I once enjoyed listening to Freakonomics podcast on TJ. They have been successful by picking a limited number of items with broad appeal.
The average TJs store contains ~3,500 unique products, or stock keeping units (SKUs). Most grocery stores have 30,000 or more.
From todayās Eating Well emailā¦.
I had the same experience at a NYC TJās today. I was told it wasnāt stocking Kerrygold anymore. I think the stockman thought Iād just take some TJās butter, but I told him Iād have to find Kerrygold somewhere else!
My TJs is still out (California). And as much as I LOVE Kerrygold butter, I dislike all other butter. I hope youāre able to find it elsewhere! 
I love their whipped garlic spread. (where the hummus and zhoug are sold)
Basil - so fresh and the best for pesto
Cheeses
Salmon/ground meat/organic chicken
Arugula
Frozen scallops
Protein bars
Frozen pastas entrees
Flowers
I am surprised I havenāt seen anyone say wine. I personally donāt buy a lot of wine from there, but they seem to sell lots of wine.
There is an issue impacting Kerrygold butter:
Thank you! I hope this means the shortage is short-term. It is one of the few products for which the generic brand just doesnāt suffice for me.
In New Jersey, only two TJās can sell wine, because of bizarre liquor license rules. I used to pick up 2buck chuck but got out of the habit when a closer TJ was built near me that doesnāt sell it. Recently made the longer trip and got some, but not as okay as it seemed to be in the past. And up to 4.50 now.
Our TJs are flush with wine and craft beers and ciders. I usually skip that section because our Costco has a better selection, and the winery tasting rooms are just around the corner. But in a pinch, one can definitely get good wine at out TJs. 
Still no hash brown patties or eggs at our TJs!
There was plenty of Kerrygold butter at my Safeway last week. Expensive, but there.
Lol on the hash brown patties. I bought a package last week based on reading this thread. We donāt normally eat hash browns unless we are in a restaurant but I figure if the CC crowd likes them Iāll try them.
I bought several bunches of flowers last week that I arranged for a baby shower I was hosting. Also last week bought hyacinth bulbs in a glass vase. They bloomed beautifully and have a nice scent.
Today in NYC (where there used to be one TJ liquor store but now there is none, rumored to be because of a unionization campaign) I bought my usual frozen chicken soup dumplings (in the red box; I donāt like the pork-ginger ones in the purple box nearly as well), reduced-sodium soy sauce, Cuban black bean and rice bowl, bananas for $.19 each, half gallon of 1 percent milk for $3.99 ($5.19 in my local supermarket), linguine for .99/lb, frozen peas, and reduced-sugar raspberry preserves. Thatās about all I could fit in my backpack to schlep home on the subway and into my rental apartment freezer and pantry. I just realized that I forgot to buy a bag of small sweet potatoes. I roast them and then keep them in the refrigerator to reheat in the microwaves as needed. Since I live alone, my needs are pretty simple. Tomorrow when I work in the office, I will bring a Cuban black bean bowl and a container of the string beans I bought last week. I buy the trimmed ones, microwave them in the plastic bag with a corner cut (as instructed on the bag), fry up chopped garlic in a little oil, plus a little soy sauce; pour over the beans and reheat as needed. I have a photo on my phone if anyone wants to see the finished product.
As I am leaving the store, I take the soup dumplings and rice bowls out of the boxes for the schlep home.
When we were in NYC last fall, staying in Soho, H stopped by the TJs there a few times in the evening at around 7 or 8āish and reported that it was mostly empty (i.e. the storeās stock was practically sold out both times). Thatās not the case at our local TJās in CA.
I go to a TJ in Brookyn. It can be a little picked through by the evening but not too bad. I never go on weekends. Life is too short!
They opened a second TJ less than a mile from the original one because there were lines to get INTO the store (pre-pandemic!), it was so crowded. I used to go in the morning when they first opened, after I took my daughter to high school, when I still had a car.
I have two stores about equal distance from me. If itās weekday I go to one since the parking is better. I go to the other on the weekend because for some reason that one isnāt as busy on the weekend. Sunday afternoon is the worse at one of them as all the college students shop and the lines go to the back of the store as they all have just a small basket of food.
No parking lots at the Trader Joes stores in Brooklyn but I hear thereās a store in Staten Island with a parking lot. Right across the bridge from me (just a few blocks) but a hefty toll in the car. I should see if I can take the busāa mere $1.35 each way with my senior Metrocard!
We once stopped at a TJs in Ann Arbor within a half hour of closing - the stock people were madly stocking - best ever selection and stock! Everything was full!
Ran in TJās today for some Mandarin Orange Chicken. This is the 3rd or 4th time Iāve been shut out on that product. Clerk said they are getting limited stock right now, so I will call before I go next time. I did get a batch of daffodils for $2.17 and Iām enjoying them on my coffee table tonight 
Kerrygold back in my store. Looking forward to my sourdough toast with it slathered on top tomorrow am. 
The TJs closest to me shares a parking lot with a large medical clinic and a pet supply store. It is always tough to find a spot to park.
They seem to restock all day, without regard for how busy the store is, so I can be dodging boxes at 5pm or 11am or any time in between.
Iām trying to stay off sugar, so I bought some sour cream and onion corn puffs thinking theyād meet the same fate as other half-finished boxes and bags of crackers and chips in my pantry & be ok to start and then be abandoned to go stale. Nope. Very āmore-ishā as my mom used to say. Iāll finish this bag and close my eyes as I head down the chip aisle.