Great news, especially for those folks in southern Columbia Heights: a Trader Joe’s will be opening at 14th and U in 2013. PoP heard a rumor that the store was coming, and DCist confirmed it and adds some details. The store will be in the Louis development on the southwest side of the intersection, where the KFC/Taco Bell, Foot Locker and some other stuff was. (See right, and fear not, McNugget fans, the development will keep the McDonald’s.)
According to the company, it’ll be at least a year before they open, but hey, I’ll take that. It’ll be nice to have another grocery option, especially one with so much tasty pre-made food and super cheap beer and wine (the famous two-buck chuck, for example.)
While I’m generally loath to complain about traffic, the other area Trader Joe’s are packed all the time. Of course, a lot of the people going there will be doing so by bus or Metro, but it’s worth looking at. The Louis development will also include a 148-space underground parking garage, but it’s unclear if that’s for the shopping and such, or for the 267 apartments that will also be there. (Here’s the kind of ridiculous website for Louis.)
There’s also the question of what this means for the empty space in DCUSA, the one that was supposed to be filled by The Grocery Stores Who Shall Not Be Named (a grocery store from Richmond that jerked us around for 3 years and then went to Bethesda Rockville.) There were mentions of other grocery stores as options, either “boutique” stores or other grocery operators for that space, but so far I haven’t heard anything more. I’ve reached out to a couple contacts, so we’ll see. I thought TJ’s would be a great fit there, as it’s probably too close to the 14th and P Whole Foods, definitely too close for a Harris Teeter, and maybe not enough parking for a Wegman’s — apparently they require a lot of space.
In any case, good news. Are you excited?
