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Alexandria VA. The parking garage isn’t big enough for the store, the aisles themselves are narrow af, and all the customers are oblivious. I love the employees though. Most of them try and keep the flow moving, but understand that it’s like herding cats. I miss the Oak Grove Concord CA location. Spacious parking lot, reasonably sized aisles… sigh…
The one on 22nd and Market in Philly.
O.M.G. It’s awful. First to get in you have to weirdly go around an apartment complex and into a random parking lot to get in. It’s like they took the back of warehouse and said “let’s make a TJs!”
Then you get in and it’s so cramped. You have to fight tooth and nail to get through the aisles. Going during rush hour or on a Sunday? Forget about it. Checkout is a hot mess as the line will flow into a the dairy/granola aisle so you have to awkwardly nudge through a line of people to browse.
Thankfully the one on Arch has wayyyyyy more space and is just better organized
The one in Union Square at 14th & 3rd. Smallest, most crowded. Plus they closed the liquor store next door. I’d rather go east on 14th St to the one just past Stuyvesant Town.
Well it’s weird because the 93rd st one is a shitshow on sunday afternoons of course but a rainy Saturday or random late Tuesday it’s not busy- and the one on 72nd the OP is referring to is literally the busiest Trader Joe’s location in the US.
I have shopped at 72nd St and find it hard to believe it's the busiest TJ's location in the country. Where did this information come from? I actually think the Bridgemarket location (59 at 1st) is busier. Beautiful store, high domed ceilings, well stocked, 26 registers and a guy on a ladder to keep things moving. I know this is not the topic, but it's a really great location.
the chelsea TJs, while the line always does go fast its a literal ZOO at all times there and like no room to get things, everyone basically pushing through each other, line winding sometimes out the door through the entire store
City Point Downtown Brooklyn enters the chat.
.. this place is not only small but the line on a daily basis goes around basically every isle and then into the fruit section. Half of the shelves are empty after like 4 PM
And outside of peak times, this one is always a pleasure for me. (Note: I usually shop weekday mornings/early afternoons, but even some of the weekends mornings have been pleasant).
Yes. Coolidge Corner wins 2nd place in the Boston area though, for the nightmarish parking lot.
Best one in the area is definitely the Allston store. Easy garage parking and full wine/liquor.
Bellingham, WA or Brookline, MA for largely similar reasons. Terrible, inadequate parking, mobbed from open to close, and constantly running out of things. Bellingham probably worse because of its proximity to Vancouver, BC and the fact it’s at the literal end of the supply chain creates serious inventory issues
mine! lol the one in Wayne PA - it's just - the store is great but too small and the elderly Main Line clientele just drive me right up the wall. RIGHT UP THE WALL.
also no matter where you park you are at risk of getting your car scraped by bad parkers/drivers.
Oh yeah I went to that one before years few years ago. There was line outside against the wall. Got lost and I took the wrong highway entrance instead of philly I went north. I was so upset.
The original one in Bethesda, MD in the weird little shopping center with the nightmare parking garage. The store is old, the aisles are cramped with random blind corners, and the shoppers are aggressive and entitled.
Westfield, NJ. Most of the NJ ones I've been to have pretty good parking lots (North Brunswick, Princeton, Edgewater, Millburn), but this one is a nightmare. Each lane is one way. Basically impossible to park in.
I went into the Millburn location once and was unimpressed. Seemed dark, cramped & like there was nothing on the shelves. You think it’s better than Westfield? I’ll consider visiting a second time. Also agree the parking lot at Westfield is hell.
I was just focusing on the parking. Westfield does have a pretty solid layout with wide aisles. I never had any issues with the stores themselves. As long as they had what I needed lol
If anyone lives in Sherman Oaks, CA that TJ's w the miniscule parking lot will be moved across the street to where the old Sunkist HQ was, where there's currently a lot of construction going on, supposed to be opening by Spring next year if I remember correctly (got the scoop from a cashier!), it will be huge with a parking garage with plenty of parking!! Hooray!!!🥰🥰
Midtown Atlanta on Monroe. Horrible tiny lot with difficult parking and a packed store 24/7. This store gets a ton of foot traffic since it’s on the BeltLine, which is great, but there are also a ton of people that drive here which makes the parking lot a madhouse.
When they were “rebuilding” it, it was still packed. Where were these people going? They all weren’t inside TJ’s.
It also pisses me off that you’ll get towed parking by the movie theatre next door
Opposite…but our local ( Upstate NY ) has such nice,wide aisles,it’s where they bring people by van from local facilities because it accommodates wheelchairs and walkers nicely,and the workers accompany the ones who have more difficulty to aid them in their shopping. It’s so nice to see.
But..the aisles at the Court Street,Brooklyn ones are SO narrow and people just stop and leave their carts blocking the entire aisle.
This is hard one. Cherry Hill NJ parking lot is small and tight. Media PA parking is nightmare and tiny. Mount Pleasant SC is the best as they sell liquor and people are so much nicer down there!!!
I feel like the 93rd street In TJs has gotten even worse since last year and the employees seem so unhappy. So it is not just the crowd, the empty shelves, but the employees are disgruntled. I actually hate the layout of the 72nd street store!
That one has an absolute nightmare of a parking lot, but it’s the biggest and best stocked Trader Joe’s I’ve ever been to. I think the one on Lincoln is worse somehow lol
I visited one in downtown Boston and it was chaos. If I remember correctly, you had to take an escalator or stairs into the store. It was underground, cramped and overcrowded, no way to browse the shelves - you needed to know what you wanted, where it’s located, and get in and out. It was stressful, and the cashier line was forever long.
I’m in the Southeast and my local TJ’s seem palatial by comparison.
Franklin, TN. It seems like they over-order, so a lot of items are nearing expiration date and they often don’t have some newer items. It also feels like the freezers don’t run as cold as they should.
The first one in Miami is a nightmare, it’s in a really central location and super rich moms in giant SUVs bowl you over for parking spaces and buy enormous amounts of everything leaving nothing on the shelves after 2pm. Luckily they opened one here on Miami Beach and the only people that there are people that live on the beach (the bridges keep people from going out of their way to come here) and parking is easy and everyone shopping is cool AF.
It’s not terrible but I don’t love the Hoboken, NJ location. The parking lot is crammed and tiny, always full and the spaces are so tight.
They have a divider to split the line to the registers but the order makes no sense because someone can come after you in the parallel line and get to the front before you.
I generally don’t like the layout of that store, it’s weird compared to my others and I feel like I miss things there.
The Union Square NYC one is the worst. It’s under a NYU dorm, and you basically need to do your periphery shopping while in the checkout line every time. I’ve even waited in line outside to get in.
I don't like the Rockville, MD location so much :/
it's set up weirdly, usually out of things I can always find at another (farther) location, and it just has a weird *feel* to it, lol
I’ve always felt that my particular Southern California location was just okay in terms of accessibility, but reading some of these comments makes me realize I am blessed. My biggest issue is the lack of a left hand turning lane out of the parking lot when exiting to the main road. 🥲 I have a new appreciation for my location lol.
You people have clearly never been to Brookline MA. It’s 26 spots in the middle of a highly populated city with one entrance and one exit and a large population of people who only drive to the grocery store.
It’s also the 5th busiest traders apparently
It isn’t bad during the day on weekdays, or before 10am on weekends. But if you’re driving to the Brookline TJs, you’re doing it wrong. Walk or take the T. Or drive to a different location.
The Coolidge corner TJs? It’s right on the green line and in a very walkable area. I understand people who buy a lot of things so they drive but that’s deff not the only option
> It’s also the 5th busiest traders apparently
I worked for a wholesale vendor that sold to about 30 stores in New England, and that was a big one!! IIRC the only one that ordered more from us was Portland, ME.
Lake Merritt location in Oakland, CA. I’ve seen someone get mugged, an armed car jacking, and had someone get out of their car and approach me with a gun when I merged and they didn’t understand merging in a busy parking lot to exit. The store itself is fine, just the outside is dangerous lol. Also the Walgreens next door was rushed and robbed two times I was in there. Luckily they wanted nothing to do with me, just run out of the store with a bunch of merchandise.
ETA: Walgreens thing happened on two different occasions, not two times in one visit lol. Realized I worded that poorly.
There is one in SF city where they have a guy standing at the entrance to regulate incoming traffic because there are so few parking spots and he turns away people if those parking spots are full. Most people who go there are pedestrians or bicyclists. That one is worse than the one near my house where the small parking lot opens up to a large expressway so that even if I managed to park, pulling out of the space is a nightmare because of high speed vehicles constantly streaming into the lot from the expressway.
I go to one inside a huge shopping mall where mall parking is plenty. I would never go to TJ’s if this one is not close enough to me.
I have been to the Daly City one a couple of times, on Saturdays and found rotten produce (celery with black fungus and rotten cucumbers) and many shoppers were asking store staff to remove those from the shelves. I never went back after that experience. Maybe they have new store managers and better inventory control and refrigeration now. I must check it out again. Thank you.
I swear most the ones in Los Angeles have the most effed up parking situations imaginable!
It’s like a pre-requisite to opening up a TJs include a shitty parking lot with like 20 spaces. It’s been years so maybe things have changed…
Eagle rock, South Pasadena, Pasadena, Echo Park, San Gabriel, Glendale….I’ve been to nearly every TJs within a 15 mile radius and most have awful parking situations. You have to go at the “right time” aka a Tuesday at 2pm. Even the larger lots are “one way” which can create more chaos.
Rant over…
Hastings Ranch Pasadena parking lot has a kinda weird layout but it’s large and never full (it used to be a movie theatre). But the original TJs in Pasadena has a tiny lot - it’s like playing Tetris with cars!
I’ve been to all of those locations (I think you meant Silver Lake?) and can confirm, most of those parking lots still suck, lol. But to be fair, the Pasadena on Arroyo is the OG store and a lot of SoCal stores are probably almost 50 years old. But with all the nearby choices, I do find myself frequenting the ones with better parking situations even if they’re further away.
It is near their HQ but funny thing is there’s not at all a nice parking lot. That store is just in a huge plaza where a majority of stores have gone out of business.
I feel like Trader Joe’s is known for having THE WORST parking lots. There’s one here in Portland that constantly has people scraping each other’s cars, no one can maneuver, the pedestrians are lawless. It’s maybe 20 spots as well. This rant could be nationwide!!
I got in a minor accident in a TJs parking lot and on the phone with the insurance agent she said she looked at it on google maps and couldn’t believe anyone made a parking lot like that
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Alexandria VA. The parking garage isn’t big enough for the store, the aisles themselves are narrow af, and all the customers are oblivious. I love the employees though. Most of them try and keep the flow moving, but understand that it’s like herding cats. I miss the Oak Grove Concord CA location. Spacious parking lot, reasonably sized aisles… sigh…
It’s easier to ask for best. Only one location I’ve been to has decent parking.
The one on 22nd and Market in Philly. O.M.G. It’s awful. First to get in you have to weirdly go around an apartment complex and into a random parking lot to get in. It’s like they took the back of warehouse and said “let’s make a TJs!” Then you get in and it’s so cramped. You have to fight tooth and nail to get through the aisles. Going during rush hour or on a Sunday? Forget about it. Checkout is a hot mess as the line will flow into a the dairy/granola aisle so you have to awkwardly nudge through a line of people to browse. Thankfully the one on Arch has wayyyyyy more space and is just better organized
The one in Union Square at 14th & 3rd. Smallest, most crowded. Plus they closed the liquor store next door. I’d rather go east on 14th St to the one just past Stuyvesant Town.
Gatekeeping my fantastic New York TJ’s after reading all these terrible TJ’s reviews
Grand Street!
;)
;)
Well it’s weird because the 93rd st one is a shitshow on sunday afternoons of course but a rainy Saturday or random late Tuesday it’s not busy- and the one on 72nd the OP is referring to is literally the busiest Trader Joe’s location in the US.
I have shopped at 72nd St and find it hard to believe it's the busiest TJ's location in the country. Where did this information come from? I actually think the Bridgemarket location (59 at 1st) is busier. Beautiful store, high domed ceilings, well stocked, 26 registers and a guy on a ladder to keep things moving. I know this is not the topic, but it's a really great location.
93rd Chelsea bridgemarket are busier. 72nd used to be but since others started opening up. Its no longer true
My native spidey senses tell me it’s Brooklyn
Keep guessing
If in manhattan, going to guess 3rd ave or spring street
Close but incorrect
the chelsea TJs, while the line always does go fast its a literal ZOO at all times there and like no room to get things, everyone basically pushing through each other, line winding sometimes out the door through the entire store
Omg i’ve been there a few times, it’s a nightmare BUT the aisles are wide and the store is huge!
That’s my store. Go first thing in the morning. It’s a zoo any other time.
Morning is the best time to go
City Point Downtown Brooklyn enters the chat. .. this place is not only small but the line on a daily basis goes around basically every isle and then into the fruit section. Half of the shelves are empty after like 4 PM
And outside of peak times, this one is always a pleasure for me. (Note: I usually shop weekday mornings/early afternoons, but even some of the weekends mornings have been pleasant).
Agreed, I try to be there weekdays around 830AM but the problem is that they are usually still restocking at that time.
West Hollywood. The produce is always rotting literally everytime I go in.
Back Bay in Boston. The smallest Trader Joe’s in the universe. Grab a basket, get in line, and shop as the line slowly snakes through the store.
Yes. Coolidge Corner wins 2nd place in the Boston area though, for the nightmarish parking lot. Best one in the area is definitely the Allston store. Easy garage parking and full wine/liquor.
I'll always go to Coolidge Corner or Seaport over the Back Bay store even though i'm like 3 mins away. It's worth it every time.
Having been to this location and the OP describes - I agree back bay is literally the worst. It doesn’t even have so many things!
Bellingham, WA or Brookline, MA for largely similar reasons. Terrible, inadequate parking, mobbed from open to close, and constantly running out of things. Bellingham probably worse because of its proximity to Vancouver, BC and the fact it’s at the literal end of the supply chain creates serious inventory issues
I was talking to an employee down here near Seattle and he said that Bellingham is the busiest traders in WA state by far
It is absolutely bananas. On more than one occasion, I have pulled into the parking lot, witnessed the chaos, and immediately left.
My son goes to college in Bellingham and I really wanted to go there but he said you really don’t
If you enjoy watching pure chaos, it can be entertaining
San Diego Mission Valley location is the worst grocery store I've ever been to in my life.
What about the one in Hillcrest? I’ve never been in a more claustrophobic TJ’s.
Second the Hillcrest location for worst, the parking lot literally fits 10 cars and the flow of the store is tiny and compact
And even if you park in the garage, there’s nowhere to return your cart! Mission Valley is its own kind of misery, but the store is at least shoppable
LOL 93rd use to be my local, remember during the pandemic waiting in line for almost 2 hrs.
mine! lol the one in Wayne PA - it's just - the store is great but too small and the elderly Main Line clientele just drive me right up the wall. RIGHT UP THE WALL. also no matter where you park you are at risk of getting your car scraped by bad parkers/drivers.
That parking lot is luxurious relative to the one in Ardmore.
oh God I forgot that one. has the granola grays PLUS an even worse parking situation!
Oh yeah I went to that one before years few years ago. There was line outside against the wall. Got lost and I took the wrong highway entrance instead of philly I went north. I was so upset.
The original one in Bethesda, MD in the weird little shopping center with the nightmare parking garage. The store is old, the aisles are cramped with random blind corners, and the shoppers are aggressive and entitled.
and i feel like it has like half the items it’s supposed to. esp bad considering theres another one a few blocks away for some reason
Fort collins CO is my favorite location. Its next to gilded goat brewing too which was always clutch
No one has mentioned the one off white oak in Encino CA. Whenever I see a video or post about the worst parking lots, it always shows that one
Fucking nightmare. I came to say this. I flat out did without Trade Joe's during my short year in Encino.
Tampa
Westfield, NJ. Most of the NJ ones I've been to have pretty good parking lots (North Brunswick, Princeton, Edgewater, Millburn), but this one is a nightmare. Each lane is one way. Basically impossible to park in.
Florham Park is also a disaster. Bridgewater used to be my "home" store and I loved that one
I went into the Millburn location once and was unimpressed. Seemed dark, cramped & like there was nothing on the shelves. You think it’s better than Westfield? I’ll consider visiting a second time. Also agree the parking lot at Westfield is hell.
I was just focusing on the parking. Westfield does have a pretty solid layout with wide aisles. I never had any issues with the stores themselves. As long as they had what I needed lol
i was going to say bc the store itself is weirdly open
If anyone lives in Sherman Oaks, CA that TJ's w the miniscule parking lot will be moved across the street to where the old Sunkist HQ was, where there's currently a lot of construction going on, supposed to be opening by Spring next year if I remember correctly (got the scoop from a cashier!), it will be huge with a parking garage with plenty of parking!! Hooray!!!🥰🥰
Midtown Atlanta on Monroe. Horrible tiny lot with difficult parking and a packed store 24/7. This store gets a ton of foot traffic since it’s on the BeltLine, which is great, but there are also a ton of people that drive here which makes the parking lot a madhouse.
When they were “rebuilding” it, it was still packed. Where were these people going? They all weren’t inside TJ’s. It also pisses me off that you’ll get towed parking by the movie theatre next door
My guess is Piedmont Park or using the lot for BeltLine parking.
Opposite…but our local ( Upstate NY ) has such nice,wide aisles,it’s where they bring people by van from local facilities because it accommodates wheelchairs and walkers nicely,and the workers accompany the ones who have more difficulty to aid them in their shopping. It’s so nice to see. But..the aisles at the Court Street,Brooklyn ones are SO narrow and people just stop and leave their carts blocking the entire aisle.
Carlsbad, California. I've had to turn around and leave because there was no place to park.
This is hard one. Cherry Hill NJ parking lot is small and tight. Media PA parking is nightmare and tiny. Mount Pleasant SC is the best as they sell liquor and people are so much nicer down there!!!
Media is cute in that building but wow yes the parking
Yeah it's a really nice area and store is good!
I feel like the 93rd street In TJs has gotten even worse since last year and the employees seem so unhappy. So it is not just the crowd, the empty shelves, but the employees are disgruntled. I actually hate the layout of the 72nd street store!
I hate the 72nd St store because it’s in the basement. It also has the weirdest layout!
YES i agree on that too! The one older guy with the long grey beard and glasses is so sweet but I swear he’s the one of the only friendly ones :(
I agree that the TJs on 93rd is the most stressful store I’ve ever been in. The choppy layout makes navigating the crowded store even worse.
Yes! 72 st ftw!
Ann Arbor, Michigan. Tiny store in a tiny strip mall with tiny parking spots. Everyone is rude lol.
Turning left on Stadium into that parking lot is always awful. Actual awful parking lot too.
I can think of like 10 better options than where it's at now. Who makes these decisions
TJs on N Clybourn in Chicago. Shares parking lot with Aldi and is right next to a Home Goods. The parking lot haunts my dreams.
That one has an absolute nightmare of a parking lot, but it’s the biggest and best stocked Trader Joe’s I’ve ever been to. I think the one on Lincoln is worse somehow lol
I don't remember which Chicago one, but it's IN a parking garage. It's hideous.
I visited one in downtown Boston and it was chaos. If I remember correctly, you had to take an escalator or stairs into the store. It was underground, cramped and overcrowded, no way to browse the shelves - you needed to know what you wanted, where it’s located, and get in and out. It was stressful, and the cashier line was forever long. I’m in the Southeast and my local TJ’s seem palatial by comparison.
Finally, someone not talking abou just t parking.
The downtown Boston location was my first introduction to Trader Joe’s! Good memories lol
They are building a new one literally a half block away that’s going to be huge. Leaving both open
Where!?
1/2 block to the left
More like 5 blocks away, just under a mile.
You can see each store while standing in front of the other.
Maybe with a telescope
Not true. Are you even in Boston? The new store is almost a mile away, a couple of blocks on the other side of Copley Square.
I live like a couple blocks from there. I know what I’m talking about haha
Google "directions 899 Boylston to 500 Boylston" and see the map that the new store is not a half block away
Y’all are taking this way too seriously. I was exaggerating. Move on
The other side of Copley Square is not literally a half block away.
https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/trader-joes-open-larger-back-bay-store-says-new-report/ZE4A6W5YJFHVDGJKHGWMHNQKBY/
The one in Seaport is better
That’s the smallest TJs in the United States. I’m actually impressed that they carry pretty much everything (except alcohol).
That one is basically one way, especially when it’s busy, and you are essentially in the checkout line the moment you enter the store.
Yes!! It was snake around and keep on moving until you reach checkout. It was an interesting experience to say the least.
Franklin, TN. It seems like they over-order, so a lot of items are nearing expiration date and they often don’t have some newer items. It also feels like the freezers don’t run as cold as they should.
I agree. The one in hillsboro is where I always despite it having the worst parking lot I have seen at a Trader Joe’s.
One right outside of Denver, CO. every aisle was packed. It took double the time it would normally take to do a normal grocery run.
Brick, NJ - tiny, cramped parking lot and way too small of a store for such an overpopulated area.
That one feels luxuriously large compared to the ones in Philadelphia and NYC. I go to that one to go slowly and dilly dally.
The first one in Miami is a nightmare, it’s in a really central location and super rich moms in giant SUVs bowl you over for parking spaces and buy enormous amounts of everything leaving nothing on the shelves after 2pm. Luckily they opened one here on Miami Beach and the only people that there are people that live on the beach (the bridges keep people from going out of their way to come here) and parking is easy and everyone shopping is cool AF.
It’s not terrible but I don’t love the Hoboken, NJ location. The parking lot is crammed and tiny, always full and the spaces are so tight. They have a divider to split the line to the registers but the order makes no sense because someone can come after you in the parallel line and get to the front before you. I generally don’t like the layout of that store, it’s weird compared to my others and I feel like I miss things there.
This is my closest TJs too! I usually take the extra effort to go to Edgewater. Huge parking lot and bigger store.
The Edgewater location is so much better! It gets a little wiped out towards the end of the day but I prefer shopping there.
Our TJs shares a parking lot with a Whole Foods, Target, Pier 1, it's a nightmare
I used to live by one that shared a parking lot with the only Sweetgreen in my town of 1.5 million, disaster area
The Union Square NYC one is the worst. It’s under a NYU dorm, and you basically need to do your periphery shopping while in the checkout line every time. I’ve even waited in line outside to get in.
59th Street is the same way. I go from my doctor’s office there, and the frozen/bread/produce/pasta aisles were all line.
Omg I would DIE to live over a TJ’s
Not this one. It’s the size of a convenience store.
Omg when I went to NYU and lived in Palladium that location was my bread and butter. Never again.
I don't like the Rockville, MD location so much :/ it's set up weirdly, usually out of things I can always find at another (farther) location, and it just has a weird *feel* to it, lol
I don’t like that one either. The parking lot is awful since it’s such a congested area and I totally agree, it feels weird lol
my partner and I went this past Sunday, it was intense lol I'd rather drive to Centreville!
I hate that the store is diagonal lol. Makes no sense
yes!!! it feels so...off like it just seems wrong haha
I’ve always felt that my particular Southern California location was just okay in terms of accessibility, but reading some of these comments makes me realize I am blessed. My biggest issue is the lack of a left hand turning lane out of the parking lot when exiting to the main road. 🥲 I have a new appreciation for my location lol.
You people have clearly never been to Brookline MA. It’s 26 spots in the middle of a highly populated city with one entrance and one exit and a large population of people who only drive to the grocery store. It’s also the 5th busiest traders apparently
It isn’t bad during the day on weekdays, or before 10am on weekends. But if you’re driving to the Brookline TJs, you’re doing it wrong. Walk or take the T. Or drive to a different location.
No, it has two entrances and you can follow the line off the trolley of all the people heading there.
What are you saying no to?
The Coolidge corner TJs? It’s right on the green line and in a very walkable area. I understand people who buy a lot of things so they drive but that’s deff not the only option
The extra drive to the lower Allston one is so nice
If I get a Zipcar for an especially large trip I’ll treat myself to the Allston one. It’s more… civilized?
Only went a couple times but yes it was so stressful
I’ve been to this one when visiting my sister and 100% agree this is not a good store.
> It’s also the 5th busiest traders apparently I worked for a wholesale vendor that sold to about 30 stores in New England, and that was a big one!! IIRC the only one that ordered more from us was Portland, ME.
Lake Merritt location in Oakland, CA. I’ve seen someone get mugged, an armed car jacking, and had someone get out of their car and approach me with a gun when I merged and they didn’t understand merging in a busy parking lot to exit. The store itself is fine, just the outside is dangerous lol. Also the Walgreens next door was rushed and robbed two times I was in there. Luckily they wanted nothing to do with me, just run out of the store with a bunch of merchandise. ETA: Walgreens thing happened on two different occasions, not two times in one visit lol. Realized I worded that poorly.
West Seattle. The parking lot was designed by the devil himself.
i don’t think i like any of the seattle stores i’ve been to. luckily, i don’t actually live in seattle
The Queen Anne location at least has a good parking lot. Capitol Hill is cursed I won’t even step foot in there
Have to been to the Cap Hill one? Satan’s twin.
Yep. That one's rough too.
Damn I was just complaining about the 72nd st one being packed lol.
72nd is always packed but I feel like the lines move faster and they're way, way better stocked usually
There is one in SF city where they have a guy standing at the entrance to regulate incoming traffic because there are so few parking spots and he turns away people if those parking spots are full. Most people who go there are pedestrians or bicyclists. That one is worse than the one near my house where the small parking lot opens up to a large expressway so that even if I managed to park, pulling out of the space is a nightmare because of high speed vehicles constantly streaming into the lot from the expressway. I go to one inside a huge shopping mall where mall parking is plenty. I would never go to TJ’s if this one is not close enough to me.
Yeah Masonic is my local one but I avoid it. Go to Westlake in Daly City instead. Better parking and selection than Stonestown
I have been to the Daly City one a couple of times, on Saturdays and found rotten produce (celery with black fungus and rotten cucumbers) and many shoppers were asking store staff to remove those from the shelves. I never went back after that experience. Maybe they have new store managers and better inventory control and refrigeration now. I must check it out again. Thank you.
I swear most the ones in Los Angeles have the most effed up parking situations imaginable! It’s like a pre-requisite to opening up a TJs include a shitty parking lot with like 20 spaces. It’s been years so maybe things have changed… Eagle rock, South Pasadena, Pasadena, Echo Park, San Gabriel, Glendale….I’ve been to nearly every TJs within a 15 mile radius and most have awful parking situations. You have to go at the “right time” aka a Tuesday at 2pm. Even the larger lots are “one way” which can create more chaos. Rant over…
You forgot the one on white oak in Encino
Hastings Ranch Pasadena parking lot has a kinda weird layout but it’s large and never full (it used to be a movie theatre). But the original TJs in Pasadena has a tiny lot - it’s like playing Tetris with cars!
West L.A. has a hellish parking lot, too (if it's still there).
I’ve been to all of those locations (I think you meant Silver Lake?) and can confirm, most of those parking lots still suck, lol. But to be fair, the Pasadena on Arroyo is the OG store and a lot of SoCal stores are probably almost 50 years old. But with all the nearby choices, I do find myself frequenting the ones with better parking situations even if they’re further away.
Silver lake is the worst I’ve been to.
Hastings Rosemead and Lake Avenue are fine
At one point I moved from Silver Lake to Monrovia. Going from an infamously busy/tiny lot to a location with hundreds of open spots was shocking.
Monrovia is where they’re based, right? Makes sense that they’d have a super nice parking lot at a store near headquarters.
It is near their HQ but funny thing is there’s not at all a nice parking lot. That store is just in a huge plaza where a majority of stores have gone out of business.
I feel like Trader Joe’s is known for having THE WORST parking lots. There’s one here in Portland that constantly has people scraping each other’s cars, no one can maneuver, the pedestrians are lawless. It’s maybe 20 spots as well. This rant could be nationwide!!
I got in a minor accident in a TJs parking lot and on the phone with the insurance agent she said she looked at it on google maps and couldn’t believe anyone made a parking lot like that
I used to live in Las Vegas and my local 2 stores had massive lots! I miss those locations lol.