The West End Guide reports that Trader Joe’s, the gourmet Los Angeles-based grocery chain, is set to open its first location in the District by 2006. Trader Joe’s is eyeing the old Columbia Hospital site in the West End, which is being converted to retail and residential use.
Anticipating Trader Joe’s arrival, the team from the WEG did a market basket survey to compare Trader Joe’s prices with those at the Social and Watergate Safeways, Dean and Deluca, Marvelous Market and some smaller markets. Trader Joe’s, which has locations in Virginia and Maryland, has better prices.
DCist was a bit amused by some of the problems the WEG crew encountered when conducting its survey. From the WEG:
We had to substitute a box of puffed Kashi cereal for Cheerios at Dean & Deluca. And the closest we could come to our can of Green Giant peas there was a jar of petits pois from France, at $6.50, which inflated its basket total significantly.
>> In related grocery news, if you want to get more details on the planned Adams Morgan Harris Teeter (17th Street and Kalorama Road) check out some ANC1c information regarding the grocery’s application. Also, as we’ve previously reported, Harris Teeter is planning a location on Capitol Hill, near the Potomac Avenue metrorail station.
