Competing with your own store feels a little bit strange. But hey, when one has been expanding as rapidly as Trader Joe's, maybe I shouldn't question. They don't seem to miss to be honest. So maybe it'll be a stroke of genius to have two stores staring at each other. Or maybe it'll be a colossal failure in every sense of the world. Maybe they'll have to shut down one of their more historic markets. The possibilities are truly endless here.
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New Trader Joe's Store?
These two stores face each other on Riverside Drive. Which is only a couple of minutes off of US Highway 101 in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles. I'm sure most of you recognize enough of those locations to understand why the original store was opened there. Talk about foot traffic.
The original store was titled Sherman Oaks and is one of the chain's oldest stores. It opened in 1973, only six years after Trader Joe's was founded. And sadly, its age shows.
Luckily, in today's day and age, with all sorts of nostalgia bait, that kind of works for the smaller store. It's got a tiny parking lot, and not a very modern look to it.
The new store, however, is the exact opposite. It is modern in every single sense of the word.
It was built into a mixed-use residential building, and it uses all of its space. I'm talking about a giant underground parking lot, a huge mural, and a mix of different internal sections. Plus wider aisles and higher ceilings to help with cart traffic. It's honestly a really cool supermarket. (Another part of younger me just died with that sentence.)
Will This Drive Away Customers?
Not according to Trader Joe's spokesperson Nakia Rhode. They wrote an email to SFGATE explaining the decision.
In the email, they wrote, "We've had a great relationship with our customers in Sherman Oaks for 52 years, and we plan to keep both stores open. Both stores offer the same great products and delightful customer experience, but each has a different layout and parking lot."
They also added, "Since Trader Joe's began in 1967, we have been in growth mode. Some years, we grow more than others, and our goal is always to bring delicious products at great values to as many people as we can. The best way to do that is to open more stores."
And while they're not wrong, it still feels weird to compete with yourself.
