I've pondered this question since moving to Vermont two years ago: Why no Trader Joe's? Not just in Burlington, but the entire state of Vermont is TJ-free. What gives? Don't the TJ people know that Vermont is the land of organic-eating, gourmet-sniffing ex-hippies who eke out a living as graduate students and do-gooders, and so (duh!) are exactly the kind of customers TJ's is looking for with their two-buck Chucks and 99-cent advent calendars (of which we purchased two when we visited TJ's in Massachusetts last weekend.)For god's sake, there's a Trader Joe's in Tennessee.
Sigh.
Outrage and sadness, longing and joy. Those are the emotions when a Vermonter visits a Trader Joe's in another state. Why? Why not us? And, oh, god, I can't believe the price on that ginormous bar of dark chocolate. Three of those babies are coming home with me.
Someone told me there are no Trader Joe's here because of the consortium of local hippie food co-ops fighting any inroads by TJ's. Another person told me it's because of tough development laws in Vermont.
Another thought crossed my mind: could it be that Trader Joe's hasn't opened a store here because, oh, there are only 600,000 residents in the state, ranking it 49th by U.S. population, just ahead of Wyoming? (Wyoming doesn't have a Trader Joe's either.)
Check out the photo. The flier was posted on Burlington's Church Street (the town's main street, blocked to cars and lined with cafes, shops and Ben & Jerry's) on Valentine's Day. Love, people. Are you listening, Mr. Trader Joe's? What's not to love about a town that gives away love on Valentine's Day?
