Who Is the "Joe" Behind Trader Joe's?

[@Lynn17]

Trader Joe is easily my favorite supermarket chain. Good prices, great food, friendly workers, I've taken to doing the majority of my shopping there.

[@tonyvargas368]

About 15 years ago, I met Joe Coulombe at a party at Jones Coffee Roasters in Pasadena. Thank you Joe. You have our unwavering gratitude. Fun fact, a friend of mine lives in Joe’s former residence in San Marino CA.

[@kleokleopatra3536]

TJs has been my favorite store since FOREVER !!!! real food/drink you can afford !!! and it is GOOD, tasty, varied !!!!

[@radd.]

I wonder how Weird History Food is coming up with these unimaginably odd questions that someone has never asked before yet still leaves us wondering.

[@andrewbatts7678]

I was gonna say they should make a video about that. But upon brief review I found that has been done hundreds of thousands of times

[@funnyshowyouknow]

They actually have an entire book on the beginnings of Trader Joe’s. Thought it was dumb at first but was actually a good read.

[@MatthewTheWanderer]

How is this video unimaginably odd?

[@samholdsworth420]

​@@funnyshowyouknowAldi 🤯

[@rustyshacklef00rd]

Writers.

[@NewMessage]

"Oh, is this Two Buck Chuck?" * sips * "Nope.. the Oerther one."

[@jamiemason2003]

My neighborhood has a small furniture store named Trader Joe's that was established before Trader Joe's opened up in the state. He was here first so he didn't have to change the name of his store.

[@Coffeeenjoyer31]

That's pretty cool

[@DatDudeVince]

These are the exact kind of videos I come here for. I'm constantly wikipedia'ing every company I can think of, to learn more, and have useless knowledge of. Thanks for the great upload.

[@matthuck378]

H-Mart! I recently moved to a neighborhood that has one, and I'm a convert.

So true!!

[@joshuarosen465]

H Mart is a Korean supermarket, I love them but they aren't related to Trader Joe's at all and they have nothing in common. Trader Joe's is mostly packaged and frozen food. H Mart is a supermarket and unlike a standard American supermarket you can get live fish and lots of live seafood, the only live seafood in regular supermarkets are lobsters and clams.

[@patrickdurham8393]

One of the Albrecht brothers owns what we call Aldi and the other has Trader Joe's. The brothers had an argument over the sale of cigarettes and split the company into Aldi Nord and Aldi Sud. Aldi Sud is what we now now as Aldi and Nord bought and operates Trader Joe's. There's some useless but hopefully interesting facts!

[@Yorkil]

Not useless at all!

[@zerxilk8169]

nord opperates Aldi outside the usa.

[@Watch-0w1]

I remember reading that. I surprise it wasn't mention in vid

[@Dave-bj3pq]

This isn't about Aldi idiot

[@leanen6424]

Aldi in Germany even has a private label called Trader Joe's for some products like nuts and iced tea, same logo, but different products produced in germany and nobody there ever really heard of the american supermarket chain.

[@caterinaborg3441]

They also had a robust mail order catalog published in black and white, mostly. That was the first time I ever heard of the store.

[@IntriguedLioness]

I love seeing that the very 1st Trader Joe's is still operating in Pasadena. _(Slightly off topic)_ I currently live in Seattle blocks away from Pike Place and will never never walk into the touristy "original" starbucks... I often scoff and sometimes cajole tourists that will stand in line up to an hour just to get into that store which is the only place that they sell (coffee) and specific mugs and t-shirts. BUT the original Trader Joe's!! I would actually make the trip if I still lived in California just to take selfies and maybe get another shopping bag!! Oh, and really great food for a picnic!

[@vaevictusasmadi84]

You don't go to Trader Joe's looking for something; you go to Trader Joe's to find something.

[@tremorsfan]

I like that they name their international brands different variations of Joe. Spanish food is Trader Jose and Italian food is Trader Giotto.

[@Rheinhard]

My favorite TJ's products for a very long time have been their "Kettle Brewed" Unsweetened Black Iced Tea, and their TJ's Stevia. In the former case, I got used to drinking unsweetened iced tea all the time after living in Texas for a number of years, and completely cut all sweetened sodas and soft drinks from my diet. For a long time most other supermarkets didn't carry unsweetened tea -- they'd have "Diet Tea", which was tea with artificial sweetener, but I could never understand why tea+nothing was so hard to find anywhere else, and TJ's was the only game in town. Furthering the quest to cut down on sugar, a former co-worker from Central America introduced me to Stevia years ago. He said it used as a sweetener for ages in central and south American countries, just called "sweet plant". Completely natural, unlike the more common artificial sweeteners like saccharine or aspartame, but wasn't chemically absorbed by the body like sugar is. Unfortunately thanks to the efforts of the American sugar lobby on our Congress, enough Senators and Representatives were bought and paid for to keep the sale of stevia in the USA illegal -- as a sweetener. My co-worker explained that it could be sold instead as a "supplement", and that at the time TJ's carried it. I had used their stevia packets in my coffee for years. However, just my luck, both of these products have been discontinued over the last year or two! 😞Fortunately the laws changed so stevia can now be sold as a sweetener, so there are several brands available in regular supermarkets (FYI I buy the "Stevia in the Raw" brand, because it's the only widely available one I've found which does not contain the additive erythritol, which some recent studies suggest could be harmful) And although the Kettle Black Tea has been discontinued, TJ's now also sells a Kettle White Tea with Mint, which I really enjoy in the evenings, as well as Oolong Tea (exactly the same kind of bottles that you'd find in vending machines in Japan!), so these make up for the loss! 🙂

[@benjamingoldstein9762]

Aldi is an interesting piece of trivia since its not the same Aldi we have in the US which is Aldi Sud, Trader Joes is Aldi Nord.

[@frankfurtonfoottours2361]

The Aldi brothers divided both Germany and the world in half. One half has Aldi Sud, the other Aldi Nord.

[@benjamingoldstein9762]

@@frankfurtonfoottours2361 yes. The Aldi branded stores in the US are Aldi Sud. Aldi Nord owns Trader Joe's. Not sure if the US is the only country where both operations operate side by side.

[@andrewbatts7678]

The brothers were in disagreement over whether or not to sell tobacco products

[@justayoutuber1906]

@@frankfurtonfoottours2361 There was another German that divided the world in half

[@willrunriot]

@@justayoutuber1906yup, the mustachioed Austrian painter definitely did the thing.

[@missfletcher24]

I love trader Joe's. They have such unique items. It's a fun store to shop in.

[@RaynmanPlays]

I was genuinely shocked by how cheap the prices were when I went into Trader Joe's. For the higher-quality food (like grass-fed milk or beef, good dark chocolate, etc) or things like electrolyte water, the Trader Joe's in my town is actually cheaper than the Wal-mart less than a mile away. I kind of always thought of Trader Joe's as a smaller, more alcohol-focused Whole Foods, but they have really good deals. Oh, and I don't drink, but I can understand why my sisters like Trader Joe's, being high-functioning alcoholics.

[@airsoftman121]

I've always joked that the one major criteria for any new TJ's store is that the parking lot needs to be horribly laid out with nowhere near enough spaces for the demand hahahaha

[@cuntapalooza]

Unfortunately the small parking lots are part of what keep the prices low. That’s why it’s a universal problem at every TJ’s in the country. Lol

[@drooskeedoo3388]

Part of the negotiation for a new stores is the parking lot spaces. If the cost for the spaces is too high, they won't put one in.

[@emom358]

I love Trader Joe's. When I lived in Illinois, my apartment was less than 20 from two, and a half hour from another. Now that I live in Alabama, the nearest TJ is over an hour away. 😢 My favourite product is the Orange Chicken, and chicken fried rice. I also love their line of frozen Indian foods.

[@OhGeeWillickersMister]

Trader Joe's is not so cheap anymore. I don't buy much wine, but I swear the "two buck chuck" was over $5. I went to TJ's and then swung by Aldi. TJ's was always a little more expensive, but now it feels like everything costs nearly twice as much as Aldi. FYI, the cheapest wine at Aldi was $4.99. But their staples are still super cheap, which is what matters. Aldi, never change.

[@commandZee]

When I was younger I worked at two of the three original stores. The original idea was to serve the "over educated and under paid." The first 3 stores are located in Northeast Los Angeles where there are several colleges: CalTech, Occidental College, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena City College, and Glendale Community College.

[@dalequale9365]

Trader Joe's is my weekly destination. 5 aisles instead of 20, grab my favorites, look around at anything new and the customers. It's always an uplifting event. Unique. 👍🙏

[@lilitharam44]

Ready for the next Timeline series!

[@sgt_slobber.7628]

TJs is the Poor man’s Whole Foods!!!!!🤗🤗🤗

[@2MuchPurple]

Good video! I live in northern Washington State and the Bellingham Trader Joes attracts a lot of Canadian shoppers. Its a zoo near Christmas, with half the cars in the lot from Canada. Id never heard of Pirate Joes though. Ive shopped at TJs for more than 20 years and still love it! 🌺🌺🌺

[@pazzariatv]

Trader Joe's holds a very, very special place in my heart, for multiple reasons.

[@btetschner]

A+ video! LOVE IT! Such a fascinating history about this cool store!

[@btetschner]

5:58 Those Vishnu-like arm movements remind me of the music video "Mickey" by Toni Basil. That is one of my favorite music videos of all-time.

[@danielferguson5563]

WHF, keep up the awesome work!! I have been binging your videos over the last couple days and have been loving it! Please do a video on Schlotsky's.... I'm very surprised you guys haven't done a "Surprising History" on them!

[@C_M_R]

(8:55) Madeleine cookies predate Trader Joe’s. It just may be a coincidence that his daughter was also named Madeleine.

[@sarahdavis4604]

Came to say it plus he cited Charlotte for Carolina Gold Chips 🤷‍♀️

[@reneeysmith1234]

The music at the end always gets me lol I have to do a little dance to it!

[@thundermite1241]

The trader joes maple cookies are amazing

[@jenney97]

I just went to Trader Joe's yesterday so perfect timing lol

[@GetIrked]

As an American citizen resident of Vancouver, I'd like to point out the city is actually located in Washington State and was established in 1825. Part of the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area, it has a population of 2.5 million residents and there are MANY Trader's Joes locations in the area. Vancouver, British Columbia, located in Canada and the one referenced in this video, was established 37 years later in 1862 and only has a population of 631,000 residents. I know many people hear "Vancouver" and think Canada just like most hear "Portland" and think Oregon, not Maine, but it's always worth mentioning the country or state just to be clear. 😉 Love the content! Please keep it coming! 😀👍

[@HerAeolianHarp]

They are not an upscale grocer, but they do cater to some cosmopolitan tastes. They have great snack products, but their produce is so poor, and they need to do more to lose all the plastic packaging. Good video, thanks.

[@vincentanzelone8705]

Best narrator on the Interwebs!!!

[@CulinaryCentury]

Always appreciate you're videos

[@CulinaryCentury]

Awesome video

[@btetschner]

4:34 My younger brother and his wife live in Arizona and they go to Trader Joe's all the time!

[@Castle743]

I love trader joe's Many years as a customer I enjoyed this video

[@BugsyFoga]

Always thought trader’s Joe was pretty neat place whenever I go there .

[@idonotsparkle]

Unfortunately I’ll never step foot in one as they don’t really have stores in lower income neighborhoods and I’m not driving two hours to go to one

[@elzbthp67]

My favorite narrator is back!! His voice is awesome, and his sarcasm is perfect in both tone and timing. 🙃

[@NASCARFAN93100]

Please do The History of The Kroger's Grocery Store Chain and The Meijer's Grocery Store Chain

[@marylist1236]

Yes !!!! Meijer's

[@marylist1236]

@NASCARFAN93100, are you from Michigan ? I noticed you used the possessive S, which is common usage here. I'm a gal from Kalamazoo myself

[@hanbalthehuman]

the "Joe" is actually Joe Mam- 💀

[@CaryMercer]

My favorite grocery store.

[@vaibanez17]

I don't live in an area with a Trader Joe's, but I shop there every time I am in a place with one. We pretty much go there 6-8x a year, so we almost always have TJ products anyway. Closest one is over 2 hrs away.

[@777baby7]

Watching this living in the Uk makes me want to go to a traders joes so bad

[@Puppetgirl93]

I love Trader Joe’s Portuguese Custard Tarts

[@MonicaMovieStar]

The biggest problem with Trader Joes is that they discontinue items fast and on a very regular basis. Don't let an item become your favorite - it will be gone without a suitable replacement.

[@Adrian-wd4rn]

RiP pretzel in a bag :(

[@Alverant]

Or make a favorite of something so popular they'd never consider discontinuing it. (Chicken fried rice, peanut butter pretzels, dunkers cookies) But yeah, I too have lost favorites like chicken tiki masala.

[@thewebstylist]

Fav grocery store ever! Thank u Joe!! And my local store is the original in Pasadena, am in there 2-4 times a week

[@btetschner]

0:36 We watched G.I. Joe: The Movie at a sleepover for one of my friend's birthdays in elementary school.

[@btetschner]

2:34 On the channel Suzan Hall, she is a big fan of the musical duo Captain & Tennile.

[@jons.6216]

I was introduced to them in the early 90s when there were only a few here and there outside my city! I was hooked but no longer owned a car after 1991. But whenever I rented a car for other things I took advantage of it and usually made a trip to one! They were great for inexpensive party supplies! A then roommate came along on one of those trips and had the wrong mindset of "taking a specific list" and expecting to fulfill it! The stores finally moved in to the city limits in the mid 90s and I couldn't have been happier!

[@auntvesuvi3872]

Thanks for this! 🛒

[@Beth_Alice_Kaplan]

Oh man, I love their eggplant garlic spread…😋🥰

[@btetschner]

0:04 I will never forget about the film Oh, God! (1977) I remember the court scene where he wasn't on their recorder.

[@btetschner]

5:38 I used to ask the local bank for a stack of $2 bills, still do at times.

[@DaisyEyes615]

i love this narrator so much!

[@donofon1014]

as a Southern Ontario Canada guy who lived in L A County for over a decade ... I was pleased to find that the PRESIDENT'S CHOICE house brand products from the Canadian grocery giant LOBLAW were all over the shelves at Trader Joes. Also, the supplier of many "P C" products were from "Suncrest Foods" ... and Trader Joes' fine print on its house brand were from the same source. The Vancouver Pirate Joe ??? was unaware of how many TJ products were Canadian to begin with .. or from the same suppliers. That is weird.

[@rowluxillusion5235]

That was the Trader Vic's at the Hilton Park Lane London, sadly closed New Year 2022.

[@jons.6216]

The one in California - one of the last remaining internationally - is still open in Emeryville.

[@loriloristuff]

There is nothing wrong with Two Buck Chuck. It tastes just fine. It's also good for sauces, etc. ALSO- The very easy return policy and scads of in-house brands is an Albrecht thing. You get the same deals at Aldi Süd or Nord, easy returns and in-house brands.

[@user-mc3tp5sd2z]

Favorite product? The cheese department. Several individual fav items have been discontinued. I still miss the beef stew. But they have a great cheese selection and wonderful prices on them. Best selling product is their frozen mandarin orange chicken. Love the chocolate covered peanut butter filled pretzels.

[@amai_zing]

11:02 “Pirate Joe’s scuttled their ship for good…” is this why the sign reads “Irate Joe’s”, cuz I think joe has cause to be angry 😂😂😂

[@Dark_AbsoI]

I lived less than 5 minutes from one in Florida. Now I have to drive 30 minutes to one and I never realized how much I’d miss having one that close. 😢

[@pedroballadares5253]

Yes , I like this narrator voice 😊👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼😀

[@jackiegillyard758]

Im a fan and i love the vegetable fried rice

[@btetschner]

9:50 That octopus reminds me of the tv series The OA (2016).

[@TK000Master]

intrestingly here in germany trader joes is a brand that is exclusive to Aldi. Did not know that it is a own chain of markets in the USA.

[@MonicaMovieStar]

Trader Joe stores are growing by leaps and bounds here in the United States. Aldi is also very successful. Hard to say which one is the most popular.

[@themadsamplist]

Aldi here in the Netherlands has some Trader Joe's products so they do crossover a little bit

[@btetschner]

3:59 Speaking of the Rose Bowl...tomorrow's National Championship game is a repeat of the 1992 Rose Bowl!

[@ginnyweatherbee7941]

Maybe someday Wegmans will be big enough for a video.

[@catisyellen9877]

Ever since the popcorn video I’ve been eating Orville Redenbacher’s lmao

[@ConfusedScalpel]

Shout out two buck chuck for the crazy nights and regrettable hangovers!

[@glennso47]

How about Woodmans a grocery store chain in Wisconsin and Illinois?

[@zaggy3110]

Aldi North , the owner uses the name "Trader`s Joe" as a brand name for some products here in German ALDI markets (in the northern part of Germany) e.g. maple syrup, cashews, peanut butter, hot dogs etc.

[@Alverant]

When my mother was alive she'd ask me to go to TJs to pick her up some things before each visit. She loved the dunkers and hand lotion.

[@gaylegoodman9097]

I accompany a friend when they go to Trader Joe’s. I never really thought they were very affordable. They seemed expensive, like New Seasons, but that’s just me.

[@mitchell5566]

The booze is good. All aspects - range, value, and quality

[@pamelamays4186]

Two Buck Chuck sounds like the name of a Las Vegas low roller.🎰🎲

[@nunyabidniz2868]

My favorite TJ's product is one they no longer carry: their "Habeas Salsas" potato chips. Not seeing the shelves restocked for awhile, I asked a manager of one the stores here in Low-Cal So.Cal. [where $ is plastic & people are too!] "What's the hold up, when is the next shipment due?" to which he answered "Oh, we no longer carry that: it didn't sell." Clearly, the buyers looked at the sales stats of shipment arrives Tuesday, and no sales of that item after Wednesday and concluded that *because they sold out the day after restocking EVERY SINGLE WEEK* that the item was unpopular! 🙄 This is the problem w/ hiring MBAs w/ zero actual experience working a real job, they tend to miss the forest for the trees... Anyway, I grew up in Pasadena, and am intimately familiar w/ all aspects of TJ's product history as a customer, altho' this video was very interesting from a corporate standpoint as I only recently learned about the Aldi's acquisition. I had no idea that we had Joe's successor to blame for the shift from being a quirky local chain that dealt in supplier overstocks, end of run & warehouse clearances for the shift to the extremely corporate banality of the current business model in the mid-90s. There was a time when you simply *had* to be on the mailing list for the TJ newsletter, as there was no way you would know about whatever new & wonderful discoveries were available that month. Now the Fearless Flyer has exactly the same content year over year, altho' they do shuffle the order in which they're presented and have slight changes to the graphics so the noobs never catch on... I barely go into Trader Joes any more, for tripping over all the yuppie scum who shop there exclusively. Grocery Outlet has some *slight* hint of what fun shopping at TJ's used to be. Back in the day, all the derelict winos would hang out in the alley behind the Pasadena store, because the people looking for a good deal on wine would go into the store, buy a bottle, go out back & sample it, then hand off the bottle to whichever wino seemed soberest. If it was any good, they'd go back into the store and buy enough to fill up their trunk, because you'd never see that deal again. Lather/rinse/repeat on a monthly basis. Ah, the good old days!

[@KevinWindsor1971]

Right now in the freezer I have TJ's Mandarin Orange Chicken, Beef Birria, Tamales, and Beef Bulgogi. My store is right around the corner. It's my personal adult playground. Mine is alcohol free though.

[@gailtimm3854]

The whole store. I have been shopping with Trader Joe's since 1989 in Burien, Washington> I will not trade or buy from any one else. What got me to start is that I have food allergies. I love Trader Joe's. G. Timm

[@T-Babbbldot]

I met Joe Colombe in his Culver City, CA. store back in the 1980s.

[@talfacprez]

Trader Joe's Pumpkin Seeds still in the shells is my very favorite item.

[@YaaaaanSapnu]

love it

[@btetschner]

3:39 My neighbor, who owns the "cat house" next door, gave me the DVD for the Disney film Dr. Syn (AKA The Scarecrow) and a book that tells the story. He is a lot like the character Wilson on the tv series Home Improvement.

[@masterimbecile]

Not to be confused with “Traitor Joe’s”, a general store opened by Benedict Arnold’s less famous brother, Joseph Arnold.

[@btetschner]

7:23 I looked up the word passé in my Collins English Dictionary (12th edition). The first definition is: out-of-date

[@panatypical]

The tamales and enchiladas are the best you can find anywhere. What blows my mind is how I live in Anaheim, a city of 350 thousand people with the world's premier resort area, and yet there is no Trader Joe's. I have to drive 8 mi to get to the closest one. There's no Sprouts market here either.

[@r8chlletters]

So Trader Joes actually buys overstock or limited date stock from named brand manufacturers but has it repackaged with their brand. Thats why the expiry dates on TJ food is shorter and why the prices are lower. They aren’t actually cutting the middle man out, they just found a creative way to pay a lower price.

[@OhGeeWillickersMister]

That explain a lot about how quickly their cheese molders. Even before the expiry date! If you can't eat your TJ's cheese right away, freeze it. That thin plastic is shoddy, but the cheese is so good.

[@devonmailey4958]

My fiancé has been begging for an Aldi history video

[@GlobalSharkAttackFile]

Sadly, when TJ discontinued their Feta Cheese salad dressing many stopped shopping at TJ. It was the best salad dressing on the market!!!!!

[@brohiggins9332]

I'd love to know the story of the Midwest grocery Dierbergs or Schnucks. I grew up in St. Louis MO, and through high school, mowed the lawn and did landscaping for the Dierbergs family house. Well one of them.

[@Mr6384]

Would love to see a video about A&P

[@christinalemke6780]

The Korean food selection is amazing

[@ike621]

Howard E Butt If you don't do a video on the HEB in Texas I will be very disappointed.

[@xtheunknown4662]

Most of the stuff on Wierd History and Food orgins i read years ago in Uncle John's Bathroom reader's series of great books about unusual stories and odd facts.

[@darrenmills3307]

Since when is Trader Joe’s upscale?! I shop there weekly, in large part because of the good selection AND great prices.

[@idonotsparkle]

They don’t have stores in lower income neighborhoods, that’s why it’s seen as upscale. I don’t live near a Trader Joe’s, never been to one. I’m too poor apparently for their business

[@darrenmills3307]

@@idonotsparkle Not sure where you live but up here in the PNW they’re almost always in retail/strip mall heavy areas, not residential neighborhoods. There’s is about 20 miles away from me that’s next to a lower income area. Their prices are pretty cheap compared to other grocery chains, that’s why I don’t consider them “upscale”.

[@giraffesinc.2193]

Well, I personally go there for the great prices and the food selection. Where else can I get fontina cheese for one thing, pine nuts that don't cost a literal fortune, big packs of basil, etc.? It's a good cook's dream to shop there and you can get almost anything a good cook could need (including two buck chuck for deglazing or a wonderful bolognese). I doubt most American shoppers know what a tzaziki sauce is, let alone how to make one (you can buy it premade at TJs but it's so much better homemade with their brand of Greek yogurt)!

[@cuntapalooza]

They have stated that they put stores in neighborhoods with young adults who are “over-educated and underpaid.” So it’s bougie in that they don’t put stores in rural areas where people tend to not have college degrees. The prices are good, but most working class families outside of cities will never be able to access those deals without driving at least an hour, and then the gas money adds up.

[@darrenmills3307]

@@cuntapalooza Rural areas are dominated by Walmart. Plus, are rural customers really interested in Zhoug sauce and cauliflower pizza crusts? I’m fairly certain that TJs know who their customer is and put their stores in areas accordingly.

[@MatthewTheWanderer]

There's only 1 Trader Joe's in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where I live. I went there once to see what it was like, several years ago, but didn't buy anything, because everything was so much more expensive than Walmart and their selection of groceries wasn't as good, either. Maybe I could check it out again, because I hate Walmart.