Weird History Food is making a grocery list to show you the History of Trader Joe's. Founded in California, the Trader Joe's grocery store has grown in popularity, to almost cult-like status, over the past few decades. But what makes Trader Joe's so unique? Well, we hope you like sea-themed grocery shopping because we are tracing TJ's from its inception to how they got "Two-Buck Chuck" to become the iconic must-bring bottle of wine to any party. Ahoy!