The lines are never long at this Trader Joe’s.
On Tuesday, the grocery store chain opened a grab-and-go store near Union Square in what was once the popular Trader Joe’s Wine Shop.
The store, called Trader Joe’s Pronto, offers affordable, lunch-friendly options for those looking for a quick bite to avoid the lines of bulk grocery shoppers. I plan to.
Annie Bisnauth, Kim Berger and Renee Hong work near the 14th Street store and regularly buy lunch at Trader Joe’s, so the Pronto concept was “exactly what we were looking for.” They said,
“All the snacks, the salads, the sandwiches, that’s all we focus on,” Hong, 38, told The Post on Tuesday.
Bisnaut, 25, said that when he buys lunch at the main store, “the line is always long and goes all the way to the back.” Sometimes it’s quick, but on busy work days it’s better to have a practical takeaway store.
And that’s exactly what led the chain to open Pronto in a former wine shop that abruptly closed in August 2022 after 15 years.
“Trader Joe’s Pronto is a unique expansion of our Union Square store,” a Trader Joe’s spokesperson told the Post. “We believe this is the best use of this space and will allow us to carry more products that our customers in this area purchase every day.”
Store captain Sivana Omadas Heetai told the Post the concept is being considered as the company looks for ways to expand its regular store space.
“This seemed like the best option for us, and I think so too. I think it’s going to be really good,” she said. “The goal is to make this more convenient as an extension of the store, so we have a lot of customer favorites and we hope to alleviate some of the crowding for customers who want to buy bulk items in our main store.”
The Union Square location tends to have NYU students and workers coming and going for lunch, so Omadas Heetai believes the expansion will be a big help.
During Tuesday’s trip, Hong picked up a microwaveable egg bite similar to Starbucks’ egg bites.
“It’s also creative and it’s not just a generic grocery store item. They have a lot of ducks, but they’re better and cheaper,” Hong said.
Berger, 25, added: “It’s cheaper here and you can get a quick lunch.”
Trader Joe’s Pronto has just about everything you can eat on the go, with the exception of pantry-specific staples like milk, eggs, and bread.
Customers can choose from a wide selection of salads, wraps, prepackaged meals, fruit, soups, yogurts, a variety of drink options, dips, cookies, desserts, snacks, treats, seasonal items and more.
“A lot of my favorite players were used to diving,” Omadas Heetai explained. “We hope you enjoy this space. This is the beginning of many great things to come.”
And this Pronto location is truly one of a kind.
A Trader Joe’s spokesperson said, “We have no plans to open additional Trader Joe’s Pronto markets in New York or elsewhere in the country.”
In fact, the name of this supermarket chain “Pronto” has a long history.
Trader Joe’s is the successor company to Pronto Market, the 18-store convenience store chain run by the late Joe Coulombe.
When a cash-rich 7-Eleven moved into Los Angeles in 1967, he realized his stores couldn’t compete, so he injected national trends he saw into Pronto Market and founded Trader Joe’s.
Trader Joe’s Pronto’s grand opening is Tuesday, but the store will be open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and has six cash registers.
