Crowds and long lines greet Trader Joe's opening at Hilltop

VIRGINIA BEACH

Lisa Swan said she has waited 15 years for Trader Joe's, since she moved to Virginia Beach from Tucson, Ariz.

She and her neighbor, Jessica Edmonds, stood among the throng of fans who gathered Friday morning as the specialty food chain opened its first store in South Hampton Roads.

Edmonds, who shopped at Trader Joe's often while living in Atlanta, already knew what she wanted when she walked through the doors just before 9 a.m. at 503 Hilltop Plaza, on Laskin Road just west of First Colonial Road.

Store employees flanked the entry and applauded as shoppers flowed in.

Swan and Edmonds headed for the chilled case of pizza dough, tortillas and ravioli.

"I want to try these organic cured hotdogs," said Swan, 43, selecting a package.

Edmonds, 37, looked at the smoked fish hanging in the same area. "I forgot they had salmon here."

They discussed the merits of cheeses - goat logs, shaved Parmesan and shredded mozzarella - and Swan selected a wrapped Chianti Salami.

Edmonds sifted through containers of hummus. "There used to be one that had three layers," she said. "Here it is."

Their carts filled up with bagged lettuce, blue corn chips, five-berry pie and yogurt. They headed toward the salad dressings and pasta.

"You could marinate with this," said Edmonds, picking up a bottle of sesame soy ginger vinaigrette.

They passed Carol Guy, 71, who eyed a clog of carts.

"I don't know if there's any hope of getting down this aisle," Guy said. "I just want to get to the olives."

Guy has a penchant for Trader Joe's blue-cheese stuffed green olives but didn't see them, settling for the pimento-stuffed version.

She said she also loves the oatmeal soap, "the big bars of soap for $2 that last six months."

Like many of the shoppers in Virginia Beach, Guy said she used to travel to the Trader Joe's in Newport News. Anna Mignat, 54, made trips once or twice a month to the Peninsula to get her fix of its chocolate, cookies and coffee.

"What a schlep!" she said of the 40-minute drive. "It's worth the trip if you like their products, which I do. And they just have quality."

Virginia Beach devotees of Joe's have voiced their desires for a nearby store to the Monrovia, Calif.-based retailer since it came to Newport News in December 2005. An e-mail petition coordinated by two city businesswomen eventually gathered more than 1,300 names. Both Swan and Mignat said they sent requests through Trader Joe's Web site.

"I e-mailed and e-mailed and e-mailed and e-mailed, repeatedly," Mignat said.

By 9:30 a.m., check-out lines in the Virginia Beach store stacked up to the back wall.

An hour later, with the store at peak capacity, prospective customers stretched down the sidewalk as they waited to get inside one by one.

Swan and Edmonds finally made it to the wine aisle, where they joined a long check-out line.

Nearby, Clarice Stovall grabbed a box to hold a dozen bottles of Charles Shaw wine, a brand that helped make Joe's famous. Known in many states as "two-buck Chuck," the wine costs $3.29 in Virginia.

"I'm stocking my wine cooler," Stovall said, pointing out the merlot, chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon options. "This is pretty decent for the money."

Trader Joe's prices on a range of items - from balsamic vinegar to bourbon vanilla extract - have made the grocery store a darling among gourmets.

"Can't go wrong at $4.95 a pop," said shopper Nicole Djunaedi, 32, of the bottle of extract, one of her favorite Joe's finds. "It makes your baking incredible."

After about 45 minutes, Swan and Edmonds reached the cash register, where their purchases totaled more than $100 each. Amid the crowds, Swan had to forgo a few items, such as papaya chunks and the carnitas her husband wanted. Now, though, the neighbors can reach the store in about 15 minutes.

"Monday," Swan said to Edmonds, "we can come back."

Carolyn Shapiro, (757) 446-2270, carolyn.shapiro@pilotonline.com