<P> Trader Joe's is an American chain of grocery stores based in Monrovia, California, owned by a German private equity family trust . By 2015, it was a competitor in "fresh format" grocery stores in the United States . As of October 12, 2017, Trader Joe's had 474 stores nationwide in 43 states and in Washington, D.C. </P> <P> Trader Joe's was founded by Joseph "Joe" Coulombe . From 1979, it was owned by German entrepreneur Theo Albrecht until his death in 2010, when ownership passed to his heirs . The company has offices in Monrovia, California, and Boston, Massachusetts . </P> <P> Trader Joe's is named after its founder, Joe Coulombe . The chain began in 1958 as a Greater Los Angeles area chain of Pronto Market convenience stores . The original Pronto Markets were so similar to 7 - Eleven that Coulombe felt the competition with 7 - Eleven would be ruinous . </P> <P> Coulombe is said to have developed the idea of the Trader Joe's South Seas motif while on vacation in the Caribbean . The Tiki culture fad of the 1950s and 1960s was fresh in the cultural memory, and Trader Vic's was at its height with 25 locations worldwide . He had noticed that Americans were traveling more and returning home with tastes for food and wine they had trouble satisfying in supermarkets of the time . </P>

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