Trader Joe's
Welcome to the smallest Trader Joe's in the known universe! Yes, that is in fact what Trader Joe's calls this location, and it's small -- just 5200 square feet. It was also the first location to open within Boston, although locations in the suburbs of Cambridge and Brookline opened five years before this one in 1996.
Like many urban Trader Joe's stores -- including many in New York City that we'll see when we return to that area -- the supermarket is actually in the basement of the building.
This is one of two Trader Joe's stores on Boylston Street, the other one being a much newer one at 500 Boylston half a mile east.
The fact that this is the smallest Trader Joe's has attracted it some attention, and it's prominently advertised as you enter the store. In typical Trader Joe's fashion, the signage has a local flair, and this entrance sign mirrors the signs found throughout the state on the borders of towns.
And the entrance is bright and colorful! These murals reference the local Fenway Park, Boston Marathon, and the T.
I love these murals! It's a creative blend of local flavor with the typical Trader Joe's graphics. It's also particularly important because there's not a lot of room for decor on the walls in the basement.
The setup is all but identical to the other stores, although it's smaller and tighter. The shelving is higher than the average Trader Joe's, but there's also a bit of a smaller selection here. The essentials are all here, though.
The produce department, as I recall, is in the back-left corner, with grocery aisles and freezer cases in the front and to the right.
An abbreviated cheese department is in the back corner next to produce. Here you can see an example of how there's not really room for the standard decor on the walls here.
It's obviously extremely unusual to see a Trader Joe's with a ceiling this low. At the other end of the spectrum is the former Food Emporium Bridgemarket store on the East Side of Manhattan -- with gorgeous, high ceilings.
Still, it's fun to see how they've used the space more efficiently here than the average Trader Joe's. I imagine this store must get awfully crowded, though, but I'm sure the new location east of here helps alleviate the crowds.
Trader Joe's is one of the only remaining big-chain grocery stores to still use open freezer cases (without doors) in their stores, I assume because they've found it's easier to browse -- which therefore means more sales -- but here, we see upright open freezer cases, which have all but vanished from most mainstream supermarkets.
But they also have some of the coffin cases, with lots more groceries on the shelves above.
And a look at the front-end, which is in the basement near the escalators! I love these unusual Trader Joe's locations, since the average suburban location is not all that exciting.
Opened: 2001
Owner: Aldi Nord
Previous Tenants: unknown
Cooperative: none
Location: 899 Boylston St, Boston, MA
Photographed: June 16, 2019 and May 6, 2023
Don't forget to see the new 500 Boylston Street store here. This store is right across the street from the Hynes Convention Center, which borders the Prudential Center. There's another supermarket at the Prudential Center, which we'll be touring on Monday. But in the meantime, check out several new stores in New York and New Jersey this weekend!
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