The store carries its own line of food products, along with a list with information on gluten, fat, sodium and other contents.
In a stylish colorful listing, the store promises that their products carry no trans fats, artificial flavors, or genetically modified ingredients.
They offer recipes, "Guides for the Culinary Curious" and fanciful descriptions of products including the country and region of origin, and notes on texture and taste.
The store in Pittsford is scheduled to open by summer's end in 2012 and will be approximately 14,000 square feet. It will be the first Trader Joe's store in Upstate New York and the Pittsford Plaza ownership team said that wooing the chain to Rochester took the better part of three years. Customer surveys also indicated to the Wilmorite Corp. that Trader Joe's was either number 1 or number 2 on shopper's wish lists according to Dennis Wilmot.
Trader Joe's will move in just feet away from the Pittsford Wegmans, leading some to speculate about competition.
"I think it's great, I think they're in for a little competition because of our allegiance to Wegmans," Alicia Pender of Perinton said. "They carry a lot of different stuff and that's probably what is most attractive to me, because I'm so used to seeing the same old stuff on the shelves here."
"It'll be competition for Wegmans but maybe it will offer a little bit of choice for other people?" Michelle Turnbull of Brighton said.
"I think Trader Joe's would agree," Dennis Wilmot, Vice President of Wilmorite Corp said. "They decided to do this in this location. Clearly Wegmans was there and Wegmans is a terrific grocery store, the best in the country, but I think Trader Joe's feels like more of a compliment to each other than a competition."
Wegmans released a statement following the announcement that Trader Joe's would be moving into the location.
"Wegmans does not normally comment on competitors. However, I can tell you that when new competition moves into any of our market areas, we have a plan… to continue focusing on what we feel we do best. That would be incredible
customer service and helping customers make great meals easy to lead healthier and better lives."
