Trader Joes in East Lansing, now open

Nothing let’s people know you are of another generation when you tell them you’ve never been to a Trader Joes. One) in Chicago there wasn’t a Trader Joes in my neighborhood. I’m sure one is coming as Uptown is almost completely gentrified, but in my day, Aldis was more in the mode. We had 3 or 4 thrift stores. Two) What’s the big deal? It’s a grocery store, right?

But, I might have missed the memo. It’s got stuff the other stores haven’t. Their own brand of exciting concoctions. Everything but the bagel chips, garlicky naan bread, ice cream novelties, frozen dumplings. My daughter and young Iranian friend simply swooned over the very idea. Every day they checked the progress at Facebook to see when the new store would open.

Finally, opening day and I heard from so many people: my daughter, customers at the store where I work: It’s a madhouse! The parking lot is chaos! People emptying the store shelves! I waited on customers at Playmakers, trying on dozens of pairs of shoes who finally mentioned they had ice cream out in the car. They stopped first at Trader Joes. Why didn’t you say this right off, I asked, aghast!? They had to get them before they were gone.

Finally, me, a Trader Joes virgin, went to Trader Joes. I was at once underwhelmed and overwhelmed. The selection was on par with Aldis (all owned by the same German conglomerate), pricier, but also fun. People crowded the store, someone at a cash register rang a dinghy bell, shopping carts clogged the aisles, my grandson went a bit berserk. It was stimulation overload—not just for him, but me. I bought a half gallon of milk and went back out to the car. Someone waited to get into our parking space and I didn’t have the keys to move.

I’m not sure I’ll go back/pretty sure I will.

all photos from Lansing State Journal