Beloved grocery store Trader Joe's is opening as many as 21 new stores across the U.S. soon, according to its website.
But are any coming to Illinois -- or at least the Midwest?
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WATCH HERE"Since Trader Joe’s began in 1967, we have been in growth mode," a spokesperson said. "Some years we grow more than other years, and our goal is always to bring delicious products at great values to as many people and neighborhoods as we can. The best way to do that is to open more stores."
The grocer currently has 581 stores in 42 states and Washington D.C., the Trader Joe's spokesperson said. The only states without any locations are Alaska, Hawaii, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming, TODAY.com reported.
In Illinois, there are currently 22 Trader Joe's stores, all of which are in the Chicago area, Trader Joe's website said. That number will remain unchanged for now as none of the 21 new stores opening in the Midwest.
Of the new stores set to open soon, five are in California, the website said. Others stores will be in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington, Texas, Alabama, Colorado, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Washington D.C.
Beyond the upcoming stores, Trader Joe's website has a function where shoppers can request a Trader Joe's location near them.
"There are no guarantees, but being wanted matters to us," the location recommendation form said. But there is more to it than that, the spokesperson said.
"We want and love customers and we need lots of people to be customers in any of our stores," So, I'd say
first and foremost, we're looking where people are," Trader Joe's employee Matt Sloan recently said during an episode of the Inside Trader Joe's Podcast."
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SIGN UP "We have a list of criteria, and the criteria are really about access and ease of getting into and out of, and
the flow of traffic patterns, again, traffic patterns being driven by those numbers of people, but we have to look at a huge number of potential sites to make sure that we wind up getting the best site that we can," Sloan said.
The full list of where the new stores will be located can be found below.
Alabama
Hoover —1771 Montgomery Hwy.
California
Northridge — 9224 Reseda Blvd.
Sherman Oaks — 14140 Riverside Dr.
Tarzana — 18700 Ventura Blvd.
Tracy — 2530 Naglee Rd.
Yucaipa — 31545 Yucaipa Boulevard
Colorado
Westminster — 9350 Sheridan Blvd.
Louisiana
New Orleans — 2501 Tulane Ave.
Maryland
Rockville — 225 N Washington St.
Massachusetts
Boston — 1999 Centre St.
New Jersey
Iselin — 675 US-1
New York
Glenmont — 388 Feura Bush Rd.
Staten Island — 6400 Amboy Rd.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma City — 6920 Northwest Expy.
Pennsylvania
Berwyn — 550 Lancaster Ave.
Exton — 125 West Lincoln Hwy.
South Carolina
Myrtle Beach — 115 SayeBrook Pkwy.
Texas
San Antonio —11745 I-10 W.
Washington
Bellingham — 4255 Meridian St.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. — 5335 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington, D.C. — 701 Monroe St NE
