Where are the carts?

Trader Joe's mania jams The Woodlands: Scenes from an opening frenzy of grocerymadness

The line to get into the new Trader Joe's in The Woodlands stretched around thestore on opening day.
Trader Joe's fever was in the crowd.
Photo By Marlo Saucedo
Once you got to the front of the Trader Joe's line, greeters were there with atouch worthy of Hawaii.
Photo by Marlo Saucedo
There wasn't a lot of room to move around on the opening day of the new TraderJoe's in The Woodlands.
Photo by Marlo Saucedo
Getting to the front of the checkout was no easy task as Trader Joe's frenzyovertook The Woodlands.
Photo by Marlo Saucedo
Still, many customers left satisified — with wine.
Photo By Marlo Saucedo

There was plenty of parking, but the line for the opening of the new Woodlands Trader Joe’s clearly began forming long before my 7:20 a.m. arrival. It already wound around the side of the store at that point.

By 8 a.m., the line had doubled back on itself. Shopping carts ran out at entry one-third of the way through the queue. Shoppers were meet as they entered the store by employees handing out Hawaiian leis.

The 13,500-square-foot store was impeccable, with colorful artwork depicting recognizable local vignettes on the wall, and creative signage everywhere above and among the products. Free reusable bags were given to shoppers as they crowded in.

“Every time we go back, we bring back Trader Joe’s. We served the Two Buck Chuck at our wedding!”

Cambria and Scott Merry, having visited the nearby Starbucks, held a spot toward the front of the line. They moved to The Woodlands three years ago from Austin, but are originally from California: “Every time we go back, we bring back Trader Joe’s. We served the Two Buck Chuck at our wedding!”

They also like the cat cookies, as well as the store’s selection of organic goods, salads, vitamins and supplements.

Mark and Amara Bacon, farther back in line, had only been to Trader Joe’s once before Friday morning, but they saw "some unique things” in that California vacation visit. They came to try the roasted seaweed snack and the Two Buck Chuck.

Woodlands resident Deborah Santesson remembers the Trader Joe’s in Portland, Oregon fondly, saying, “The house brands were so unique; the variety — and the organic items will give me a wider selection than just having H-E-B. And, Trader Joe’s has better prices than Whole Foods!”

What brought her to opening day? “I’m excited. I want to look at all the products — and I want to go shopping! I’m not much of a cook, and they have a lot of pre-made, pre-packaged meals I can buy.”

Sarah Sadlowski posed with “thumbs up” next to the extensive wine selection. Sadlowski is orginally from New Jersey, having moved to The Woodlands 18 years ago.

“My sister’s been sending me care packages all this time from New Jersey, and whenever we go back we pack a suitcase full of Trader Joe’s to being back here," she said. "I kept emailing the company, saying, ‘You’ve got to come to The Woodlands!’ I’ve been waiting 18 years for this!”

Corinna Cervantez, overhearing, added, “I thought five years was a long time to wait!” She and her husband moved to Tomball five years ago from Southern California. They’ve missed having Trader Joe’s.

"We’ve been riding them to come,” Certvantezes said.

Now they’re here, and the Cervantezes — and many Woodlands-area residents — are all smiles.

Insider Info

Wondering what the Trader Joe's fuss is about? There are resources for that.

Two years’ worth of Trader Joe’s product information rated by a husband-wife team can be found on the “What’s Good at Trader Joe’s?” blog. Who knew grocery shopping could be so absorbing?

On another popular blog, My Trader Joe’s List, visitors rate all the store's products. If that’s too much, however, The Daily Meal cuts to the chase with the top five appetizers, and top five vegetarian and breakfast products at Trader Joe's. (There’s even a section called “Worst. Stuff. Ever.” — so you’ll know what NOT to get.)

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hottest headlines of 2025

Here are the 10 hottest Houston real estate headlines of 2025

Photo courtesy of NewQuest

The new Texas Heritage Marketplace will be located along Interstate 10 and the newly completed Texas Heritage Parkway in Katy.

Editor's note: The top real estate stories of 2025 were heavy on buzzy suburbs. Fulshear earned special recognition for its jaw-dropping population growth over the last five and 10 years, while Sugar Land entered the spotlight for its livability and its surprisingly high rental rates. A Houston billionaire was revealed to be one of the top 100 landowners in the country, and a local restaurant duo put their illustrious farm on the market. Read on for the top 10 real estate stories of 2025.

1. Totally sweet Houston suburb triumphs as No. 3 best place to live in U.S. Relocation marketing platform Livability.com named Sugar Land the third-best place to live in America thanks to its appealing size and affordability. The list was restricted to small and mid-size cities with populations between 75,000-500,000 residents.

2. Surprise Houston neighbor was No. 1 fastest-growing U.S. city in the last decade. Fulshear's population growth surged over 1,000 percent from 2014-2023, the report found, and the U.S Census estimates the city now boasts a population of more than 42,600 residents. More on Fulshear's booming population later.

3. Houston oil-and-gas billionaire ranks among America's top 100 landowners. The Land Report revealed that approximately one-quarter of the country's mega-owners of private land have ties to Texas.

4. 2 Houston suburbs rank among fastest-growing affordable cities in U.S. SmartAsset analyzed 50 U.S. cities to find the most affordable places with large population growth. League City and Pearland ranked No. 7 and No. 11, respectively.

5. Cozy Houston neighborhood ranked No. 1 best place to live in Texas. Master-planned community Cinco Ranch was given an"A-plus" rating for its family-friendliness, public schools, diversity, and other factors. The area is able to maintain a close-knit community while having a sprawling population of more than 19,000 residents.

6. Houston developer breaks ground on $400 million, 165 acre Katy project. Houston-based commercial real estate firm NewQuest commenced work on a $400 million, 165-acre, mixed-use shopping center in Waller County at the end of January. The project, called The Texas Heritage Marketplace, will include 750,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, along with 550 apartments in two communities.

7. This wealthy Houston neighbor is the fastest-growing suburb in America. In a narrowed-down analysis of the top American suburbs that have had the highest population increases from 2018-2023, Fulshear once again came out on top.

8. 2 Houston-area ZIP codes top 2024 list of hottest U.S. housing markets. Real estate marketplace Opendoor crowned Katy's 77493 ZIP code as the No. 1 hottest U.S. housing market in 2024, while Cypress' 77433 ZIP secured the No. 2 spot. Affordability was cited as the primary factor that drew newcomers to these suburbs.

9. Houston restaurateurs' 353-acre farm hits the market for $29 million. The sprawling Goodthyme Ranch, owned by Goodnight Hospitality partners Bailey and Pete McCarthy, went on the market in early September. The farm is situated about an hour from downtown Houston in Bellville, and offers a 5,220-square-foot, five-bedroom main house and a 4,560-square-foot, five-bedroom guest house, as well as extensive agricultural and recreational amenities.

10. This Houston suburb had the highest apartment rent prices in June. Zumper's monthly rental report found Sugar Land apartment prices were more expensive than any other Houston-area city over the summer. Despite having the most expensive rent in the metro in June, the asking rent for a single-bedroom apartment in Sugar Land was technically lower than it was in June 2024.

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