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Re: East End / Thresher Square / Trader Joes - 713 Washington Ave S
Posted: June 14th, 2018, 7:39 am
by alleycat
It looks much better in person and doesn't come across well in pictures.
Re: East End / Thresher Square / Trader Joes - 713 Washington Ave S
Posted: June 14th, 2018, 8:21 am
by minntransplant
It looks much better in person and doesn't come across well in pictures.
Agreed. It doesn't look as busy in person.
Re: East End / Thresher Square / Trader Joes - 713 Washington Ave S
Posted: June 14th, 2018, 9:09 am
by xandrex
Yeah, every time I see this building in pictures, it seems so absolutely jarring. But whenever I pass by it in person, it just looks really striking. I'm glad they went with something different for an otherwise kind of boring 5+1 project.
Re: East End / Thresher Square / Trader Joes - 713 Washington Ave S
Posted: June 14th, 2018, 9:43 am
by amiller92
I was unsure about the siding as it was going up, but it's really grown on me. I think it looks good every time I go by.
Re: East End / Thresher Square / Trader Joes - 713 Washington Ave S
Posted: June 14th, 2018, 10:28 am
by MNdible
The extension of the siding across the floorplates between the balconies has always bothered me. Those balconies should read as a unified vertical elements.
Re: East End / Thresher Square / Trader Joes - 713 Washington Ave S
Posted: June 14th, 2018, 1:40 pm
by zlkahn
So weird that there's not a speck of Trader Joe's signage yet, or even a "Coming Soon" sign in the window.
As of last night there are now two large "Trader Joe's Coming Soon" banners hanging across the windows facing Washington Ave.
Re: East End / Thresher Square / Trader Joes - 713 Washington Ave S
Posted: June 25th, 2018, 8:50 am
by Mooglemuffins
From biking past the other day it looks like there were some things on the shelves in there, as well as people around as they were in the midst of hiring. They had a sign posted outside the front door that they were doing open interviews. Hopefully that means it'll be up and running in July
Re: East End / Thresher Square / Trader Joes - 713 Washington Ave S
Posted: June 27th, 2018, 10:07 am
by MN Fats
Re: East End / Thresher Square / Trader Joes - 713 Washington Ave S
Posted: June 27th, 2018, 10:27 am
by Silophant
There's a surprising number of things on the shelves already to not be opening for almost another month.
Re: East End / Thresher Square / Trader Joes - 713 Washington Ave S
Posted: June 27th, 2018, 1:34 pm
by HiawathaGuy
There's a surprising number of things on the shelves already to not be opening for almost another month.
There is a holiday in there, plus likely training and a soft opening. So it's more like 2 weeks to get everything to done.
Re: East End / Thresher Square / Trader Joes - 713 Washington Ave S
Posted: July 20th, 2018, 6:27 am
by Mooglemuffins
Yaaay Trader Joe's opens today! Saw a few employees heading in wearing their shirts on the train this morning.
Re: East End / Thresher Square / Trader Joes - 713 Washington Ave S
Posted: July 23rd, 2018, 9:45 am
by MattW
Went to Trader Joe's mid-day yesterday. The store was rather busy, but the parking lot was, maybe, 25% full. The bike racks were full outside (could be xgames traffic).
Regardless, one data point saying that a lot of people are walking and biking there.
Re: East End / Thresher Square / Trader Joes - 713 Washington Ave S
Posted: July 23rd, 2018, 9:50 am
by MNdible
Trader Joe's is a great store to walk to, because by its nature it's not a place where people are loading up with tons of staples and bulky things. That said, this weekend's weather could not have been nicer. The mix in January might look a little different.
Re: East End / Thresher Square / Trader Joes - 713 Washington Ave S
Posted: July 24th, 2018, 6:56 am
by tab
Went yesterday and the bike racks were full, had to wait (about a minute, not the end of the world) for another customer to leave before I could lock up. Luckily at $100/rack +/-, this should be an easy problem to solve.
I was a little surprised too that there wasn't any bike parking along Washington, the main face of the store.
The convenience factor of this store as a quick stop on the way home from downtown will be improved if there's ample bike parking.
Re: East End / Thresher Square / Trader Joes - 713 Washington Ave S
Posted: July 24th, 2018, 6:59 am
by bubzki2
Went yesterday and the bike racks were full, had to wait (about a minute, not the end of the world) for another customer to leave before I could lock up. Luckily at $100/rack +/-, this should be an easy problem to solve.
I was a little surprised too that there wasn't any bike parking along Washington, the main face of the store.
The convenience factor of this store as a quick stop on the way home from downtown will be improved if there's ample bike parking.
Have you thought about reaching out to the manager/owner to make them aware of this? I also sometimes bring these issues up while in the store, ideally to someone who can send word along to the powers that be. Providing bike parking, in the scheme of things, is a pretty easy fix, like you said.
Re: East End / Thresher Square / Trader Joes - 713 Washington Ave S
Posted: July 25th, 2018, 2:46 pm
by tab
Good suggestion. I talked to them this morning when I visited the store. The store was almost empty, and the bike parking was about 1/3 full, suggesting that it's used by a mix of employees, non-customers, and customers. I mentioned the rings that the City can add to parking meters as an easy way to pick up a few spaces along Washington. Their staff said they were in talks with the City about adding more along Washington, and were generally non-committal but very friendly & open to exploring options.
Re: East End / Thresher Square / Trader Joes - 713 Washington Ave S
Posted: July 25th, 2018, 4:32 pm
by BBMplsMN
Good to see the bike racks getting used. They have a lot of them. They span about half the block on Chicago, pretty much wherever there aren’t plants or a dog relief area. I’d be curious to see where they could fit more in.
Re: East End / Thresher Square / Trader Joes - 713 Washington Ave S
Posted: July 26th, 2018, 1:20 pm
by tab
I think more bike racks along Washington would certainly help. Their primary bike parking is 14 spots around the corner from the entrance. The racks in front of Jimmy Johns are nice, but for TJ customers, they have an 'around the corner and down the block' feel to them.
I can only eat so much, so honestly my business isn't going to make or break Trader Joes. It’s easy for me to say, but I think another $200-500 spent on bike racks along Washington would be a solid business investment for the store. And I should clarify that I don’t mean to pick on TJ’s specifically, they are already worlds better for shopping by bike than the Downtown Target. At least TJ’s had a bike parking area at which I could stand and wait for a spot to open up.
Re: East End / Thresher Square / Trader Joes - 713 Washington Ave S
Posted: July 30th, 2018, 10:59 am
by jtoemke
I think more bike racks along Washington would certainly help. Their primary bike parking is 14 spots around the corner from the entrance. The racks in front of Jimmy Johns are nice, but for TJ customers, they have an 'around the corner and down the block' feel to them.
I can only eat so much, so honestly my business isn't going to make or break Trader Joes. It’s easy for me to say, but I think another $200-500 spent on bike racks along Washington would be a solid business investment for the store. And I should clarify that I don’t mean to pick on TJ’s specifically, they are already worlds better for shopping by bike than the Downtown Target. At least TJ’s had a bike parking area at which I could stand and wait for a spot to open up.
I'm glad we get to have this discussion at all honestly haha. Showing some love to the new downtown amenity that solidly makes living here more of a neighborhood and the cycling culture that necessitates more spots.
City proud haha
Re: East End / Thresher Square / Trader Joes - 713 Washington Ave S
Posted: July 30th, 2018, 12:58 pm
by xandrex
I went grocery shopping at TJ's yesterday, and I was surprised by the relatively large amount of space surface parking takes up on the lot (and how empty it was compared to most TJ parking lots).
I don't know if it was mentioned, but they also have bike parking in the parking lot!
As for the store - what a wonderful amenity to have downtown! The store itself felt a little...sparse? Lots of open space that seemed wasted, and it seemed like, at least for the products I was searching for, their produce was a lacking. But overall, I love that I'll never have to go to St. Paul, SLP, or Bloomington for TJ's again.