In response to your article about Trader Joe's: No - people in Bend or Portland or California are not crazy ... they just LOVE their Trader Joe's!!!
Maybe it's a little bit of nostalgia on the part of California ex-pats (of which I am one), but it's also the fact that the company has been able to offer - on a consistent basis - the most diverse, interesting and healthy foods around - at incredibly low prices!
Try shopping at some of the "health conscious" stores in town - you can buy the same things at TJ's for half the price!!! (And some pretty good wine!!) Add to that the great people hired to work there; they wear Hawaiian shirts and laugh a lot - yes - but the customer service is superb.
It always feels like a party whenever I shop at any one of the Trader Joe's stores. Bend is lucky to have one.
Cheers
Meg
