Quirky grocery met by cult following

Devotees descend as Trader Joe's opens

CARY -- An hour after the state's first Trader Joe's grocery opened Monday, checkout lines were 10-people deep.

The store's 175 shopping carts were in use, and employees rushed to a neighboring Staples to borrow more. Workers snaked through the waiting masses, handing out gingerbread and candy-cane-cream-filled cookies.

Then over the intercom came a request: "Can we please see all customers at the registers do the wave?" Arms flung skyward in succession as customers and employees whooped and cheered.

That's when Trader Joe's virgins knew: This is no ordinary food store.

Trader Joe's has gained a cult following as it has expanded from its California roots. It has positioned itself as a niche company, with few branded items but an array of unconventional ones -- candy-cane cookies, for instance, or $2.99 Charles Shaw wine known fondly as "Two-buck Chuck."

The store appeals to foodies by stocking gourmet and exotic items at discounted prices. Its unconventional atmosphere -- employees wear Hawaiian shirts and ring bells for help -- is part of its charm and strategy.

"I am so thrilled about Trader Joe's," said Linda Wargo after checking out from her first visit to the new Cary store. "When we heard it was coming, my husband ran upstairs and said, 'Your dream has come true!' "

Wargo shopped at the store weekly while living in southern California.

She was disappointed after moving to the Triangle four years ago to find that the region had not yet ranked on Trader Joe's radar. So she improvised. Every time she traveled cross-country, she took an empty suitcase to fill with Trader Joe's booty.

That's tame compared with other store devotees.

Shoppers swapped tales Monday of driving to California, Northern Virginia, Chicago and New York just to get a Trader Joe's fix.

Those people -- transplants who frequented Trader Joe's in their old hometowns -- likely will be regulars at the new store. They could also be its best ambassadors.

"When there's so much enthusiasm from these folks, people get curious," said Rachel Baxter, the store manager. (Her official title is "captain.") Locals will come in to see what the hubbub is all about, she said.

Trader Joe's, a private chain that operates more than 250 stores in 24 states, is counting on North Carolina for future growth. A second store will open in Charlotte next year and another also is planned in the Queen City.

Baxter declined to say whether another was planned for the Triangle.

Further expansion will intensify pressure on rivals such as Whole Foods and Harris Teeter, already locked in a fierce battle for customers and profit. Several customers said Monday that they had shopped at Whole Foods, but now will make Trader Joe's their primary grocery destination.

"We go where our fans are," Baxter said as she looked toward the checkouts. "Obviously, there is demand for it."

By that time, lines reached two-thirds the length of the store and shoppers waited more than an hour to buy.

An inconvenience, perhaps, but it sure beat a cross-country drive.