SUVs).

And despite knowing all of this, I decided to go grocery shopping four hours before the Super Bowl because we were hosting friends for the game (I know, I know). Anyway, I’ve seen the store pretty bare before (around Thanksgiving and Christmas) but yesterday’s sojourn takes the cake — most of the stuff was sold out!

Here’s some photos, if you’d like to see.

There were only two bags of carrots left. Wild.

I’m not saying I was eager to make salad or anything, but we didn’t even have the option!

8 gallons of milk left.

No hummus, no salsa. What’s a gal to do!

Eggs are especially hard to come by (this photo is from Thanksgiving week).

Like most things, grocery shopping in New York isn’t as simple as it seems! I thought it’d be interesting to share what it’s like, hope you enjoyed!

Cheers,

Antonina