Posted on 02/07/2014 6:42:04 PM PST by rightwingerpatriot
There are just some situations that a person can't just make up and sweet irony rules the roost. Such an event has occurred in Portland, Oregon, recently where the Trader Joe's supermarket chain found itself being opposed by one of the biggest scourges in the last thirty years: community organizers. It seems that Trader Joe's wanted to open a new store in Portland and decided to open one in a struggling neighborhood in Northeast Portland. Two acres of land that had been vacant for years was going to be developed, but then the Portland African-American Leadership Forum (PAALF) decided to fight the supermarket.
Irony abounds on several levels as the PAALF squared off against Trader Joe's. The first is that the vast majority of members of PAALF didn't even live in the neighborhood, but still they put it upon themselves to champion the neighborhood. The fact that the neighborhood in question was happy about the store opening is totally beside the point. The second bit of irony is that Trader Joe's is a very progressive outfit. They specialize in gourmet, organic, and vegetarian foods. You would think that they would be a perfect fit in Portland. The city loved it, the neighborhood loved it, and Trader Joe's loved it. However, the race-baiting community organizers saw a chance to squeeze some cash out of the situation and began to harass the chain. They issued demands that the proposed development include affordable housing, a slush fund for small businesses, and jobs mandated by race. (Ever notice that liberals are the ones wholly preoccupied with race?) Racial accusations were leveled against Trader Joe's, and they eventually decided enough was enough. They pulled out of the deal, leaving the two acres as an empty promise of what could have been.
Local citizens who actually live in the neighborhood are incensed. A major supermarket chain opening a store in the area means jobs. It also serves as a hub for traffic to frequent other local businesses. Revenues would have been raised that could have helped the area. The appearance of the neighborhood would have been improved with a thriving store instead of two acres of wasteland. A local construction business was going to build the store. Local people have been cheated out of a local store that sold fresh groceries at a cheap price. Leftists are always bleating how national chains don't open in troubled areas or that poor people don't have access to healthy, decent food, but instead rely upon fast food. Yet none of this mattered to the Portland African-American Leadership Forum.
It's both funny and sad to see how this event unfolded. On one hand, you have a liberal supermarket chain being harassed by liberal community organizers, which is hysterically funny. I'm always amused when the left feasts on their own. But it's also sad as the local neighborhood was totally screwed by Trader Joe's being harassed and forced to stop development. Community organizers are just thugs that give thuggery a bad name. In the past, gangsters were at least honest in their criminality as they were extorting a business. However, community organizers, such as PAALF, are thuggish vampires that suck the life out an area. Good job, PAALF! You got rid of mean ol' Trader Joe's, but of course you also got rid of those mean ol' jobs and economic development.
Goin thru a great whole grain bread loaf now and the uncured hot dogs are great. but then Giant has them as well. They use an incredible amount of plastic packaging for everything in the store and then ask if you want to use a paper bag to carry it home. No i want my stuff to be there when i get home, not on the side of road. thx
They specialize in gourmet, organic, and vegetarian foods.
No, they don’t. That is the stereotype and perception of someone who has spent very little ( if any ) time in Trader Joes. Its also the line Whole Foods uses when they compare themselves to Trader Joes whom they consider a rival. Its also the perception I had of the store before they opened a branch next door to me.
Its a fine grocery store with very reasonable prices. I shopped there every day and saved a ton of money.
dozen eggs 1.99, box of TJs cereal 1.99, excellent coffee at very good prices.
I turned a bunch of friends onto this place and they were once of the opinion it was some hippy dippy grocery store for snobs. It isn’t.
Economic dependency is a far more insidious form of slavery than shackles and chains. One merely enslaves the body, the other enslaves the soul.
Well, it depends on what neighborhood it's in.
The one I go to is in an area with hippy dippy people and hippy dippy workers.
Prices are great and worth the hippy dippy gauntlet ;)
I’d say their prices on **some things** are great. Their meat, for example, is outrageous. Vitamins, juices, etc., pretty good. Coffee beans good, but not as good as Costco. Whipping cream is way better than anywhere.
The community organizers probably hold interests in local liquor stores and quicky marts.
But the prices for meat are crazy just about everywhere, sadly.
Wall Street Journal published a chart over a year ago with types of meats and their increases over a five ( if I remember correctly ) year time frame. It was outrageous.
Pork prices had gone up the most and by a huge percentage. The days of my having steak three nights a week have long since passed.
But I do manage to pan fry the Trader Joes stew meat chunks with mushrooms, onions, garlic and whatever the heck else I can get for cheap.
The stew meat is about 5.00 or so for a package. Usually lasts two days although I can eat the whole thing without thinking twice.
I have a friend who shops at Whole Foods on a regular basis as this is his wife’s favorite food store. I’ve been there a number of times and that place is so out of control with prices its a joke.
Poor bastard is paying 6.00 and change for a dozen eggs. But they are the most healthy, most organic, super amazing, eco friendly eggs in the whole world! Yeah...right.
..and then theres the super friendly people who shop there. yikes.
Yes, meat prices have been trending consistently upward for the last few years, but TJ’s is still significantly higher than anywhere else (except probably the boutique-y branches of the mainline corps.
Thaws community agitators amount to nothing but a gaggle of Jesse Jackson “Mini-Mes.” They see actual job creation as a threat to their status, because once the residents there begin a productive existence, the need for the agitators wanes.
Thaws=These
I would purposely avoid the getto’s if I were ever to consider building any kind of a business. The street rats don’t deserve anything of any value that might help them. Doing so also takes away any opportunity for them to “crash and smash” your establishment(s).
“Food Deserts”, Don’tcha know...
btt
While technically true, if you say that here in the US, people think TJ’s is owned by the same folks that own the Aldi grocery stores here. They are not. Aldi Nord owns TJ’s, while Aldi Süd owns the Aldi groceries here. Two separate companies owned by different brothers of the Albrecht family.
When you’re burning animal feed (corn) as a sop/subsidy to the farm lobby, meat gets expensive. You don’t have to be a genius free market economist to figure that one out. Another example of really bad legislation from the G. W. Bush era.
Yes, prices are great on ‘some’ things (I should have went further with that post)
Their specialty cheese section has great prices compared to other stores, dry goods, snacks, chocolates have some great prices too.
I recently have started to go to TJ’s very rarely, mostly to pick up coconut oil and wander the store picking up other items that I find are cheap or unique...it’s a far bit away from me so unless I’m bringing a cooler, etc. I’m not doing regular shopping there...and it’s in one of the most liberal-progressive areas of the country - I don’t like spending too much time there - just drive through :)
Most of my shopping is done at a no-frills deep discount store where EBT’ers - the upper 10% and everyone in between shop to save money. 5 years ago only the EBT and lower-middle class shopped there..the middle and upper income-level shopper increase is amazing to see.
Maybe they are waiting for mac daddy to build a mega store, hire locals at $40.00 per hour and give the items away for nothing.
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