West Seattle Trader Joe’s 35 results

TRAFFIC, TRANSIT, WEATHER: Monday info

6:00 AM: Good morning! It’s Monday, March 11th.

WEATHER + SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES

More rain expected, high in the upper 40s. Sunrise will be at 7:29 am, sunset at 7:10 pm.

ROAD-WORK ALERT

Work on the north section of the East Marginal Way project is likely to start this week.

TRANSIT NOTES

Metro today – Regular schedule; check advisories here.

Water Taxi today – Regular schedule. Check the real-time map if you need to see where the boat is.

Washington State Ferries today – The usual 2 boats on the Triangle Route. Check WSF alerts for changes, and use the real-time map to see where your ferry is.

SPOTLIGHT TRAFFIC CAMERAS

Delridge cameras: Besides the one below (Delridge/Orchard), cameras are also at Delridge/Genesee, Delridge/Juneau, Delridge/Henderson, and Delridge/Oregon.

High Bridge – the main camera:

High Bridge – the view from its southwest end (when SDOT points the 35th/Avalon/Fauntleroy camera that way):

Low Bridge:

1st Ave. S. Bridge:

Highway 99: – northbound side at Lander:

MORE TRAFFIC CAMS: All functioning traffic cams citywide are here; West Seattle and vicinity-relevant cameras are on this WSB page.

BRIDGE INFO: The @SDOTBridges feed on X (ex-Twitter) shows whether the city’s movable bridges are opening for vessel traffic.

If you see a problem on the bridges/streets/paths/water, please text or call us (when you can do that safely, and after you’ve reported to authorities if they’re not already on scene). Thank you!

TRAFFIC, TRANSIT, WEATHER: Wednesday watch

7:54 AM: Thanks for the tip. A downed tree is causing trouble on W. Marginal approaching the onramp for the 1st Av S Bridge.

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6:07 AM Good morning!

WEATHER

More intermittently rainy weather – breezy – high in the 40s.

BRIDGE FYI

Emergency training – potentially including “fake smoke” – will be happening on the high bridge the next two mornings, as noted here.

BUSES, WATER TAXI, FERRIES

Metro is on its regular weekday schedule. Watch @kcmetrobus for word of trip cancellations.

Ferries and Water Taxi: WSF is still running a two-boat schedule on the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth run. Check here for alerts/updates. The Water Taxi is on its regular schedule.

BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES

625th morning without the West Seattle Bridge. Here are views of other bridges and routes:

Low Bridge: Automated enforcement cameras remain in use; restrictions are in effect 5 am-9 pm daily – except weekends; the bridge is open to all until 8 am Saturday and Sunday mornings. (Access applications are available here for some categories of drivers.)

The 1st Avenue South Bridge (map):

South Park Bridge:

West Marginal Way at Highland Park Way:

Highland Park Way/Holden:

The 5-way intersection (Spokane/West Marginal/Delridge/Chelan):

Are movable bridges opening for vessels? The @SDOTBridges Twitter feed can tell you; 1st Ave. South Bridge openings are also tweeted on @wsdot_traffic.

See all local traffic cams here; locally relevant cameras are also on this WSB page.

Trouble on the streets/paths/bridges/water? Please let us know – text (but not if you’re driving!) 206-293-6302.

WEATHER, ROAD WORK, TRAFFIC: Friday notes

6:08 AM: Good morning, Today’s forecast is for the same weather pattern we’ve been seeing – the sunniest weather will be in the afternoon.

ROAD WORK

Delridge project – As announced, 7 am today is the scheduled start of the closure of SW Genesee west of Delridge, continuing through the weekend. See the new detour map here.

36th/OregonThe repair work is done and this stretch of street is expected to reopen sometime this morning. (UPDATE: It reopened at 7:30 am, SDOT says.)

Alaska/44th – More work on westbound Alaska this weekend, starting early Saturday.

TRANSIT

Buses and ferries are on their regular schedules today. Watch @kcmetrobus for word of bus cancellations, @wsferries for major WSF changes.

BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES

473rd morning without the West Seattle Bridge. Here are the views of other bridges and routes:

Low Bridge: 26th week for automated enforcement cameras; restrictions are in effect 5 am-9 pm daily – except weekends, when the bridge is open to all until 8 am Saturday and Sunday mornings. (Access applications are available for some categories of drivers.)

West Marginal Way at Highland Park Way:

Highland Park Way/Holden:

The 5-way intersection (Spokane/West Marginal/Delridge/Chelan):

And the 1st Avenue South Bridge (map):

For the South Park Bridge (map), here’s the nearest camera:

Are draw/swing bridges opening for boats or barges? See the @SDOTBridges Twitter feed. (1st Ave. South Bridge openings also are tweeted on @wsdot_traffic.)

See all local traffic cams here; locally relevant cameras are also on this WSB page.

Trouble on the streets/paths/bridges/water? Please let us know – text (but not if you’re driving!) 206-293-6302.

TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Tuesday watch

(SDOT MAP with travel times/ Is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE/ West Seattle-relevant traffic cams HERE)

6:58 AM: Good morning! No traffic or transit alerts for our area so far.

FOLLOWUP: West Seattle Trader Joe’s open again after 4-day power-outage closure

Photo added 9:36 am

The West Seattle Trader Joe’s store was expected to reopen this morning after its four-day power outage ended last night, and indeed, multiple WSB readers report, it did. The outage started very early Saturday after a suspected DUI driver rolled his car into the transformer and other equipment on the north side of the store at 4545 Fauntleroy Way SW; City Light told WSB that its part of the repairs were completed by Saturday night but other equipment belonging to the store had to be fixed before they could reconnect, and that took until last night. (While any prolonged closure of a business would be news, this store holds a special place in West Seattle lore due to the many years community members clamored for it, a long wait that finally ended when the conversion of a former car-sales business was completed with the store’s opening in April 2012.)

STILL OUT OF POWER: West Seattle Trader Joe’s closure continues

11:12 AM: Just in case you were wondering, West Seattle Trader Joe’s (4545 Fauntleroy Way SW) remains closed, without power for a fourth day since a suspected drunk driver rolled his car and damaged electrical equipment on the west side of the building. Seattle City Light told us on Monday that their crew repaired their part of the equipment by Saturday evening, and they’re ready to reconnect when the company finishes fixing equipment that it owns. We haven’t yet reached a company spokesperson to get more on that.

TUESDAY EVENING: The power is back on and the anonymous-but-knowledgeable commenter who has been providing updates says the store’s expected to reopen Wednesday morning.

FOLLOWUP: Third day of West Seattle Trader Joe’s closure because of crash-caused power outage

The West Seattle Trader Joe’s is still closed right now, third day since a power outage caused by a flipped-car crash early Saturday, as first reported here that morning. We have new information from Seattle City Light, after a conversation with spokesperson Scott Thomsen. He explains that the crash damaged not only SCL’s “pad-mounted transformer” – in the spot shown in our photo above, on the northeast corner of 39th SW and Fauntleroy Way – but also “some equipment that belongs to the customer” (Trader Joe’s). Thomsen says SCL completed its work, including replacing the transformer, by 7 pm Saturday. The delay since then is because the electrician working on TJ’s equipment has not yet finished fixing it; once they have, Thomsen says, they are ready to reconnect the power. Side note, answering some questions that had come up in the comment discussion: The damaged transformer did NOT contain PCBs: “The transformer that was hit was one of our new ones, containing certified FR3 vegetable oil. No PCBs. We cleaned up the oil that did leak.” We also sent an inquiry to Trader Joe’s this morning and have not yet heard back; if and when we do, we’ll add the information to this story. Meantime, SPD was investigating the crash as a possible case of DUI; Angela caught the crash aftermath on video:

The driver (who SPD says is a 26-year-old man) was taken to the hospital by private ambulance, which indicates his injuries weren’t major.

WEST SEATTLE POWER OUTAGES: Trader Joe’s closed for a second day; 96 without electricity in Arroyos area

Two power outages making news today:

TRADER JOE’S STILL CLOSED: It’s now going on 36 hours since Trader Joe’s in The Triangle lost power after a rollover crash involving an allegedly DUI driver. We first reported the closure Saturday morning, hours after noting the 2 am crash. No official word on what’s taking so long – Seattle City Light and environmental-services crews were visible at the site yesterday but not so far today. The restoration estimate is now Monday evening.

Meantime, in the southwesternmost end of West Seattle:

96 OUT IN/NEAR ARROYOS: Just before 9 am, according to the City Light outage map, 96 homes lost power in the Arroyos area – see the screengrab above. The current restoration estimate is 7 pm, but the cause is not yet listed.

8:14 PM: Both outages continue. The Arroyos outage is attributed now to “equipment failure.” For Trader Joe’s, one source says it’s expected to be closed again tomorrow, awaiting a part. We’ll be following up with the company and the utility in the morning.

FOLLOWUP: West Seattle Trader Joe’s closed because of power outage caused by early morning crash

9:11 AM: Thanks to everyone who’s texted us about this, reporting that West Seattle Trader Joe’s is closed right now because of a power outage caused by the flipped-car crash we reported early this morning. Angela, whose photo is in our original report, also sent this video:

One person went to the hospital via private ambulance, indicating their injuries were not life-threatening. Meantime, the City Light map says they’re hoping for restoration around 10:30 am – as with all outages, could be sooner, could be later.

9:22 AM: We just went over to the store to find out more. Lots of crews working out front on repairs. A Trader Joe’s staffer tells us they don’t know how long it’ll take – they’ve been warned it could be several hours.

12:05 PM: Still out, per the SCL map and per driving by. No restoration estimate now. Meantime, as noted in comments, SPD classified the crash as a suspected case of DUI.

SUNDAY MORNING NOTE: The SCL outage map shows the power still out. We hope to get over there around 9:30 to verify that the closure is continuing.

10:17 AM: We haven’t made it there yet but multiple reader messages confirm the closure continues.

NOTE: Our Sunday followup is here.

West Seattle Trader Joe’s: Scenes from opening day

The long-awaited West Seattle Trader Joe’s at 4545 Fauntleroy Way SW opens at 8 am. Mark says he got there at 4:30 am to be the first person in line. As of about quarter till 7, when we photographed him in the golden glow of the rising sun, Mark was the only person in line. He tells us first thing he’s buying is a case of the famous TJ’s wine, known by its nickname “Two-Buck Chuck.” More coverage to come – we’ll be adding to this story through the day.

7:59 AM: By the time the doors were about to open, Mark had been joined by about two dozen others:

8:12 AM: Our crew tells us the store actually opened a few minutes early. Here’s the ceremonial lei-cutting:

So, no traffic jam at this hour. We’ll check back later.

10:14 AM UPDATE: Thanks for sharing first-hand reports in the comment section! We also got a mural photo, shared via Twitter by Jose:

11:07 AM UPDATE: Three hours into Day 1, we drove back by to check traffic/parking. In a word: Busy. Here’s the view looking south down 39th SW – just west of the store (and on the left of our photo, you’ll see the entrance/exit to TJ’s roof parking) – this was taken before 11 am, so West Seattle Bowl wasn’t even open yet:

4:53 PM UPDATE: Drove by within the past hour. Still busy. Remember that if it looks like there’s no parking in the lot that faces Fauntleroy, turn right at “The Hole” and try the upstairs parking, entrance on the right (east) side of 39th SW.

11:41 PM NOTE: In the final hours of the store’s first day, business was really booming. We walked through around 7:30 and noticed long checkout lines; after we tweeted a mention of that, @juyeda – also in the store – tweeted this photo. And we forgot to mention one thing – this store has just officially applied for its license to sell liquor when privatization takes full effect June 1st.

Friday traffic alerts: Trader Joe’s; Bridge Switch Day 2; Mariners

Might be a bit of a rubbernecker slowdown on Fauntleroy Way en route to the bridge around 8 am tomorrow, since that’s when the West Seattle Trader Joe’s finally opens, two years after the location first appeared on the city website, which was two months before the lease was signed and the official announcement made. One of the city-operated cameras on the WSB Traffic page, by the way, has long been pointed right at that building:

We also wanted to remind you it’ll be Spokane Street Viaduct Traffic Switch Day 2 – check the comments on this morning’s story for a review of day 1 – AND SDOT also wants to make sure you know the evening commute through Pioneer Square/SODO may be affected by the home opener for the Mariners, 7:10 pm vs. the Oakland A’s.

West Seattle Trader Joe’s: Murals, parking … and opening date!

Trader Joe’s has finally officially “announced” the opening date of its West Seattle store – the same one reported last month, April 13th, now on their store-locator webpage.

Meantime, a few more views of the new store – starting with the murals, which Diane pointed out in the WSB Forums night before last, noting that they are easily visible from the street.

We have asked TJ’s repeatedly, through both local management and corporate PR, for permission to go into the store and take pictures, and it’s been repeatedly denied; they say there will be no media previews, period. But at least we can show you what is visible from the street since their windows are huge and uncovered. Above, one mural shows the Alki Lighthouse (and check out the Water Taxi on the left!); we’ve been trying to guess the next one, mostly out of sight behind the light fixtures and sign (Fauntleroy Schoolhouse?):

Meantime, we are getting recurring questions about the parking situation. What you might not realize is that the surface lot – which has an entrance at 38th/Fauntleroy south/east of, and separate from, the exit onto Fauntleroy – is only part of it.

There’s also upstairs parking; J. Hughes Construction, Inc., is working on finishing touches this morning. This too has separate entrances and exits, both off 39th SW (south of West Seattle Bowl and across the street from “The Hole”) – here’s the entrance:

And just north is the exit:

Store hours, according to the TJ’s website, will be 8 am-9 pm. And if somehow this is the first you are hearing of all this and you don’t know where the store is – 4545 Fauntleroy Way SW. It’s been 21 months since the company announced it had leased the former Huling Brothers Buick site, P.S. We’ve added two additional photos to our “West Seattle Trader Joe’s” board on Pinterest.

West Seattle Trader Joe’s: Now the real sign’s going up

(Photo by WSB editor Tracy Record)
Eight days ago, we showed you the first “signage sighting” at the soon-to-open West Seattle Trader Joe’s, as banners appeared on the construction fence, including “Now Hiring.” (Our February 29th story includes info on how to apply.) Driving past the site at 4545 Fauntleroy in The Triangle a few minutes ago, we spotted crews putting up the permanent signage. Projected opening date remains April 13th (no official corporate HQ announcement yet, so there’s always a chance it might change.)

SATURDAY NOTE: We have since photographed the second and third signs – you’ll find them on the WSB Facebook page.

West Seattle Trader Joe’s: First ‘signage’ sighting

First sighting of signage at the almost-ready West Seattle Trader Joe’s (4545 Fauntleroy Way SW) – ‘now accepting applications’ and ‘now hiring’ banners. Though neither wants to be identified, two sources reiterate to WSB that April 13th continues to be the target opening date.

12:51 P.S. – The jobs are NOT yet listed on the TJ’s website (though you can download a generic company job application) – driving by a second time, we noticed a small posting next to the banner, so we’re going over to see what it says. (If anybody from TJ’s sees this – the WSB Forums offer free listings for West Seattle jobs – available to any business, as long as the job is IN West Seattle – go here.)

2:40 PM UPDATE
: The smaller sign says they’re taking applications Mondays-Fridays, 7 am-5 pm, and a hand-lettered sign next to it adds that you should apply at the trailer in the parking lot by the future main entry. Phone number is also posted: 206-496-9884.

West Seattle Trader Joe’s: April 13th reportedly set for opening

We got a note over the weekend saying that Trader Joe’s has set April 13th – two months from today – as opening date for its long-awaited, long-under-construction West Seattle location (4545 Fauntleroy Way SW). The sender did not want to be identified, but we did some checking and have multiple reasons to believe they’re reliable. Before mentioning this, we wanted to give the company a chance to confirm/deny, but as with other inquiries in recent months, no reply. (They tend to go into quiet mode at this phase of the game, we’ve heard from others covering under-construction stores, as they assemble the staff and go into the final work phase.) We reported back in December that another source gave us a guesstimate of early spring, and this is in line with that. Plus – most other regional openings have been on Fridays – and April 13th is, yes, Friday the 13th – so we’re sharing this info with you with the caveat that, as with many things on projects like this, it may well change. (You’ll recall that when work began at the site last year, the store was expected to open in late 2011; the last time we got a company reply to an inquiry was in September, when they confirmed it would not be open till 2012.) As for when a formal announcement of the opening date might come – hard to say – when TJ’s opened in Ballard, for example, it simply appeared as a sign on the window one day.

For those awaiting West Seattle Trader Joe’s: Tiny milestone

If you’re not among the Trader Joe’s fan base … just skip right over this one. Nothing earthshaking, but it’s a semi-goofy little Friday night tidbit:

Every so often – despite the ongoing construction (which we updated here the day after Christmas) – someone e-mails us to ask, with skepticism, “Well, how come Trader Joe’s doesn’t list West Seattle on its page of ‘coming soon’ stores?” We always reply by explaining that we have watched their website a LONG time while covering all this, and TJ’s doesn’t seem to add future stores to the list till they’re almost ready to open. Having said that, we checked their website tonight for the first time in a week or so and noticed West Seattle is finally on the list:

So for anyone STILL skeptical, there you go. (If you missed our recent update, the opening is currently projected for early spring.)

If you’re wondering ‘When will West Seattle Trader Joe’s open?’…

That’s the most-asked question of 2011. Corporate didn’t answer recent inquiries, so…

… two things: First, compare how the site looks today, to the rendering made public when it was announced a year and a half ago:

Second, we do have a very unofficial source’s recent guesstimate of an early-spring opening. It’s been almost four months since Trader Joe‘s corporate HQ confirmed the West Seattle store wouldn’t open till next year, seven months since the extensive remodeling began at 4545 Fauntleroy Way SW, and 18 months since the official announcement the lease had been signed. What’s taking so long? you might wonder. The site has apparently posed some challenges – checking the online city files, for example, a permit revision was granted earlier this month for a “2nd-floor parking level modifications.”

Trader Joe’s says West Seattle opening pushed back to next year

If you were looking forward to holiday food shopping at the new West Seattle Trader Joe’s – sorry to report, that apparently isn’t going to be possible. When construction at the 4545 Fauntleroy Way SW site started more than three months ago, the company told us it expected to open the store in the fourth quarter of this year. With that time frame approaching, some asked for an official update – including the WSB Forums member who started this thread, with one commenter subsequently posting that the opening had been delayed till first quarter of 2012. We renewed our inquiry to Trader Joe’s, and after a bit of confusion, got the answer back today from corporate HQ: “We are set to open sometime in 2012. We have not confirmed a date.”

West Seattle Trader Joe’s: ‘Anniversary’ today

Today is a semi-momentous anniversary for a certain devoted group of WSB’ers: Exactly one year ago today, Trader Joe’s announced it’s opening a West Seattle store. (Here’s our original June 16, 2010, report with the news release and comments from property owner Steve Huling; we’d been watching the site since the previous April, when a city website mentioned the possible TJ’s.) As noted here 3 weeks ago, construction is under way – inside before outside, though now that all the permits are finalized, there’s exterior work too, and the banners with contractor information for J. Hughes Construction are brand-new today.

If you’ve missed our last few updates – though the company’s plans on file with the city mention a six-month construction schedule, a TJ’s spokesperson would say only that they’re expecting to open “in the fourth quarter” of this year.

Across the Sound in Kitsap County, TJ’s fans are counting the hours till 8 am tomorrow, when their first Trader Joe’s opens in Silverdale; just like here, some people are saying, “What’s the big deal?” so a Kitsap Sun food writer set out to break down that question.

Triangle tidbits: ‘Hole’ deal; Trader Joe’s, Les Schwab progress…

June 9, 2011 9:26 pm
|    Comments Off on Triangle tidbits: ‘Hole’ deal; Trader Joe’s, Les Schwab progress…
 |   Development | Triangle | West Seattle news | West Seattle Trader Joe's

All quick notes, all from the same area of West Seattle, all businesses, so here’s the roundup:

‘THE HOLE’ SETTLEMENT: After breaking the news Friday that the longrunning legal fight over the stalled Fauntleroy Place project, alias ‘The Hole,’ had been settled, we had expected to discover the details by now. So far, no luck with any of various parties to the case. So we checked back today with the bailiff for King County Superior Court Judge Susan Craighead, who has been in charge of the case, to see what they’d heard. Jennie Cowan says the August 8th trial date technically is still on the books but, “It is likely the parties will file a notice indicating settlement and striking the trial date within the next week.” We’ll be watching for that.

TRADER JOE’S – ALL PERMITS IN HAND, PLUS …

The construction work is proceeding inside 4545 Fauntleroy Way, as the above photo (from Wednesday) would suggest, but never fear, outside work has now gotten the green light too (we reported the indoor permit back on May 21). The city has now granted ALL the requisite building/land-use permits listed on the official project page. And Trader Joe’s has applied for its West Seattle liquor license, too (for beer/wine tasting as well as beer/wine grocery store) – the online records yield a tiny tidbit: West Seattle will be TJ’s Store #157. (Its next new Northwest store, in the Kitsap County town of Silverdale, is scheduled to open one week from tomorrow.)

LES SCHWAB WORK INTENSIFIES:

Thanks to Celeste for the tip that, after the fence went up May 28th (she was one of the tipsters then too), crews are in view outside the future Les Schwab Tires location at 38th and Alaska. We first reported the plans in late January; the company has yet to publicly discuss its West Seattle location-in-progress, but we have yet another inquiry out and hope to hear back.

West Seattle Trader Joe’s: The construction fence is up

Last Saturday, we reported the first construction permit granted for the long-awaited West Seattle Trader Joe’s at 4545 Fauntleroy Way SW, meaning construction is imminent. And here’s another sign – as of this afternoon, the fence is up. We have a message out to corporate PR to ask if they have any update from the six-month construction schedule listed in the plans we reviewed downtown earlier this year. (ADDED 4:37 PM: A TJ’s spokesperson tells WSB they won’t get any more specific than “4th quarter” for an expected opening date.)

SIDE NOTE: Seems West Seattle Trader Joe’s fans have kindred spirits across the water in Kitsap County. They’re finally getting one, in Silverdale, – and this Kitsap Sun story about its impending opening next month includes the same sort of saga we’ve gone through here over years of rumors/etc.

West Seattle Trader Joe’s: Permit issued, construction to start

STILL skeptical about the West Seattle Trader Joe’s that was first announced almost a year ago (after years of rumors, speculation, discussion, etc.)? If nothing will cure your skepticism but the sight of construction work at the site, get ready to see it.

On the heels of the land-use approvals first reported here earlier this month, the first construction permit was granted yesterday – for interior “soft demolition” work, and a source tells WSB that construction work is expected to start next week. The exterior construction permit is still pending (here’s its page on the city website).

If you are just catching up on all this – Trader Joe’s plans to open a store at 4545 Fauntleroy Way SW, the old Huling Brothers Buick showroom. They are not tearing down the showroom building, but instead, converting it, and adding a facade (the rendering above was distributed when the store plan was formally announced last June). So when will it be open, you ask? When we reviewed hard-copy plans at city offices downtown in February, we found a projection of a six-month construction schedule.

West Seattle Trader Joe’s: The land-use approvals are indeed in

For those following this project step by step: The land-use decisions for the West Seattle Trader Joe’s are indeed published today, as we reported the other day that they would be. Here’s the one for the main part of the project; here’s the one for additional parking spaces. Both include “determinations of non-significance” meaning no formal environmental review is needed. Both decisions (the docs with the fine print are linked from the notices our links point you to) have a 2-week window now for potential appeals; the construction permit also would have to be granted before work could begin, but permit-wise, they are two-thirds of the way there.