Trader Joe’s Officials Reveal How to Get the Grocery Store in Your Neighborhood

Representatives at Trader Joe’s dish on whether social media campaigns and petitions sway where they open new stores

Trader Joe’s stores don't just pop up anywhere.

On an episode of the Inside Trader Joe’s podcast, hosts Tara Miller and Matt Sloan detail the method for deciding where new locations will open. "First and foremost, we're looking where people are," said Sloan. "More typically is better. So, dense population."

"It could be an area where there is no currently available Trader Joe's store," he added. But they don't totally rule out places with one already. "It might be an area that's really densely populated and traffic patterns are such that getting from one Trader Joe's to another neighborhood — it may be close, but it might take a really long time — that could be interesting," he said.

Miller tacks on another important feature of a good site: parking. “I know people think that we don't care about parking. We do care about parking. We want to make sure that we're putting stores in places where it's relatively easy to get in and out of either a shopping center or just a standalone parking lot. There will be a lot of traffic coming into that spot,” she said.

For as many things that the retailer looks for, there are just as many things they avoid. “We're not interested in growth by just buying another chain and putting a different sign on the building,” Sloan said.

They are currently looking at over 1,000 potential sites across 48 U.S. states. (“Apologies to Alaska and Hawaii,” said Sloan). They already operate almost 600 stores.

Unfortunately, pleas from customers don’t help them to choose the newest retailer location.

“People so excited about the prospect of one of our stores coming to their neighborhood that they start a social media campaign, or they start a letter-writing campaign,” said Miller. Sloan then broke the bad news: “While we love the energy and enthusiasm often expressed in any of those various social media campaigns…they really don't have much, if any, impact on what we end up deciding."

“Our decisions, they're business decisions," Miller continued. "We're excited when people are excited about us, but that's really not what's driving the decisions about what brings a Trader Joe's.”

Ultimately it boils down to "access and ease of getting into and out of, and the flow of traffic patterns," said Sloan.

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The podcast co-hosts have dished on other behind-the-scenes details about the fan-favorite grocery store, like when they explained why employees ring bells.

The single, double and triple tolls were created with “maritime aspect” in mind, as crews on ships would use a bell to send a “signal and communicate,” the pair described in an August episode.

"One bell means you need another cashier. Two bells means you need someone to find an item. And three means you need a manager," said Miller.

“And we just have been sticking with it for decades,” Sloan said. “A bell was less expensive than a public address system, and I think that they sound a little more interesting.”

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