Trader Joe's Beer

Here's some "hair of the dog that bit you" for all the folks waking up from a night of fun at the Pub Crawl. The other day I purchased a six pack of Simpler Times Lager from the Trader Joe's on Bangy Rd. in L.O. for $3. I thought the marketing of this beer was interesting. It doesn't look like beer. In fact, I had to tell my children that it was not for kids. Anyway, the guy at the checkout said it was TJ's answer to Pabst Blue Ribbon. The beer brewed in Monroe Wisconsin was bland and not at all refreshing the way PBR is.

While packing my bag at the store, I hassled the checker about any info on a TJ's coming to Salem. She said she did not know but that many people from Salem ask about it. We must look like we've been stranded on a desert island, eyeballing their food, like it's nourishment that will save our lives.

There are many rumors floating around about a TJ's opening in Salem. Some people think we have been denied because of our demographics which I believe is a bunch of nonsense. I'm starting to believe that it's about how much product they can get on the shelf. This Simpler Time's beer will be very popular in Salem. Does the brewery in Wisconsin have the capacity to stock another Oregon store yet?

So the discussion continues about where to open in Salem. The best locations, in my opinion, are the recently closed Safeway building next to Roth's on Commercial or the long time closed Albertson's building on Commercial across from Winco. It looks like Keizer Station is out of the running, thank goodness. Of course the developers and TJ's corporate will probably want to build a nice shiny new store near I5. Where do you think Joe's should go?