Ready for 2-buck Chuck?

Trader Joe’s, the quirky discount wine and beer and specialty grocer, is coming to Merrimon Avenue in Asheville, WLOS and the Citizen-Times reported this week. http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20120712/NEWS01/307110053/It-s-official-Asheville-reacts-Trader-Joe-s?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage

This could be a disappointment to those who wanted the chain to plant a new store in Hendersonville. We’ve got space in the old Food Lion, or on Upward Road, which could be the next boomlet when the DOT finishes its interminable road widening.

Known for deeply discounted wine and beer, including the Charles Shaw wine fondly known as “2-buck Chuck” and the middle-brow Name Tag Classic beer, Trader Joe’s has been owned since 1979 by Aldi, the discount supermarket chain from Germany. Besides beverages, Trader Joe’s markets specialty foods and snacks.

Maybe we’ll get one anyway. When Trader Joe’s does a zip code analysis of the folks filling their buggies, they’re liable to find a lot of Henderson County buying power.