# African-American neighborhood does not want a Trader Joe's **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 5, 2014, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-american-neighborhood-does-not-want-a-trader-joes/680538 "2014-02-05T00:55:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-american-neighborhood-does-not-want-a-trader-joes/680538/81 "2014-02-05T17:09:06Z")
Does anyone know why a Trader Joe’s would not “benefit the Black community”? The prices are pretty low, the jobs are famously well-paying, and they have some healthy foods, even if they don’t have great selection. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-american-neighborhood-does-not-want-a-trader-joes/680538/82 "2014-02-05T17:12:17Z")
> [@Algher](#): > > Sure, but was the spot offered to a local pizza joint first? Is it franchised by a local owner? Is it the first step in forcing out local shops? > > Coronado, CA does not allow any chains stores as I recall. No Starbucks, but there are locally owned coffee shops. No Baskin Robbins, but there is a local ice cream parlor. I have no idea how they wrote the law, but that was their attempt to keep Coronado from looking like every other Southern California beachfront community. What’s the median income there? Perhaps if people in the poorer parts of Portland were given the same type of deals the corporations were given they might very well open their own pizza shops and ice cream parlors, but without a decent chance and an even break the corporation is going to get the deal faster and cheaper, and another neighborhood full of families just trying to get through life becomes just another Place To Meet Your Friends. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-american-neighborhood-does-not-want-a-trader-joes/680538/83 "2014-02-05T17:12:25Z")
> [@Honesty](#): > > I am specifically talking about the one in Evanston and in another location (which fails me at the moment) but its on the northside as well. I like to purchase corn beef and rye. I can purchase the rye at Trader Joes but I can’t find a TJ’s that (1) sells corned beef and (2) slices that corned beef to my weight specifications. If you know of one, let me know, I like TJs and would like go there more often. > > - Honesty I shop at the same TJ’s in Evanston and you’re right. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-american-neighborhood-does-not-want-a-trader-joes/680538/84 "2014-02-05T17:14:38Z")
I don’t always agree with Steve Duin, but he has a [pretty solid take on it](http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/steve_duin/index.ssf/2014/02/steve_duin_the_polarizing_vort.html#incart_river) in today’s _Oregonian_. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-american-neighborhood-does-not-want-a-trader-joes/680538/85 "2014-02-05T17:16:01Z")
Found a post that did price comparisons of stores, including TJs. Thought I would share: [http://thebillfold.com/2013/08/price-comparison-battle-safeway-vs-trader-joes-vs-costco-vs-casa-lucas/](http://thebillfold.com/2013/08/price-comparison-battle-safeway-vs-trader-joes-vs-costco-vs-casa-lucas/) ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-american-neighborhood-does-not-want-a-trader-joes/680538/86 "2014-02-05T17:20:18Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > What’s the median income there? Perhaps if people in the poorer parts of Portland were given the same type of deals the corporations were given they might very well open their own pizza shops and ice cream parlors, but without a decent chance and an even break the corporation is going to get the deal faster and cheaper, and another neighborhood full of families just trying to get through life becomes just another Place To Meet Your Friends. That is my (poorly worded) attempted point. The city should have offered up a deal to any merchant who wanted to anchor there, and set it up to give points to local ownership in the bidding. But if TJ’s won out, then that is the result of the search. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-american-neighborhood-does-not-want-a-trader-joes/680538/87 "2014-02-05T17:21:53Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Not necessarily. What do you think the result would be if sweetheart deals like the one offered Trader Joes was instead offered to local businesses already established and employing locally, and/or people in that neighborhood that would like to start a small business and employ locally? This way, the money that comes into the neighborhood is earned by those in the neighborhood and stays in the neighborhood, creating a slow spiral upwards. How many times have you heard “People need a hand up, not a hand out”? This is one way to go about it. That’s a different issue. I have no idea if Trader Joes intended to employ locals or not. Is there some indication that Trader Joes intended to import employees from elsewhere? Any deal for setting up a business is, inevitably, going to be offered to people who have the kind of money necessary to set up a bisiness, which sort of eliminates poor people living in a poor neighbourhood. In any event, developing local businesses or allowing non-local businesses would both have a similar effect - both make the local neighbourhood more desireable (over having an empty lot), and so would, I imagine, lead to increased local property values - and hence make the neighbourhood less affordable for poor folks. If the deal is structured in such a way as to benefit some _specific_ poor folks who already live there, making them less poor, all the better. It does not solve the basic problem of poor people who are not so enriched being forced out. If the argument is that economic development is an overall benefit to the neighbourhood, I can’t see why the specific identity of the development should matter. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-american-neighborhood-does-not-want-a-trader-joes/680538/88 "2014-02-05T17:24:02Z")
> [@andros](#): > > I don’t always agree with Steve Duin, but he has a [pretty solid take on it](http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/steve_duin/index.ssf/2014/02/steve_duin_the_polarizing_vort.html#incart_river) in today’s _Oregonian_. From that article > [@](#): > > Hartley, 74, doesn’t have a dog in this fight. He and his wife, Gloria, were surprised to hear Tuesday that Trader Joe’s had bailed on the project. > But he took note that the Portland Development Commission offered the property to Majestic Realty in November for $502,000, $2.4 million less than its assessed value. And he’s annoyed that whenever someone gets rich in Northeast Portland, African Americans rarely share in the profits. > “Anyone who believes its about anything but the money is misinformed,” Hartley said. "It’s about the subsidy. How many African Americans can get the backing they need? > “What happened in the past is happening today. How many African-American entrepreneurs are on Mississippi (Avenue) between Fremont and Skidmore? How many African-American entrepreneurs are there on MLK between Broadway and Columbia? Even on Alberta, on this short street, how many will you find between MLK and 33rd?” How can a person in that neighborhood even think about starting a local business when deals like this one are exposed? Who is making similar types of offers to those who live there? ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-american-neighborhood-does-not-want-a-trader-joes/680538/89 "2014-02-05T17:28:52Z")
> [@Algher](#): > > **TomnDebb** did a good bit on Gentrification and the challenges. It is interesting how gentrification has become a pejorative. If you OWN your property, you love it - it means that what you have is now worth more. Parking a coffee shop next to Trader Joes is a smart business move. > > **Czarcasm** says that this type of work "“must be made with the full cooperation of that neighborhood.” Well, what if the neighborhood is not in agreement? Some might want the new store on the lot. It might drive up the business to other local stores. I don’t know who elected the spokesperson for the locals - but I wonder if they really represent all interests in that area. > > Trader Joes has everything I need to shop - it has fresh meat, cold cuts, produce, bread, condiments, etc. The prices are comparable to the local big box grocer - you just don’t get a choice. They sell their mayo, instead of have 4 rows of mayo from different producers. If you want mayo - they have it though. > > Some of this reminds me of Oceanside, CA. The town council passed an ordinance to put a cap on certain types of service stores (dry cleaners, show shine, tattoo parlors, and barbers). See - that area has a lot of enlisted Marines, but the town council wanted to start bringing in more upscale stores to serve the bedroom community it was becoming (instead of just being cheap places for enlisted Marines). Made for an interesting debate (no clue what the resolution was). When governments are deliberating over major proposals involving the public, they usually have a public comment period. Often there are multiple public meetings where concerned citizens can have their concerns registered and addressed. Sometimes there’s a spokesperson, but often times there isn’t a leader. Anyone can go to a public meeting and voice their support/opposition. Whoever has the loudest voice is the one who will be listened to. This is how things always work. The reason why trashy liquor stores and other unsavory places set up shop in certain neighborhoods and not others is because the public process is very important. Well-to-do people who care about the quality of their neighborhoods and their property values are very active about what’s going on in their communties. They stay on top of public notices. I know because I hear from them all the freakin’ time. Poor and working class people are equally entitled to manage their neighborhoods the way they see fit. Just because they don’t have a lot of money doesn’t mean they should have to live next to a landfill or a liquor store. Or a Trader Joe’s. I live in a middle-class neighborhood. Currently there’s a petition going around to protest a development plan being considered by my city. A soccer arena, a big box store, apartment highrises, etc. It’s not just property taxes that are concerning to residents. There are a lot of people who don’t want to deal with traffic headaches and construction mess. And the whole atmosphere of the quiet residential neighborhood would change with a big box store at the end of the street. If I owned my house, you better believe I’d be complaining about this. I’m fine with these residents deciding for themselves how their neighborhood should be developed. I don’t live there, so what right do I have to tell these people they should stay quiet about things that directly affect them? That’s not very democratic. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-american-neighborhood-does-not-want-a-trader-joes/680538/90 "2014-02-05T17:34:28Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > From that article How can a person in that neighborhood even think about starting a local business when deals like this one are exposed? Who is making similar types of offers to those who live there? If the property cannot be sold at its assessed price, the value of the assessment is suspect. Note that even with the allegedly huge “deal”, Trader Joes in fact bailed on the project. The actual value of the property has to take into account the difficulties inherent in making it pay. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-american-neighborhood-does-not-want-a-trader-joes/680538/91 "2014-02-05T17:43:05Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Does anyone know why a Trader Joe’s would not “benefit the Black community”? The prices are pretty low, the jobs are famously well-paying, and they have some healthy foods, even if they don’t have great selection. The prices are not all that low except by the standards of people who shop for fairly exotic imported foods. I’d wager that a “poor black community” isn’t going to cheer because they can now buy exotic, unusual tidbits at sale prices. How many jobs does a TJs represent, and, as already discussed, how many are they going to hire from a “poor black community” that may have little experience with, well, the Trader Joe’s experience? Let’s say it’s 50 jobs… pretty much a drop in the bucket. Even convenience stores have “healthy foods”… it’s not what’s offered as much as what people are conditioned to buy. No one is more conditioned to buy cheap+shit than the economically disadvantaged. For every family that subsists on staples like rice, beans, seasonal vegetables etc., there is some multiple that lives McD’s bag to bag. Even with my personal viewpoint about TJs aside, I don’t buy any of the arguments about how it would be an asset to a neighborhood far outside its target demographic. I do buy the “creeping gentrification” arguments and the neighborhood’s objections. A TJs and all that follow will not improve 90% or more of their lives; it will just push them out, losing what small economic and social foothold they have. If the city truly cared about the things they profess to, pulling all the strings to get a major full-service grocery in that location would be better evidence of it. ---
**Author:** ![Falchion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Falchion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Falchion)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-american-neighborhood-does-not-want-a-trader-joes/680538/92 "2014-02-05T17:43:09Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > From that article How can a person in that neighborhood even think about starting a local business when deals like this one are exposed? Who is making similar types of offers to those who live there? I would imagine that these types of deals are always going to favor existing businesses over new businesses. You’re going to want to cut a deal to someone that you think will actually build the store and then run it for a while (and will be less profit-sensitive). I’m assuming that, while a store is better for the community than an empty lot, an empty lot is better than an abandoned building. And you’d need a large store, right. No one is going to build a mom-and-pop grocery in the middle of the field. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-american-neighborhood-does-not-want-a-trader-joes/680538/93 "2014-02-05T18:00:43Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > The prices are not all that low except by the standards of people who shop for fairly exotic imported foods. I’d wager that a “poor black community” isn’t going to cheer because they can now buy exotic, unusual tidbits at sale prices. > > How many jobs does a TJs represent, and, as already discussed, how many are they going to hire from a “poor black community” that may have little experience with, well, the Trader Joe’s experience? Let’s say it’s 50 jobs… pretty much a drop in the bucket. > > Even convenience stores have “healthy foods”… it’s not what’s offered as much as what people are conditioned to buy. No one is more conditioned to buy cheap+shit than the economically disadvantaged. For every family that subsists on staples like rice, beans, seasonal vegetables etc., there is some multiple that lives McD’s bag to bag. > > Even with my personal viewpoint about TJs aside, I don’t buy any of the arguments about how it would be an asset to a neighborhood far outside its target demographic. I do buy the “creeping gentrification” arguments and the neighborhood’s objections. A TJs and all that follow will not improve 90% or more of their lives; it will just push them out, losing what small economic and social foothold they have. > > If the city truly cared about the things they profess to, pulling all the strings to get a major full-service grocery in that location would be better evidence of it. Exactly who did TJ’s intend to sell to? People do not open stores in the hopes that, evetually, a target market will move in and make them profitable. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-american-neighborhood-does-not-want-a-trader-joes/680538/94 "2014-02-05T18:04:09Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > When governments are deliberating over major proposals involving the public, they usually have a public comment period. Often there are multiple public meetings where concerned citizens can have their concerns registered and addressed. Sometimes there’s a spokesperson, but often times there isn’t a leader. Anyone can go to a public meeting and voice their support/opposition. Whoever has the loudest voice is the one who will be listened to. This is how things always work. > > The reason why trashy liquor stores and other unsavory places set up shop in certain neighborhoods and not others is because the public process is very important. Well-to-do people who care about the quality of their neighborhoods and their property values are very active about what’s going on in their communties. They stay on top of public notices. I know because I hear from them all the freakin’ time. Poor and working class people are equally entitled to manage their neighborhoods the way they see fit. Just because they don’t have a lot of money doesn’t mean they should have to live next to a landfill or a liquor store. Or a Trader Joe’s. > > I live in a middle-class neighborhood. Currently there’s a petition going around to protest a development plan being considered by my city. A soccer arena, a big box store, apartment highrises, etc. It’s not just property taxes that are concerning to residents. There are a lot of people who don’t want to deal with traffic headaches and construction mess. And the whole atmosphere of the quiet residential neighborhood would change with a big box store at the end of the street. If I owned my house, you better believe I’d be complaining about this. > > I’m fine with these residents deciding for themselves how their neighborhood should be developed. I don’t live there, so what right do I have to tell these people they should stay quiet about things that directly affect them? That’s not very democratic. Again - who elected the neighborhood spokesman? Self appointed leaders are not very democratic either. I have no dog in this hunt. I have seen similar activities where I live, and I have stood up to counter some self-appointed person who claims to speak for the people. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-american-neighborhood-does-not-want-a-trader-joes/680538/95 "2014-02-05T18:08:37Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > I agree that Desert Dumpster has a point, and I think I’m about as far from being a racist as possible. > > It really does seem that a certain segment of the AA leadership actively fights against improving black communities by not allowing certain stores or city parks or such to be built in historically black neighborhoods because they are afraid of gentrification and pushing out of black citizens. > > This seems backwards and sad to me, because it looks like they are actively trying to keep black people living in ghettos and chained up stores and such. > > But I don’t really understand the problem of gentrification and pushing out of people. I admit I have a lot to learn in this area. I don’t understand why black leaders fight against the improvement of black communities like this. I understand the basic logic that when improvements happen, rent goes up, and blacks can’t live there anymore so they have to move. Which is sad. But maybe wherever they move to won’t be as bad as where they were living, and maybe many of them aren’t so poor and are living there because it’s their choice, so they won’t have to move anyway. That’s not how things work. In Chicago, when they began to close and tear down the public housing, the thought was that people would be able to go to “better neighborhoods” if they received Section 8 housing or housing grants. What happened was that the neighborhoods where these people moved to soon began to resemble where they left. Now this was partly due to the people who moved there and brought their baggage along; but a large measure of it was that White Chicagoland area residents didn’t want to live around minorities and they sold their houses shortly after the “poor people” arrived. Now where the infamous Cabrini Green projects once stood there are $750k condos and they are beginning the process of turning that area into an annex of the nearby Gold Coast. Even the poor White residents who were clinging on at the edges of the projects can no longer afford to live there. Gentrification hurts almost everybody because it only makes it possible for the well-to-do to live in the city and it forces the less fortunate into smaller pockets farther away from their former homes and often farther away from necessary services… It doesn’t hurt developers or real estate speculators though and they are the ones who make the big campaign donations. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-american-neighborhood-does-not-want-a-trader-joes/680538/96 "2014-02-05T18:10:26Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > From that article How can a person in that neighborhood even think about starting a local business when deals like this one are exposed? Who is making similar types of offers to those who live there? I noticed they specifically mention the 2.4 million being the assessed value, which has a much more tenuous connection to the property’s market value than, say, a recent appraisal. Is there any evidence that it was actually being sold for less than market value, rather than merely having an unrealistic assessed value? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-american-neighborhood-does-not-want-a-trader-joes/680538/97 "2014-02-05T18:12:28Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Exactly who did TJ’s intend to sell to? People do not open stores in the hopes that, evetually, a target market will move in and make them profitable. What happens is that TJ’s moves into a spot that is damncheap but near enough to surrounding neighborhoods that they are designed to cater to, the type of people that can afford to travel a tiny bit to do their shopping and prefer TJ’s over their local Thriftway. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-american-neighborhood-does-not-want-a-trader-joes/680538/98 "2014-02-05T18:24:00Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > Are the only options either shithole or gentrification? > “Don’t improve my neighbourhood” sounds like a perverse version of First World Problem. “don’t improve my neighborhood” actually sounds like a rather distorted view of what was actually said. I do not believe that shithole vs gentrification is the only choice available. Unfortunately, as yet we have not found a reliable happy medium. In general, once improvements begin, gentrification follows. The closest that I can find to regularly successful improvement has been among various Habitat for Humanity efforts. The actual housing is improved and offered to low income people at reasonable rates. The new homeowners take more pride in their owned home than renters typically display toward their residences and the contracts frequently (always?) require a commitment to live in the houses for a minimum number of years. With better housing, ownership, and less mobility, the neighborhood begins to stabilize without the need for big box stores or massive government outlays. However, such efforts rely on a lot of volunteers and they can only be undertaken in small scale projects. On the one hand, this is a good thing because it produces better results more reliably. Unfortunately, when the need is greater, it has not yet been possible to ramp up such efforts in a way that would bring large enclaves of people housing that is both better and more affordable. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-american-neighborhood-does-not-want-a-trader-joes/680538/99 "2014-02-05T18:26:05Z")
> [@Algher](#): > > Again - who elected the neighborhood spokesman? Self appointed leaders are not very democratic either. > > I have no dog in this hunt. I have seen similar activities where I live, and I have stood up to counter some self-appointed person who claims to speak for the people. My point is that the neighborhood spokesman is just one voice. If there are people in the neighborhood who want TJ’s to move in, they are perfectly free to grab their own bullhorn. No one is stopping them. As with anything, most residents probably don’t care that much either way. I fail to see why the city should listen to the unexpressed views of the nonchalant and indifferent. The squeaky wheel and all that. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-american-neighborhood-does-not-want-a-trader-joes/680538/100 "2014-02-05T18:28:50Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > What happens is that TJ’s moves into a spot that is damncheap but near enough to surrounding neighborhoods that they are designed to cater to, the type of people that can afford to travel a tiny bit to do their shopping and prefer TJ’s over their local Thriftway. It sounds like a crappy business plan, to assume that people will drive out of their neighbourhoods and into a poor neighbourhood to shop for upscale foodstuffs. No wonder TJ’s shitcanned the deal. Or perhaps that wasn’t the plan at all, and in fact a target market actually existed locally. Who can say? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-american-neighborhood-does-not-want-a-trader-joes/680538.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-american-neighborhood-does-not-want-a-trader-joes/680538.md?page=6)