Trader Joe’s In The Northland? Here’s How It Could Become A Reality

There are certain companies that have developed particularly loyal followings over the years. As someone living in Northern Minnesota, some of those brands with cult followings are only accessible by taking a road trip to the Twin Cities area.

One such brand with a big cult following is Chick-fil-A, which will be opening its first restaurant in the Twin Ports area in Duluth in 2024. Leading up to this, Northlanders have been getting a taste of what's to come as a Chick-fil-A food truck has been making stops in the Twin Ports area in recent months.

Another company with a cult following that currently doesn't have a presence in the Twin Ports area is Trader Joe's. I know plenty of Northlanders who make a point to stop at one of their Twin Cities locations when they travel south as part of their trip.

The dream of seeing a Trader Joe's in the Twin Ports area is not a new one, with rumors and wishes they'd be coming to our area over the years. In 2021, Tony Hart reached out to them about rumors they might be eying an expansion to the Duluth area. Their response at that time was "While a store in Duluth isn’t currently a part of our two-year plan, it is certainly possible that we would open a store in the area later down the line."

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They did admit in their response that one of the factors they use to determine new locations is requests from customers to open in a new location. This was further reinforced by a story from earlier this month that Trader Joe's is looking for requests for new locations.

The California-based grocery chain has over 500 stores, but is always looking to expand into new areas. It would be easy to argue that the Twin Ports area would be a prime location for expansion.

In that story I mentioned from earlier this month, the author cites the appearance of Trader Joe's senior vice president of real estate and construction on a podcast, noting that the company based future locations on customer feedback, inviting requests from customers via their website.

While that isn't the only factor they consider, it is a notable element in how they decide on future locations. The VP did also note that factors of accessibility, parking, square footage, and other elements for locations are important. That said, including details about location ideas in your request could help the scouting team more easily find a destination to open a store.

There are some places in the Twin Ports area that could meet those needs. When it was announced Camping World would be closing in October of this year, some members of the public expressed wishes for Trader Joe's to call it home.

So if you're one of the Trader Joe's faithful hoping they bring their brand to the Northland, a campaign from the public could bring them to the area. You can submit requests to their website. They say to be sure to include some details about a specific area, if you have one in mind. While it does say on the company website "there are no guarantees", if enough people ask, they might just bring their brand to the Twin Ports area.