Trader Joe’s - Tallahassee

If you’ve been to one TJ’s you’ve been to them all. Overpriced groceries and a bunch of random ticks. Worth a stop if you’re nearby, otherwise skip it.

Love TJ’s for groceries and cooking staples. As a beer spot it’s ok. Dirt cheap for the affiliated brewers beers ($2.50 for some bombers...). The downside is that only a few of those have been decent. They have other standard crafts and most importantly, Jai Alai six packs in stock each time I’ve visited. Can definitely find something if I’m there for food, but wouldn’t go out of my way for just beer.

New place in town - just opened up early Oct ’13. Eclectic choice of foods - many of it private label and all priced extremely well. Little bit of everything from produce to meats, to staples to frozen foods. Beer selection is pretty solid for a grocery store. Picked up at least twenty new ones - which for me is excellent. Lots of relabels of other brewers such as Shipyard, Minhas, Unibroue and Firestone Walker. Prices are extremely low. Many of the singles are either $0.67 or $1.00 and there is no upcharge for singles or the need to purchase six singles to get a discount. Highest price beer I think I could find was a 750 ml from Unibroue (TJ’s Providential Ale for $5.99. Also has several shelves full of wine - most that I recognized appeared to be a buck or two lower than I could find elsewhere. Will check out every couple of weeks to see what the latest pallet of re-labels is.

If you haven't been to TJ's, then you're in for tick-topia. They contract brew house brands from some decent breweries (Unibroue, Firestone, Uinta, etc.) and you can buy singles. I'd bet you could get 20 beers for like $25. Food is interesting - I like their produce, some folks I know really like their frozen stuff. The produce is kinda B size sometimes, but very affordable and good quality. Excellent selection of cheeses at a good price. Wide wine selection (I'm not as picky about wine as I am beer,) cheap port, and of course $2-Buck Chuck table wine. Old Rating (4/8/9/7/9/13): Clean, a little crowded. Didn’t even look at the food but went direct to the beer aisle. The place just opened a few days back, and it looked like the locusts had blown through - a lot of the slots were sold out. Still, you can mix your own six, there are various bombers and quality brews. Prices for singles are cheap. Will amend after I go back.