Monday, August 13, 2007

Trader Joe's Petition Online

Here's an email I recently received from Commissioner Alan Kimber:

Neighbors,
As part of our ongoing effort to encourage Trader Joe's to locate a new location at the corner of 3rd & H Street NE, we have created an online petition for those who have not yet been able to sign the paper petition. Please take a moment to follow the link below and sign the online petition.
It takes literally less than a minute to sign the petition--you just enter your name, email and any comment you would like to include. Be sure to opt out of receiving emails from iPetitions (uncheck the box). Here is a link to the petition website:
A big thank you to Corey Petree for finding this online tool and setting up the petition.
We are preparing economic, demographic and other information to present a business case to Trader Joe's, but having a large, direct indication of support helps put a "human" face on the effort.
Please copy and forward this message to anyone you know who may not be a member of this Yahoo group. Thank you for your support!

Best,
Alan Kimber
ANC Commissioner, 6C05
(c) 202-390-0235
(f) 877-765-6928 (toll-free)

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this great idea. I just signed the petition. 2 things I noticed:

#1: There are 2 options - "Sign as anonymous" and "Send me more petitions." It makes it look like you have to choose one or the other. You don't have to choose either.

#2: You don't have to make a donation. It looks like you have to in order to finish, but if you read carefully, it says your signature has been recorded. You don't need to make a donatioon in order to sign this petition.

Alan Kimber, Commissioner, ANC 6c05 said...

Anon,

Thank you for the clarifications--the donation thing started coming up after I sent my original message to Inked.

To reiterate for everyone, it is *NOT* necessary to make a donation. Unfortunately, this is a "feature" of the website that can't be turned off.

Best,
Alan Kimber
ANC Commissioner, 6C05

Anonymous said...

i just signed the petition too.

thanks for the clarifications of the 'options'. that's how these 'free' sites try to pay for themselves.

man, i hope we can lure the elusive trader to the hood!

Anonymous said...

I'm not going to get my hopes up on Trader Joe's relocating here. That said, it would definitely be nice to have a grocery store of that caliber right around the corner instead of having to drive further into DC or have to got to VA or MD.

-PHS

Anonymous said...

You could always bike over to Trader's in NW. Not too bad if you head down K or L on the weekend. But, yes, it would be much nicer to have one over here on the upper east side.

Anonymous said...

folks, don't be shortsighted.

we all know the area is transforming.

it's better to act now, rather than later.

that's how it works, and folks in the business know that.

the important thing is future revenues, and current and future demand.

IF trader joe's comes to 3rd and H, it's not for us goofballs on the north side of H street. it's also for the rest of capitol hill.

i swear, some of you have no vision.

the point is, if you want a trader joe's SPEAK YOUR MIND. if you don't, then don't.

but the opportunity exists. the developers are ALREADY in talks with TJ's.

it's a bit bigger than your backyard (if you have one).

get out and do something!

(humble "please...")

Anonymous said...

i meant to say, it's an issue that's a bit bigger than your backyard.

take it seriously.

the developers of the property and TJ's are in serious talks.

voice your support.

it's not 'pie in the sky' type shit, this is real!

if we don't get the supermarket out here, i will hold all of you that didn't do ANYTHING accountable. some folks DO, some folks DON'T. be one or the other.

them's my two cents....

capricious said...

Has anyone read the business section of the Washington Post today? There is an interesting article on the front page about gourment markets and some if the criteria they use to decide if they will open a your community. One being median income and it's (income) usually high.

Anonymous said...

Is there anything else we can do after we sign a petition. What about putting together a youtube video of the area.

Anonymous said...

i'd rather have a whole foods

tj's seems so frozen, pre-packaged, so airtight

but i guess opinions are like arseholes

Mike said...

Let me start by saying that I am a former Trader Joe's employee, so I'm a bit biased.

That being said, I can say from that experience that Trader Joe's and Whole Foods get many of their house brand items from the same producers - but Whole Foods tends to mark them up more ($2.99 for a box of three packages of microwaveable rice at TJ's vs. $3.99 at WF, for example). Their packaged meats and seafood are really very fresh and well presented.

Whole Foods offers more in terms of fresh stuff - fruits and veggies, cheeses, meat and seafood counters - but they carry a heftier price tag and might have a harder time establishing a customer base in the short term.

Trader Joe's offers a mix of upscale, off-beat, and staple items, and they're generally comparable in pricing to traditional grocery stores - assuming those stores carry the items at all.

Anonymous said...

Trader Joe's is less pretentious. The atmosphere at every TJ's I've been to is positive, friendly and welcoming. Their products are generally (at least comparatively) cheap. Whole Foods is stuffy, pretentious--and they don't have some of the great products TJ's has. Whole Foods feels like you need to bring proof of income before being allowed to shop there, lest you get the stare of suspicion from well-to-do shoppers (which has happened to me every time I've shopped at any WF location).

On this atmosphere issue alone, I think TJ's would benefit both new and old residents alike. I'm new and don't have the kind of money or desire to shop at WF. But, of course, this is just me.

Mr. Other Upper NW said...

Anon - "i'd rather have a whole foods"

Whole Paycheck? No thanks. My wife and I have shopped at both, and we each far prefer TJ's. The prepackaged food is great, the produce isn't quite up to WF's caliber but is certainly serviceable, and the specialty foods/alcohol section is superb. oh, and then there's the whole issue that a shopping trip to YJs typically costs us less than a trip to Giant, Whole Foods can run us twice as much.

Anonymous said...

A good friend of mine works for Trader Joe's (Foggy Bottom) and reports that TJ's higher ups are seriously discussing and considering an H Street location!!!