“Is Trader Joe’s open yet?”
At two o’clock on a sunny Tuesday afternoon in October, three different people came up to the doors and asked if the store was open yet. The environment was alive with pop music playing over the speakers outside the store as the faint sound of a saw rattling from the back of the store, two staff members wearing Hawaiian shirts were outside, answering questions to a large group peering in the windows, and a mix of smells between wood shavings and fresh paint hung in the air.
An older driver pulled up to the curb and asked, “Is is open?” pointing and smiling at the Trader Joe’s sign. “I used to live here and was just stopping by for a visit when I heard a Trader Joe’s was opening here,” she said. She seemed disappointed to learn the store wasn’t ready for customers yet.
This kind of customer interest is a testament to the popular U.S.-based grocery store chain, Trader Joe’s, that sells food and beverage products, including fresh produce, packaged goods, frozen items, snacks and beverages. The store is known for its private-label products, which often have unique flavors or branding not found in other stores. Trader Joe’s also offers some specialty and international items. Trader Joe’s has been a popular store from their first opening in 1967 in Pasadena, CA.
Peachtree City shoppers will soon be able to get their hands on some of Trader Joe’s most popular products when the new location opens at the end of October. The store, announced back in November 2024, will be located in The Avenue, filling the former Books-A-Million space. The opening of the new location will allow local customers to directly purchase some of the retailer’s most popular items, rather than having to travel hours to other locations in Atlanta.
On The City Menus Facebook page, their post featuring Trader Joe’s opening by the end of the month accumulated 1k likes, 260 comments and 137 shares. In the comments, residents and non-residents posted about their eagerness for the new store in The Avenue.
General Manager Reggie Jones has been with the company for 20 years. He is responsible for the overall operations of a store, including leading the crew, ensuring customer service, managing inventory and staffing and maintaining the company’s culture and policies.
“I started [working at Trader Joe’s] in Northern Virginia 20 years ago, Sept. 26 2005. I was just trying to make some extra money and I walked into [Trader Joe’s] a place I couldn’t find back home in Baltimore, Maryland and I lived down the street from one. So I started working as a part-term crew member,” Jones said.
Now you may ask “what’s so special about Trader Joe’s. Why should I go to it when there are other grocery stores near me,” well Jones thinks that Trader Joe’s is worth your visit.
“We’d like to say we have no competitors because we do something different than most other grocery stores do. We provide a wild customer experience daily,” Jones said.
POTENTIAL PARKING ISSUES
While Jones doesn’t believe that there will be any parking issues, many Peachtree City residents and shoppers are still worried that Trader Joe’s will only worsen parking issues in The Avenue and traffic around the intersection of 54 to 74.
“I think it will affect traffic and parking because there are not as many parking spaces as people that are excited for Trader Joe’s,” Peter Park (10) said.
Cart corrals have been added to the parking lot around Trader Joe’s to help customers put back their shopping carts without having to go back to the store, however, with there already being a problem with find parking during the busiest times at the Avenue, these cart corrals may impact traffic even more.
Although Jones thinks that the cart corrals are a convenience for shoppers and will not affect parking because customers will be going in and out of the store all day.
“I think [the cart corrals] are a convenience for customers, so once they need to take their groceries to the car they have a shorter trip, and it also helps with the stray carts around the parking lot,” Jones said.
Now that it is almost reaching the end of October, residents will soon be able to see how the new Trader Joe’s will fit into the community’s daily routine.
IT’S ALL IN THE SIGN
Another difference that sets Trader Joe’s apart are their handwritten signs displaying the name of the item, its price, in a vibrant and eye-catching. In Peachtree City, every label and all the blackboards are made by Dane the sign painter.
A Trader Joe’s sign painter creates hand-drawn signs, displays and murals to communicate products and promotions while maintaining the store’s fun and creative brand identity.
Peachtree City’s sign painter Dane studied art in Kansas City and got introduced to Trader Joe’s by his friend Oliver Wright, another artist for Trader Joe’s, and ever since then he has been working as the sign painter for many different locations. His official title is Sign Artist, but he also works as a crew member.
“I went to school for art in Kansas City. At school I met Oliver Wright and he went on to work for Trader Joe’s as an artist so when I moved to Louisville he told me I should check out this Trader Joe’s. He set me up and told me everything I needed to know for the interview and I got the job,” Dane said.
ON THE JOB
To be hired at Trader Joe’s, potential employees must be 16 years of age, and they are called first-time jobbers. The first-time jobbers work part time: bagging for customers, answering questions, grabbing carts from costumes and doing carryouts, while employees 18 and older do everything in the store.
“We like to hire first-time jobbers from the community so they can talk about Peachtree City. They work out front going on cart runs or in the store bagging for customers and answering questions,” Jones said.
Trader Joe’s doesn’t have specific departments because mostly everything comes prepackaged. Close to opening the Peachtree City, Jones said Trader Joe’s has now hired 60 crewmembers, most of them being locals to Peachtree city, and management positions the Captain (store manager) and the Mate (assistant manager). On Oct. 14, crewmembers received their uniforms after their tour of the store and an introduction to their new job.
GRAND OPENING
According to Jones, on opening day they will be handing out 200 of their Georgia reusable bags to the first 200 hundred customers and another 100 after 5 o’clock. The opening will be at the end of October. As of press time, there is a certain date but it cannot be disclosed until three days before in case something happens that might affect the opening date.
“Company-wise, we can’t release the date opening based on three days before we open because we have to guarantee that we are ready for opening. So if there’s some kind of scary electrical things happens we have it covered before opening,” Jones said.
Whether it’s for their signature snacks or friendly crew members, the doors to Trader Joe’s will officially open later this month.
