Quote:
Originally Posted by PhoenixNakia
(Post 801265)
:waving Welcome to the Orchid Board. I'm next door to ya' here in Texas. Not quite next door since I'm on the west side of the state.
I see so many folks always talking about going to "Trader Joe's", not just getting orchids but other things as well on all kinds of sites & groups I belong to. I was just curious about what kind of a store these are?
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It's a "gourmet" market with reasonably low prices. It is owned by the Aldi chain of supermarkets in Germany, whose stores in Germany are known for having very low prices.
They have smaller stores than most supermarkets, lots of fresh organic (and other) produce, and sell only their own brands of packaged and frozen food. They sell a lot of "healthy" food.
They mail a flyer periodically to people living near the markets listing new items. The flyers have always been decorated with drawings of people in antique costumes.
They have a wide variety of relatively inexpensive but generally good wines and beers, including well-known brands. An exception is their "two-buck Chuck", bottles of white and red wine sold originally for $2 and once drinkable, but now $2.99 and undrinkable (in my opinion.)
And, they have an extensive selection of good candy, cookies and biscuits, including real Belgian chocolate bars, which make gifts amazingly well-appreciated by the staff when visiting various offices.
They buy excess inventory from food and wine producers, and package it under one of their own brands, so sometimes items are only available once. If I see a TJ branded wine they haven't sold before, and I try it and like it, I run back and buy a case, since it might not be available again.
But, most important to Orchid Boardistas, they were the first market at which I ever saw mass-market orchids sold very inexpensively. The orchids and a large stand of fresh flowers are always right inside the door.
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