Trader Joe's Plans July 29 Grand Opening

The shopping carts are lined up and the shelves are already filling, but Mount Pleasant shoppers itching for a stroll through the aisle at funky grocer Trader Joe's will have to wait.

The California-based retailer, famous for dirt-cheap wine and affordable organic foods, will officially open its Johnnie Dodds Boulevard store on July 29, according to a Trader Joe's statement.

So what's the big deal? You can't go far in Mount Pleasant without stumbling upon a grocery store, and by current measures, Trader Joe's isn't even as big or as fancy as what's already in the market.

Here's what CNN Money had to say about why Trader Joes is cool:

Trader Joe's is no ordinary grocery chain. It's an offbeat, fun discovery zone that elevates food shopping from a chore to a cultural experience. It stocks its shelves with a winning combination of low-cost, yuppie-friendly staples (cage-free eggs and organic blue agave sweetener) and exotic, affordable luxuries -- Belgian butter waffle cookies or Thai lime-and-chili cashews -- that you simply can't find anyplace else.

An admitted Trader Joe's devotee blogs on Neatorama about the retailer's affordable-but-good Two-Buck Chuck wines:

Trader Joe’s is the home of Two Buck Chuck! TJ’s is the exclusive dealer of Charles Shaw wine. It’s technically Three Buck Chuck in some states, but at any rate, it’s worth it. For cheap wine, Two Buck Chuck is pretty darn tasty. It took me a while to figure this one out, though, because in Pennsylvania, it’s illegal to sell liquor in grocery stores. It took a trip to Virginia to finally procure the famous Two Buck Chuck.

Trader Joe's wouldn't say last week how many people will work at the Mount Pleasant store, but Pepperdine University's Graziadio Business Review offers some interesting facts on how stores are run:

Turnover among full-time crew is 4 percent yearly, substantially below that of traditional supermarkets. Part-time employees comprise 70 percent of the crew members, and those wishing to be promoted to full-time can apply for the position. The managerial structure is relatively flat. Crew members report to the “first mate” (assistant store manager), who, in turn, reports to the “captain” (store manager).

Unlike other stores that cut the ribbon on opening day, Joe's will cut a lei on its first day, keeping with the retailer's beach theme.