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Rumors Fly That Trader Joe's Is Scouting Downtown
Trader Joe's in Hollywood (Photo by Payton Chung via the Creative Commons on Flickr)
We may be channeling The Secret here, but hopefully all of our positive thoughts for a Trader Joe's to pop up in downtown may finally be leading to something. Several sources have told DTLA Rising blogger Brigham Yen that Trader Joe's is scouting downtown for a location.
However, when Yen questioned Trader Joe's customer relations about it, they denied the rumors. LA Weekly asked TJ's spokeswoman Alison Mochizuki the same question, to which she responded: "At this time, downtown Los Angeles is not in our 2 year plan."
It's still early in the game though and the blogger's sources tell him that TJ's hasn't selected a spot yet; it's also not clear whether they'll be opening up in an already existing retail space or go for a new mixed-use complex like Whole Foods is doing.
Rumor has it that they're eyeing the developing Broadway Ave. in the Historic Core, which would put them in good company with new additions like the ACE Hotel and Urban Outfitters.
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We were a little hurt when Trader Joe's told Yen back in 2011 that downtown wasn't in their 3-year expansion plan with no further explanation despite a survey conducted by the Downtown Center BID that found 92 percent of downtown dwellers would shop at a Trader Joe's if it opened in the area.
Well, it's three years later and here we are. Hopefully, downtown isn't shut out of having a Trader Joe's for a total of five years. (We might be a little spoiled in L.A. though since we already have locations in Pasadena, Silver Lake, Hollywood, and more—but downtown would be perfect for it.) We can cross our fingers for now.
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This work is only possible with community support. Every investigation, service guide, and story is made possible by people like you who believe that local news is a public good and that everyone deserves access to trustworthy local information.
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