Around Rancho Cucamonga: January 2008 Archives

Rancho Cucamonga's long-awaited Trader Joe's opened Friday. Joe's has had a smallish Upland store forever but no others in the valley.* The new one fills the empty Vons space in a shopping center on Haven just above the 210.

I met friends for lunch at Corky's in the same center. Just getting into the parking lot took effort, because of the crowds. I've never seen the center, or Corky's for that matter, so packed.

After lunch, we checked out Joe's. It's a 12,000-square-foot store, said to be midsize by Joe's standards, but clearly larger than the Upland store. The aisles are a bit wider and the refrigerated section looks three or four times larger. According to an employee, there wasn't more, or much more, product on display than in Upland, just more of each item.

In a cute touch, the checkout lanes are marked with street signs mimicking Rancho Cucamonga street names: Lemon, Vineyard, Archibald, Haven, Milliken, Day Creek, Base Line and Foothill.

The store seemed to be a hit on opening day and I'd say it's almost guaranteed to be a success. We don't know what took you so long, Trader Joe's, but we're glad you're here.

* Unless San Dimas counts, as two readers pointed out.

Out at Victoria Gardens on my lunch hour Monday, I thought I'd buy gas before the rain started.

I pulled up at the Chevron station near Richie's Diner, Del Taco and The Hat. Above each pump was a pleasant surprise: a reproduction of a vintage (1950s?) illustrated map of Route 66.

Various cities are pinpointed, with Cucamonga obviously inserted. Route 66 attractions depicted at the bottom of the map include "Joshua Tree," "Hoover Dam," "Grand Canyon," "Indian War Dance" (!), "Will Rogers Monument" and "Mississippi River."

The maps are a charming touch, and next time I'm in the area and need gas, that's where I'm going.