Bryan at Sanity in Mad City reports that Trader Joes may be coming to a long-vacant spot in one of Madison's more liberal neighborhoods.

Bryan links to an unintentionally hilarious article on Dane 101 on the topic. While some folks are happy because Trader Joe's isn't "yet another Walgreen's", they're also wringing their hands because it's not as liberal as the local Madison co-ops it would compete with:

The 200-store strong Trader Joe's is less likely to carry the locally produced products currently lining the shelves of the Regent St. Co-op. Madison would be the company's first Wisconsin store, so it would be interesting to see if their website which boasts "more than 80 cheeses includes Cheddars from New York and Vermont" is expanded to include Cheddar from our state.

Trader Joe's is also proud of their selection of coffee beans, although the words "Fair Trade" don't seem to exist in any of the descriptions. How likely is Trader Joe's to carry coffee beans roasted in Madison, such as Ancora? Or to go out of their way to put beans on their shelves from Just Coffee that help support the numerous non-profit organizations in town such as the Madison Area Peace Coalition?

Note to self: don't buy any "Just Coffee". But honestly, I'm just baffled by this. Why do Madison looney lefties feel the need to make political statements with their grocery shopping and why should businesses have to conform to those politics? I remember when Whole Foods first opened in Madison. Despite their crunchy reputation, protestors stood outside the store day after day. Why? Because it's not a union shop. Looney lefties may have the same problem with Trader Joe's:

Much like Whole Foods, Trader Joe's isn't a union shop. While that has been a thorn in the side of Whole Foods, who has been accused of using union busting tactics, Trader Joe's is described by Business Week as paying better than the average grocery union wages, has a generous benefits package and contributes an extra 15.4 percent of a worker’s gross pay towards a company funded retirement plan. First-year supervisors earn more than $40,000 on average to start.

There is also less of a chance of finding the products of major corporations on the shelves of Trader Joe's.

That last comment about the products of major corporations is interesting. Note that the author isn't talking about greater selection here, nope, it's that Trader Joe's just won't sell the products of major corporations. Damn those successful major corporations! The government should ban them and instead we should grow all the food we need on collective farms.

I question why any business would open in Madison now. I think there's a big market for a Trader's Joe here and I know more than a few people who are very excited about the possibility of one opening here. But, is it worth going through all the hoops that the locals are setting up for them?

You'd think that there are plenty of cities that would love to have a Trader Joe's and would respect their right to run their business they way they want to. If I were Trader Joe's I'd be afraid that these Madison looneys would start picketing the store if the ratio of Wisconsin to New York cheese wasn't quite "right".