The lines were long and the doors were finally open. But for a lot of Upper West Siders who showed up to the 72nd and Broadway Trader Joe’s this weekend, something was missing. Actually, a lot of things were missing.
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The store reopened on Saturday after closing on May 17 for a remodel the company said would upgrade refrigeration and “vertical transportation” (that’s escalators and elevators, for those of us who don’t speak facilities). Shoppers lined up to get in, but once inside, many found both floors barely stocked, with complaints piling up on Reddit and in a New York Post writeup.The Post’s rundown of what wasn’t on the shelves is long: no bags of salt, no rice, couscous or orzo, most tomato sauces gone, no bacon, most raw chicken cuts unavailable, only a few oddball yogurt flavors, and a frozen section missing everything from shu mai and tamales to every kind of frozen pizza and nearly all the mac and cheese. One shopper hunting for gnocchi summed it up with “It’s giving gulag.”
An employee told frustrated customers that shipments had been delayed and said the store should be fully stocked “definitely later this week,” though the Post reported no firm timeline. On the bright side, the Post noted the store did have a healthy supply of the new garlic shrimp chips, which have sold out at other Manhattan locations.
Stock isn’t the only issue readers are flagging. On Reddit, shoppers have complained that the escalator wasn’t working and that parts of the freezer section weren’t fully operational, which is a rough look for a renovation that was specifically supposed to overhaul refrigeration and vertical transportation.
We’ve reached out to Trader Joe’s for comment and will update this story if we hear back.
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