Entering this god forsaken Trader Joe’s is like descending into the fiery pits of hell (no I’m not exaggerating).

As a sophomore freshly in a suite with a kitchen, I needed food and I needed a grocery store where I could get some. I immediately turned to my beloved Trader Joe’s, since many of their products (rolled corn tortilla chips and cottage cheese) are essential staples in my diet. 

The first weekend of fall semester, my suitemate and I unknowingly ventured to the 72nd Trader Joe’s, mainly chosen due to its apparent convenience to get to. However, what we were greeted with was nothing short of appalling. This Trader Joe’s is two cramped underground floors with a real lack of natural light. Oh, and the escalators will always be broken, so enjoy carrying your groceries up multiple flights of stairs.

Granted I was first at this Trader Joe’s on a weekend afternoon, so I naïvely chalked my experience up to that and tried to go again one fateful Tuesday. To my shock, I found the exact same problem: people packed in like sardines with their carts trying in vain to navigate around one another, lines stretched all the way around the entire store (which also make it impossible for people to push their carts, thus adding to the whole cramped atmosphere). 

Nobody in this Trader Joe’s has any spatial awareness, which is exacerbated by the fact that there is absolutely no room to move around the people with no spatial awareness, meaning that you will get stuck behind someone pushing a cart and can’t even move around because there will be an endless line of shoppers on your other side. 

To add insult to injury, this Trader Joe’s didn’t even have one of the key products I needed (cottage cheese) BOTH times I ventured there. One time may be a coincidence, but twice? Twice is a pattern, and I needed to break the pattern.

After those two experiences, I have opted to never go back to this Trader Joe’s and instead frequent the one on 125th, which while still underground and lacking cell service, is much more spread out than the 72nd one and less of a nightmare to navigate. I will never go back. Trader Joe’s on 72nd, you have made an enemy for life.

Image via Bwauthor