CORRECTION

A report on Page 1D of the Business section Wednesday incorrectly sited a new Fresh Market store in Cary. The store will move this fall from Cary's Saltbox Village shopping center to Cary Parkway at Waldo Rood Road.

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When Raleigh resident Carol Schneider came back from visiting family this week, she came toting a suitcase full of goods from Trader Joe's.

A longtime fan of the grocer, Schneider loads up on everything she can any time she's near a Trader Joe's store.

"I have, through trial and error, learned not to stock up on snacks and stuff because they go bad before we can eat them," she said. "But we buy everything we can -- organic ketchup, dog treats, maple syrup. They offer a really good product at a really wonderful price."

With its low prices for gourmet products, its unusual and ever-changing product mix and its funky, no-frills shopping environment, Trader Joe's routinely draws hundreds of Triangle residents to its out-of-state locations.

"I think there isn't a day that doesn't go by that we don't have something from Trader Joe's, even though we don't live near one," said Wilmington resident Kathy Muzzey, who visits the Springfield, Va., store four or five times a year. "I spend $400 sometimes. ... I probably have six to eight bags of groceries and four cases of wine and two coolers. We always have at least two full carts."

But for local Trader Joe's fans, this tradition of pilgrimage could change this fall, as the California chain quietly lays plans for this area.

Company spokeswoman Alison Mochizuki would only confirm that Trader Joe's is looking in North Carolina. But area brokers said the first Triangle Trader Joe's will go in Cary, at the vacant Winn-Dixie in the Shoppes of Kildaire at Kildaire Farm Road and Cary Parkway. The area could get more than one store, with Cameron Village and the Brier Creek area both possibilities.

If Trader Joe's signs a lease soon for the Cary spot, the store could open this fall.

Such an opening would extend the retailer's push into the Southeast. Right now, most of its more than 200 stores are along the West Coast and in the Northeast. But the company has announced that it will enter the Atlanta market this year.

Patrice Duker, spokeswoman for the International Council of Shopping Centers, calls the store "a gourmet supermarket for the average consumer."

The store got its start in the '60s in California, prides itself on unusual products and a constantly rotating selection. Recent offerings at some Trader Joe's stores included organic sprouted wheat pappardelle pasta, made with organic wheat and berries, and "authentic chicken chile verde from New Mexico."

Although there's a treasure-hunt aspect to the stores because of the ever-changing shelves, there are some staples that continuously draw shoppers back. Favorites include chocolate cake and "Two Buck Chuck," a line of Charles Shaw wines that are exclusive to Trader Joe's and sell for $1.99 a bottle, in most locations.

The company's Web site says it keeps prices low by buying directly from manufacturers in large volume, bargaining hard and paying only cash, which makes vendors want to do business with them.

The store's arrival here would mean one more formidable player in an already competitive grocery market. As the Triangle's population has boomed, Wal-Mart and Harris Teeter have tried to aggressively expand. Meanwhile, new players such as Earth Fare have entered the market, and others such as Winn-Dixie have been forced out.

Indeed, some haven't understood why the Triangle hasn't attracted the store before now, with the area's high-income and high-education demographics, as well as numerous transplants from Trader Joe's locales.

Duker said other factors likely prevented the move until now.

"They use existing space," she said. "They don't build new. If the real estate's not there, they may not look there, and in 2004, they had 200 stores in 17 states. At that time they were looking to open at least eight. They don't open 25 stores a year. They are strategic."

And they will likely draw business from many stores, including Harris Teeter, Earth Fare, Whole Foods and The Fresh Market.

However, they won't be for everyone.

Most Trader Joe's stores are small, between 12,000 and 14,000 square feet. In Cary, it would take up only part of the old Winn-Dixie with a Staples planned for the rest. By comparison, a large Harris Teeter may be 70,000 square feet. Smaller space means smaller selection. Also, Trader Joe's has limited produce sections and very little fresh meat, with no butcher counter or fresh seafood displays.

"Your traditional grocery store is going to have thousands of products," Duker said. "Trader Joe's is more like you're looking for no-nitrate bacon that you're not able to find in your traditional grocery store."

The Fresh Market, which is based in Greensboro, is moving its Cary store from Saltbox Village to a new larger site at Kildaire Farm and Waldo Rood roads. That spot is near the Trader Joe's site. That move will be completed this fall.

Fresh Market spokesman Eric Blaesing said his company already competes against Trader Joe's in other markets.

"They don't really carry a big selection of fresh meat, fresh seafood or fresh produce," Blaesing said. "I think we're a complement with them, and there's certainly room for both of us."