Monday, April 1, 2013

Construction starts on Denver Trader Joe's

Workers this week broke ground on the Trader Joe's store at East Eighth Avenue and Colorado Boulevard, six months after the grocery chain confirmed its plans to open its first Denver store.

Heavy equipment has been preparing the site, and a spokeswoman for the Monrovia, Calif.-based specialty grocer confirmed Thursday that construction is underway.

“Currently, the tentative Denver store opening is fourth quarter 2013,” Alison Mochizuki said via email.

Plans call for a new 18,000-square-foot building with a separate liquor store. Under Colorado law, it will be the only store in the company’s chain allowed to have a liquor license.

Jimmy Balafas, principal of Kentro Group, a Denver development company specializing in retail that is building the store, declined comment.

Trader Joe’s is also opening a store in Boulder, at 1906 28th St. on the west end of the Twenty Ninth Street mall. Construction on that store has not begun, Mochizuki said.

A company statement said the Denver store “will feature a festive décor that mixes traditional Trader Joe’s elements such as cedar covered walls and Hawaiian motifs, combined with a local flair that includes art celebrating the neighborhood.”

Trader Joe’s is known for stocking its own brands of trendy and affordable foods such as Thai lime-chili cashews, sea salt brownies and Belgium butter waffle cookies.

It’s also known for the inexpensive Charles Shaw brand wine — or Two- or Three-Buck Chuck, as loyalists call it.
Dennis Huspeni covers real estate and retail for the Denver Business Journal and writes for the "Real Deals" blog. Phone: 303-803-9232.

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