No one was happier than I at the news that Trader Joe's is coming to Pittsburgh.

	Michael Nagle, Getty Images photos Trader Joe's carries staples, as well as a large variety of natural and speciality foods, and nothing genetically engineered. Employees also wear Hawaiian shirts. Click photo for larger image.

That means I won't have to go elsewhere to go to Trader Joe's.

The eclectic grocery chain, it was reported last week, is opening a store this year in East Liberty. Spokeswoman Alison Mochizuki yesterday confirmed it should open this fall in the former Wheeler Paint building at 6343 Penn Ave. The location is the only drawback for fans like my wife and me, who live in other directions. But hey, we already drive from Mt. Lebanon to East Liberty to shop at Whole Foods, and we'll happily do so for TJ's.

If you've never been, Trader Joe's is rightfully renowned for its selection of natural and specialty foods, 80 percent sold under its own label and much of it exclusive. The company says it "scours" the world, buying direct and in such quantity that it can offer high-quality food at low prices.

Stores are artily decorated like tropical escapes, and employees all wear Hawaiian shirts ("the Grateful Dead of supermarkets," according to Len Lewis, who wrote a book on the chain last year). But the real "shopping adventure" is that you never know what you might find, except that it won't be anything genetically engineered.

Customers eat it up. There's a www.traderjoesfan.com fan site. A group of Friendship fans actually wrote letters to bring a store here, and it's already predicted that it will be a regional destination, drawing shoppers from Central Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Sound silly? Just read the breathless buzz about and from Pittsburgh under the "upcoming store openings" link on www.trackingtraderjoes.com.

Jason Baglin restocks chips as shoppers line up inside Trader Joe's for the store's grand opening in March on 14th Street in New York City. The chain, which has more than 200 stores in 19 states, is expected to open in East Liberty. Click photo for larger image.

Lots of Pittsburghers drive to the two stores in suburban Cleveland. Mayor Bob O'Connor's chief of staff, BJ Leber, has a son at college near one, "so I fill up a cooler on every trip." She has a list of "regular items" that her Highland Park family loves, from jarred pizza sauce to frozen french toast. As much as she appreciates the fun "experience" and good prices, she says, "A lot of it is the product. It really is very good product. It tastes good."

Before leaving on trips, I've researched whether there's a Trader Joe's on the route (there are 250-plus stores in 20 states, including five in Eastern Pennsylvania).

Every time I go to visit my family in Dayton, Ohio, we drive across town to load up on staples such as Kashi cereal (at up to $1 per box less than some supermarkets) and rarer treats.

Yes, we've sampled the charms of "Two Buck Chuck," the $2-a-bottle Charles Shaw wines that helped put Trader Joe's on the map (but we wouldn't think of transporting it over state lines).

The wine (not sold at Pennsylvania stores), actually is $3.39 Chuck, we found this past weekend.

We were visiting friends in Eastern Ohio, so I asked my wife if she'd go the extra 25 miles to the easternmost of two Columbus-area stores. Her response: "Have to get groceries some time!"

(She knows how much I love grocery stores. Many people vacation at theme parks. On a recent trip to Austin, Texas, we headed for the new flagship Whole Foods store, which is a theme park.)

Besides stocking up on high-fiber cereal, my wife was intrigued by several "all-time favorite" products -- including Sir Strawberry Juice and Bool Kogi, Korean sesame-marinated boneless beef ribs -- from the "Top 100 plus 4" list in the "Fearless Flyer" newsletter we downloaded from www.traderjoes.com.

As we entered the Easton Town Center store, the first thing I looked for was dried dragon fruit, which I'd never tasted or heard of until I found it on our last Trader Joe's expedition.

Alas, the typically exceptional dried-fruit-and-nut section held no dragon fruit, but I did find another new snack: Avellanas, or wild Chilean hazelnuts (six ounces for $2.99).

The bag was the first thing to go into the cart, along with a bag of Thai Lime & Chile Peanuts (16 ounces, $2.29).

My wife grabbed four boxes of assorted Kashi ($2.49 to $2.99), but passed on Trader Joe's bran muffins, named "Moral Fiber."

Then we paused at the thatched-roof corner "Hut" to try the day's food sampling, chicken gyoza, or potstickers, as listed in the week's schedule posted at the front of the store.

I also helped myself to a free taster of TJ's coffee and a ginger cream cookie.

You can get the flavor of Trader Joe's from some of the store-brand items we picked up: Supersweet canned corn ($1.38), Cuban Mojito Simmer Sauce ($1.99), a Pound Plus 72-percent dark Belgian chocolate bar (17.6 ounces, $3.99).

We were charmed by Moroccan olives-in-a-bag (59 cents) and pre-steamed-and-peeled, vacuum-packed baby beets ($2.49) and got both.

The produce and meat sections are small by supermarket standards; the meat cases are closed, with no people behind them, and the seafood is frozen.

But both sections have good selections of good and unusual stuff (I smiled at the peanut-butter-filled celery sticks and salivated at the Carne Asada Autentica). There's also a nice selection of cheeses, including a Grano Padano attached to its own plastic grater.

We'd brought a cooler, so we bought a few perishables -- fresh pizza dough (99 cents), no-added-fat corn tortillas (also 99 cents), mole sauce made with figs and three kinds of chiles ($2.99).

But I didn't think we could safely transport any frozen foods, which bummed out my wife, who made two passes to look longingly at the affordable and healthful heat-and-eats such as vegetarian Thai Prig Khing green beans ($2.29).

Then we both enjoyed the novelty of a stroll in the grocery's beer and wine section, though we passed on the 75-cent-with-cheese-and-crackers samplings (including a TJ's-brand hefeweizen and an exclusive Shiraz).

Ninety-two dollars later, we headed east with our bounty.

Driving to East Liberty will be a piece of cake.

I'm not the only person selfishly wishing Trader Joe's would locate elsewhere. After all, the East End already has Whole Foods. I would have loved it to locate Downtown. Maybe one still could.

(Spokeswoman Alison Moch-izuki said East Liberty is the only store planned here "at this time.")

I won't buy everything from Trader Joe's. I'll still like Whole Foods for some things (organic produce, especially potatoes). When I have time, I'll still shop at lots of places, including certain stores for meat, others for fish, and farmers markets for whatever is locally in season.

Pittsburgh has a vibrant and ever-improving food scene.

I, and many other fans, can't wait for Trader Joe's to be part it.