The Only US States Where Trader Joe's Does Not Sell Alcohol

People love Trader Joe's for all sorts of reasons, and if you're lucky enough to live in a state that has a location, then undoubtedly one of the biggest draws is the alcohol. Between store brands like Trader Joe's iconic Two Buck Chuck wine (real name Charles Shaw) and great prices on big name brands of beer and liquor, it's one of the best places to stock up for all your alcohol needs. And even at lower prices many of the alcohol options are actually high in quality. Trader Joe's offers some of the best affordable beer and wine money can buy; that is, of course, if you're allowed to buy it. Because unfortunately for some of the country, there are states where Trader Joe's doesn't sell any alcohol at all.

Thanks to our country's patchwork alcohol regulations, which change not only by state but by county and city, it's hard to say anything definitive about alcohol sales at Trader Joe's. But there are four states, all clustered on the East Coast, that have stores where you won't find anything containing it on the shelves. Trader Joe's locations in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island do not stock any beer, wine, or liquor. Beyond that, most stores in New Jersey don't either, with only a few exceptions. The good news for everyone else is that once you start moving west, things get a little more relaxed.

The reasons some states don't offer anything come down to the peculiarities of local liquor retail laws. Delaware and Maryland don't allow alcohol to be sold in grocery stores, which obviously affects Trader Joe's. Pennsylvania is a bit more complicated as the state has had strange, labyrinthian laws limiting where different alcoholic beverages can be purchased dating back to the end of Prohibition. Those laws were reformed in 2016 and grocery stores can now sell a limited amount of beer and wine, but the state still has unusual rules around licensing, which may limit Trader Joe's or just not be worth dealing with for the company.

Rhode Island also allows some sales of alcohol in grocery stores, but has another complicated system that limits the shipment of alcohol to only some local in-state businesses. Finally, New Jersey may be the strangest as alcohol sales are allowed but corporate chains are limited to only two licenses for the whole state. So the TJs locations in Princeton and Westfield sell alcohol, but no other locations do. This doesn't mean everything TJ's offers can be found everywhere else. There are a number of states like North Carolina and Iowa that only sell beer and wine, and in Utah you can only get beer. Sorry guys, more cheap Trader Joe's wine for everyone else.