"We are a specialty food and beverage store," says manager Dave Adams, a 13-year veteran with the company who was appointed a month ago to run the brand new store with a staff of 60. Although organic foods are being added to the list of items the store carries, that's mainly an indication of the chain's good business sense rather than a buying philosophy.

"We are not a health food store. Just read the nutritional label on one of our frozen desserts," Adams explains with a chuckle. But the store will carry what sells. Only 5,000 items are stocked at the store, while Safeway might have as many as 30,000 items. If one of those items doesn't do well, it's eliminated. "Our customers vote with their dollars and thus determine what we buy."

Adams says that store buyers travel the world looking for unique items to offer at a "great price." More and more staples, like eggs and milk, are being offered as well, along with fresh-cut flowers.

In the area of jarred, canned, frozen, packaged and bottled goods, quantity purchases result in lower prices that in turn are passed on to the customer. Large lots of exceptionally good wine, for instance, are offered under the store's private label, selling, perhaps, for around $6 a bottle when the winemaker normally gets $25 or $30 a bottle. Just such a deal is being offered this month—a chardonnay under the Trader Joe's label of Sandy Creek is a featured special in the store. "We can't say where the wine came from," Adams notes. "Part of the deal with the winery is our agreement not to reveal their prestigious name, since the wine is selling for so little." Many wineries want to deal, however, because Trader Joe's can purchase such huge volume. "There's also a glut on the wine market right now," he adds. Because Trader Joe's pays cash up front, large wineries, such as Charles Shaw, will sell out their wine, resulting in a nice wine selling for as little as $1.99 a bottle. Hence, lots of happy wine drinkers have made famous the "Two Buck Chuck" deal. "It's better for the winery to sell than to sit on inventory, but we only will deal with high quality," Adams concludes.

The store has come a long way in some 35 years since the days when it started in South Pasadena under the name Pronto Market, selling batteries, magazines and cigarettes. Indeed, there really was a "trader Joe." He was Joe Colombe, who managed the company until ten years ago, when he sold to the Tato Albrecht family in Germany. Today, nearly 200 stores strong, the corporation is opening markets at a steady rate on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and spreading some across the Midwest. The cost for shipping to the Heartland, however, raises the price of some items. Two Buck Chuck, for instance, runs $3.99 there.

Among all Trader Joe's, the Los Gatos store is providing a unique feature. "We're very proud of our demo station," Adams says, describing a tasting booth offering customers samples of new items in the store. It's open 12 hours each day and is run by staff members. "We call it our 'infotainment center,'" he smiles.

Trader Joe's, located at 15466 Los Gatos Blvd. in Los Gatos, is open daily 9 a.m.­9 p.m. For information, call 408.356.2324.