Trader Joe's Update??

[mlyn1375]

Does anyone know what is up with Trader Joe’s? Progress? Opening date?

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[Sue]

Last I heard, they were hoping to open in the 4th quarter of this year. However, I do notice that this location is not listed on the “coming soon” list on TJ’s website, so I don’t know what that means in terms of timing. I pass here daily and see a lot going on, but nowhere near finished.

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[WSB]

They don’t even put “opening in days” locations on their site, so don’t read anything into that. I have no idea what their criteria is for that designation, but it is inconsistent – while tracking Trader Joe’s rumors over the first three years of our life as a news site, till the official West Seattle announcement, I will check with corporate sometime soon, but really, if you drive by it every day, you will see they have been working on it like crazy, and I am sure they are racing to meet some sort of hoped-for holiday season deadline, since TJ’s makes a bucket of bucks that time of year (as do most retailers).

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[hoxleyspike]

The site was worse than they anticipated… and it has been pushed back to the first quarter of 2012.

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[WSB]

Thanks, HS, will see if we can get anyone to formally comment on that!

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[MercyMoi]

A check-out clerk at the Cap Hill store told me today that the project is “on hold.” His stats were the project was 1/5 done and they’d already doubled their budget. He said it like he was trying to let me down gently that the store wasn’t going to happen. We were silent for a painful six minutes while he bagged my groceries. I know that TJ’s staff each have a different story every step of the way, and I’m hoping his information was just a bad rumor which will go away in time (like by first quarter 2012). WSB, here’s one girl who will be thrilled to hear some official word when you get it – no matter what the news is!

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[austin]

I noticed that the site was not being worked on for at least several days last week, and thought that was an odd tactic for getting a building ready for a store to move in.

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[WSB]

Oh dear lord, if we had a dime for every TJ’s checkout clerk rumor along the way (used to be just the Burien clerks) … WSB would have a huge newsgathering staff, including someone exclusively assigned to stake out TJ’s corporate HQ in California and interrogate any and all executives seen walking in and out, badgering them for status updates, until the day the store actually opens.

Most recent permit activity was an application just a few weeks ago for illuminated wall signs.

http://web1.seattle.gov/DPD/permitstatus/Project.aspx?id=6291114

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[celeste17]

I go by this place Monday-Thursday at about 7 am and there are plenty of people working at that time in the morning and when I come back at 5pm alot of times there is still somebody working. So I would say that the capital hill store is full of it. They just tell you that so you will still come there.

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[WSB]

And yes, they were working yesterday. Digging the curb cut.

In an almost comical twist, my inquiry to the media relations department was somehow shunted off to the customer service department and I got a boilerplate reply saying “We regret to inform you there are no current plans for a store in this area.”

The last media relations person I talked to tried to say the same thing – till I sent her the links for the official announcement, the land use permit, the start of construction…

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[WSB]

Update: Got a real answer! Whomever “hoxley spike” is, she/he has good sources, as 2012 (no date specified) is the new estimate. Writing this up for the news section momentarily.

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[metrognome]

hmmm … I thought only governments were capable of screwing up on projects; nice to see that the private sector doesn’t know what it is doing on occasion as well.

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