Where Is The World's Busiest Trader Joe's Location?

If you live pretty much anywhere other than New York City, grocery shopping almost certainly looks different for you than it does for a New Yorker. Upon entering the store, maybe the first thing you do (after parking your car) is grab a full-sized shopping cart and cruise down a wide, open aisle. In New York City, the grocery trip typically begins by commuting on foot through a dense throng that (surprise) doesn't allow for carts. Handheld baskets or the occasional "wheeled basket" mini-cart are the dominant vehicles here — especially in Manhattan's Upper West Side, which is home to the busiest Trader Joe's location in the world.

Two blocks away from Central Park is the TJ's at 72nd Street and Broadway, aka store 542, the location that Trader Joe's own website calls "hands down the busiest Trader Joe's in the world." The store has two floors in total, equipped with two elevators and four escalators. Despite its record-setting crowd, the Broadway location still boasts a fairly impressive 3.9 out of 5 stars on Yelp. Nearly every single review mentions long lines and high traffic; one user paints the scene as "a frustration game of bumper cars all day." However, nearly as many reviews are just as quick to mention fantastic service and that the workers keep the lines moving fairly quickly. No doubt, this is probably thanks to the fact that 72nd & Broadway is armed with three times as many checkout counters and employees as a typical location.

This multi-floored mammoth is open from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. seven days a week, a window (hopefully) wide enough to accommodate NYC's incredibly large population of over eight million people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That's a lot of foodies needing to stock up on snacks. Luckily, including the 72nd & Broadway store, Trader Joe's has 18 locations across the five boroughs: three in Brooklyn, three in Queens, two in Staten Island, and a whopping 10 in Manhattan. While there are none to be found in the Bronx, the TJ's at Queensboro Bridge is particularly unique.

Even to native New Yorkers, it's no secret that grocery store anxiety — which, according to Neurolaunch, affects an estimated 20% of adults — can be highly exacerbated by the stressful environment of crowded aisles and time constraints. Don't even get this NYC-based writer started on the labor-intensive process of lugging groceries from the store, onto the subway, up the stairs, and home to the refrigerators you share with roommates (or the one kitchen cabinet that serves as your collective "pantry").

Still, at 72nd & Broadway, it's all part of the dance. As Trader Joe's puts it, "This may sound daunting, but to our Manhattan customers and Crew, it's just another neighborhood store." Avoid visiting during peak hours on weekends to steer clear of longer lines. Pro tip: If a little space is more your style, physically larger grocery chains like Food Bazaar, Met Fresh, and Key Foods sometimes offer full-sized carts.