Trader Joe's is finally here.
The Fort Collins store opened on Friday, 2/27/15, and I dropped in to check it out bright and early yesterday morning. The thing is, I'm not allowed to be in even our local Kroger affiliate without adult supervision - I seem to have a weakness for what have been described as impulse purchases. So me in Trader Joe's - an emporium dedicated to the impulse purchase - is a recipe for trouble. I didn't disappoint, but within the 5 bags of goodies that constituted my haul, I was able to mollify Mary with several items that will come in handy on those nights where the dreaded "What do you want to do about dinner?" question comes up at 7:15pm. The rest of the stuff? Essentials and necessities, mostly of the cheese and chocolate variety.
No wines, though. Colorado has a very strong independent liquor store lobby, and hence a quaint law that prohibits grocery stores from selling wine & beer (except for 3.2 beer, which apparently some people actually drink!). There's a provision that allows a multi-store operation to sell wine & beer in one store, and Boulder got that, as Trader Joe's began recently expanding to our state. So we have a smaller, more limited edition Trader Joe's. It will be interesting to see if this makes a difference, but right now, the novelty of the store is keeping it packed.
Trader Joe's does bring Fort Collins' shopping options almost up to speed - with Whole Foods & Sprouts, as well as the big guys and a large selection of specialty shops of all kinds, about the only thing we're lacking is a really great bakery. Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to my next visit - I'm sure I missed a lot of good stuff the first time.
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