Why Trader Joe's Has That Tiki Bar Theme Going On

Depending on which Trader Joe's location you go to, the beloved supermarket's tropical nautical theme may or may not shine through. But, while much of the chain's branding is rustic in an early-10s Williamsburg kind of way — there's something more than a little problematic about exoticizing Polynesia, after all – there are still some genuinely vintage Tiki-adjacent elements. Employees wear colorful Hawaiian shirts, ring ship bells as a way of communicating, and there are a few nautical murals and product labels, as well. Why is this? Well, it's a little to do with a famous Tiki bar in the Bay Area, a little to do with the popularization of air travel, and a little to do with Disneyland.

Joe Coulombe, the late founder of Trader Joe's, said that the theme was inspired by a visit to the Jungle Cruise in Disneyland, which coincided with him reading a South Pacific travelogue, "White Shadows in the South Seas" by Frederick O'Brien. It's also true that, as air travel became more widely accessible in the 1960s and 1970s, an appetite for exotica flowered, and Trader Joe's, founded in 1967, made that a canny part of its branding.

There's also the matter of Trader Vic's. Commonly cited as the originator of the Mai Tai, Trader Vic's started with one location in the Bay Area and became a popular chain of Tiki bars in the 1960s, right around the same time Joe Coulombe was considering rebranding Pronto Market, the chain of convenience stores that would eventually become Trader Joe's. Trader Vic's Beverly Hills location was a popular — not to mention expensive — place to be at that time, so it makes sense that Joe would want some of that shine to rub off on him, even if he was selling a more budget-friendly grocery experience. Indeed, the fonts for Trader Vic's and Trader Joe's bear more than a passing resemblance to each other.

Still, there doesn't appear to be any hard feelings between the two chains, and (for the moment) both companies are still around, meaning you can enjoy the original Mai Tai from Trader Vic's as well as items from Trader Joe's Hall of Fame — including those scrumptious dark chocolate peanut butter cups.