This time the judge did not rule in Hallatt's favor, and he changed the name of his store to 'Irate Joe's' by dropping the 'P.'Īfter losing the battle, Hallatt explained that he fell in love with the quality products on a budget while living in San Francisco for three years. Trader Joe's filed an appeal that reached the ninth circuit court where the dueling stores met again. It reached the point that his entire van was filled with three levels of Trader Joe's paper bags stacked from floor to ceiling.
They would collect and buy the items he needed, take them to the parking lot, and his white van would pull up for the hand-off. By this point, he had enlisted a few select shoppers to do his bidding too. Hallatt continued to buy and run items back to Canada, fulfilling his store's motto of 'Unaffiliated.
