Pilgrim's Market embraces change as Trader Joe's enters Coeur d'Alene

On a sunny Thursday afternoon, business is brisk at Pilgrim's Market in Coeur d'Alene. Drivers wait to turn into the full parking lot. Inside, customers peruse the aisles, filling carts as they go. Others stand in the check-out lines. 

Among them is Kristen Delaney. 

The Post Falls resident is often there for gluten-free bakery items, grass-fed extra lean ground beef, organic chicken and a visit to the salad bar. 

As a 20-year Pilgrim’s shopper, Delaney knows the names of the longtime employees.  

“I love the local feel of it. I love the people. I love that there’s a lot of products you can’t get anywhere else,” she said. “That always brings me back. Truly, they have so many things.” 

Delaney, asked if her shopping habits would change when Trader Joe’s opens across the street, perhaps as soon as next month, nodded. 

Yes, in a way. 

“I think Trader Joe’s is great for snacks,” she said, smiling.

While being billed as a David versus Goliath situation, Pilgrim’s owner Joe Hamilton doesn’t see it that way. He doesn’t see the chain with nearly 600 stores and annual sales of around $16 billion as a threat to his single store approaching its 25th anniversary. 

He is confident in Pilgrim's Market and its loyal customers.

“I really do believe our business will grow because of them,” Hamiton said. 

He said Trader Joe’s will attract more people to the neighborhood, which will be good for Pilgrim’s. 

"I just don’t know how our business won’t go up because of it,” Hamilton said. 

He said they might carry 5% of the same brands. 

“There is such a massive difference between the stores. I thank the people that fear for us. I love people’s concerns for Pilgrim's, but the more a customer knows the differences, the less concern there will be," he said.

Hamilton started Pilgrim’s in 1999 with one employee. Today, it has nearly 150 employees and nearly $6 million in annual payroll. Employees start at $18 an hour, plus profit sharing and benefits. 

Pilgrim’s has a reputation for fresh, local, organic products.

On a given day, some 1,500 customers come through the doors. It has more than 150 local suppliers of raw milk, produce, meat, supplements, beauty care items and more. It offers more than 600 items made fresh or packaged in the store. 

Its 25,000-square-foot store features specialty sections, including supplements, produce, bakery, deli, meat and seafood, beer and wine, gifts and floral, and bulk foods. 

Hamilton says its footprint takes up an entire city block. That includes its own certified organic farm behind the store and several outbuildings where food is prepared or produced. 

Leafy greens, berries, onions, garlic, tomatoes and peppers come from that garden. Salsas and relishes and Cultured Mama fermented foods are just a few of the products made onsite. 

“We grow it and then we process it,” Hamilton said. 

Pilgrim's footprint is growing.

A new beverage facility will be opening soon a block away on Fourth Street producing organic juices, kombuchas, teas and beers exclusively sold in Pilgrim’s. 

An outdoor event space is expected to open next year. 

They recently purchased property on College Way for office space and other uses. 

A hydroponic unit will be in operation soon.

Hamilton has had opportunities over the years to open more stores. Each time, he has declined. 

He believes more stores lead to things that have nothing to do with quality, which is something he won’t sacrifice. For instance, he points out that most items in the deli and bakery are organic, fresh daily, made from scratch, with no hidden ingredients.

“My commitment and long-term vision have always been about placing quality at the very top of my priority list,” he said. 

Hamilton said Pilgrim’s reinvests about $1 million annually back into the store, improving equipment, adding space and creating new homemade products. 

“In 25 years, we have one store. I think that is a big part of our success,” he said. 

The Hamilton family is close-knit.

Wife Sarah focuses on their other business called Sarah Hamilton Face, a group of luxury spas in Coeur d’Alene, Liberty Lake and Spokane. 

Son Michael and daughter Sydney are popular on Pilgrim’s social media. Michael Hamilton makes cooking videos and Sydney “adds a dash of zany attitude to our other marketing videos."

Joe Hamilton is often onsite. When The Press called Pilgrim’s and asked for Joe Hamilton early in the week, he came on the phone a minute later. 

“I’m absolutely there, just about every day,” he said. 

Hamilton, who kite surfs and skis, said he’s not planning any real changes with the arrival of Trader Joe’s. He said he is emphasizing that Pilgrim’s must have stock to meet demand. 

“People drive a long way to come to the store,” he said. 

He said they are rolling out some changes. Its rewards program, which provides about $250,000 a year in rebates to customers, used to be distributed twice a year. Now, customers will earn them as they go. 

They plan to be even more creative with promotions, too.

But Hamilton doesn't discount the arrival of Trader Joe's. He did his homework. 

He talked to a grocery store in the northeast where a Trader Joe’s opened nearby and was told their sales increased. 

He spoke to another grocer where Trader Joe’s opened several miles away and was told it negatively affected their business for a few months, and then it bounced back. 

He sent an email to members of an association of independent natural food stores about Trader Joe’s and its impact on business. He said he did not receive one reply that business went down and stayed down. 

“Everyone is always excited about something new,” Hamilton said. “That’s human nature."

Pilgrim’s employees said they’re up for the challenge of Trader Joe's. 

Produce manager Morgan Dodge called working at Pilgrim’s colorful and creative. 

“That hasn't changed for the 15 years I’ve been here,” he said. 

He said having a Trader Joe’s across the street will be an “opportunity to highlight what differentiates us.” 

“We are like family,” Dodge said. 

Paul Erwin, five-year produce employee, has enjoyed being part of the store’s growth.

“I feel really good about what I do, I feel like I’m doing something good for the community,” he said. 

Mary Edwards, another longtime Pilgrim’s shopper, was there Thursday, being assisted in the supplement department by employee Kayla Buchanan. 

Edwards is a fan of organic, which has led her to Pilgrim’s for 20 years. 

“I feel like I’m eating clean when I come to Pilgrim’s,” she said. 

    Pilgrim's Market employee Kayla Buchanan assists customer Mary Edwards in the supplements department.
  

    Customers visit the deli area of Pilgram's Market.
  

    Tomatoes grow in Pilgrim's certified organic farm behind the store.
  

    The front registers are busy on Thursday as customers mingle with checkers at Pilgrim's Market.