In a wrap-up of the gourmet Downtown supermarket scene in the Times' Square Feet column, Lisa Chamberlain confirms that which we report without ever properly looking into: that Trader Joe's will open its first Manhattan store in NYU's Palladium. Now, you might be thinking that Union Square isn't big enough for both Whole Foods and Trader Joe's (not to mention the forgotten Food Emporium across the street from the Palladium), but food writer Joanna Pruess argues that there's a distinct difference between the two chains' clienteles:
"You have the crunchy granola types and the foodies merging at Trader Joe's," Ms. Pruess said. "What you see at Whole Foods is the yuppies; they'll really buy into the expensive prepared food products."And if you're a yuppie foodie who enjoys buying expensive, prepared crunchy granola, well, at least the stores are close to each other.
· A Destination for Serious Eating [NYTimes]
· BREAKING: Trader Joe's Joins the Union [Curbed]