Trader Joe’s brings their wines to NYC
Well, now that the gray lady says so, it’s official: Trader Joe’s is opening a location near Union Square. The address of the 10,000 sq ft store is 142 East 14th Street.
But the address wine geeks will care about is 138 E. 14th St since that’s where their wine store will be. They will have a separate at-grade entrance to avoid running afoul of New York State’s bizarre laws on wine retailing the way Whole Foods did at Columbus Circle. No word on how big the wine shop will be. No other TJ’s in NY or CT sells wine and one location in NJ does.
Trader Joe’s may be in for a rough ride in given the number of wine shops in the area. Their business model of selling high volume wines, such as the notorious Two Buck Chuck, may not fare well in Manhattan where consumers are often reluctant to carry more than a bottle (or two) home with their laptop and groceries. And it’s hard to see the profit margin in offering a $24 case of wine for delivery. But hopefully they will find diverse wines that are good values.
Just steer clear of the Chiaro del Bastardo…
tags: wine | food and drink | Trader Joe’s | NYC
On January 18th, 2006 at 9:42 am ,Bryan wrote:
As a new yawker I am thrilled that trader joe’s is opening here in the Union Sq area. Aside from just the wines, I love their micro brewed beer selections. Another obstacle the TJ’s has for me though is that a roundtrip subway pass to pick up 2 buck chuck costs $4 itself. DOH
On January 19th, 2006 at 10:50 am ,Terence Hughes wrote:
TJ will add to the competitiveness of the market here. I hope. To be honest, though, I stay away from their famous $2/3 wine–pretty poor stuff, IMO.
On January 19th, 2006 at 10:52 am ,Jack wrote:
Trader Joes is your destination if you prefer Industrial wines (unlike Whole Foods). You will die with laughter when you see how much Two Buck Chuck they stock. Think mountains. Really. (Priced at $3-5…I have read they charge more the farther east it is sold due to higher shipping costs, etc.)
On January 19th, 2006 at 2:44 pm ,Dr. Vino wrote:
Jack –
You didn’t buy their reasoning about transportation costs. If a bottle really went up in price the more time zones it crossed, my favorite Gerolsteiner water would be $10/bottle in California!!
I do agree that their wine inventory is looking a little bulkish–definitely not “feeling the love…”
On January 23rd, 2006 at 8:08 am ,Dr. Vino wrote:
And oh yeah Bryan, even though their beers are good, because of NY state’s bizarre laws on alcohol retailing, TJ’s has to choose EITHER beer OR wine. It seems as if they have opted for wine. (although it is strange that their existing locations in NYS don’t sell beer since many–most?–supermarkets do.)
On October 29th, 2006 at 8:29 am ,Anonymous wrote:
as someone who has shopped at tj’s for a few years now, i can say without a doubt that their $3 chuck is very serviceable for cooking or sangria, or just for swilling if you want to get pissed on the cheap. their other wines, under $6 are quite delightful and well worth the trip to buy ’em up to give ’em a try. while i’m not sure what the nyc liquor laws have done by way of beer or wine, or whether there is “booze” there…..i’m canadian…..the reality is that you get more than what you pay when you go to trader joe’s.