Trader Joe's Founder Joe Coulumbe Dead At 89

PASADENA (CBSLA) — Trader Joe's founder and namesake Joe Coulombe died late Friday night at his Pasadena home.

His son Joe Junior told the Pasadena Star News that his father was a renaissance man -- who was a sharp business leader and a unique thinker. The San Diego native opened his first namesake market on Arroyo Boulevard in Pasadena in 1967.

It has since grown into a chain of more than 500 stores in 40 states. In his later years, the Stanford University alumnus became a philanthropist, a painter and food and wine commentator.

Coulombe is survived by his wife, three children and six grandchildren. He was 89-years-old.