UPDATE: January 2, 2020: Trader Joe's will open its first new store of 2020 on Jan. 6 in New York City's East Village. Located at 436 East 14th Street, the store was first announced more than two years ago and is situated at the base of a luxury apartment building. It features local artwork and is headed by a "store captain" with 14 years of experience with the company. This will be Trader Joe's ninth location in New York City and its second in the East Village neighborhood.

Dive Brief:

• Trader Joe’s has announced plans to open a new store in New York City’s East Village, according to the company’s website. 
• The store has been long-anticipated, with reports that Trader Joe’s first signed a lease for the East Village space in 2017, which consists of 8,531 square feet of ground-floor space and 14,170 square feet on a lower level.
• Trader Joe's nearly doubled its openings last year, with 21 new stores debuting after 11 opened in 2018. The company operates more than 500 grocery stores across 42 states and Washington, D.C.

Dive Insight:

Trader Joe’s is in high demand in markets throughout the country, with residents frequently petitioning the company to build a store in their community. The grocer isn't always able to return the love, but in New York City, where checkout lines often loop through the aisles and sometimes out the door during rush hour, it keeps finding room to grow. 

The popular grocer already operates a store on 14th Street in Manhattan, just a few avenues west of this newest location and closer to Union Square. That location opened in 2006. In October 2018, Trader Joe's opened a 30,000-square-foot location on New York's Lower East Side.  

Trader Joe’s discontinued delivery in the city last March, saying it had become too costly.​ New Yorkers have pleaded with the company to bring back the service, which was available in the city for about ten years. For the car-less urban shopper, grocery delivery is a valuable solution, and according to local New York City officials, delivery also made Trader Joe’s affordable groceries accessible to more people. Trader Joe's has not indicated it plans to reinstate the service.

Trader Joe's has steered clear of any e-commerce efforts and focuses solely on brick-and-mortar. As competition in New York City intensifies with players like FreshDirect, Walmart's Jet.com, Whole Foods and local grocers and bodegas, Trader Joe's is opening more stores in the city to stay competitive and accessible. 

While Trader Joe’s operates in both urban and suburban areas, its smaller footprint works well in urban neighborhoods and helps the company keep costs low for shoppers. Research has found, however, that the arrival of popular grocery stores like Trader Joe’s can drive housing costs up and price out average or lower-income households.