Tarpon Springs Residents Petition For Their Own Trader Joe’s
When Trader Joe’s first came to Tampa, police were needed to control the traffic. Eventually a second location on the Pinellas side in St. Pete opened. It’s still always packed so if a third Tampa Bay area location was to open, where should it be? Tarpon Springs residents are waiving their hands in the air, but Trader Joe’s just don’t care.
That’s not true actually. In a statement to the Tampa Bay Times, the grocery chain says they’re “happy to hear that we are wanted.” Over 600 signatures have been added to a petition to bring Trader’s to Tarpon Springs. But Trader Joe’s says there are no plans to open another TJ’s in the land of sponges… or anywhere else around here for that matter.
Trader Joe’s does have one more Florida location coming – but that’s down in Miami. The Morning Call writes that Trader Joe’s has specific criteria an area must meet before they take a chance on it. They look at things like household incomes in the area, population, and what the labor market looks like. I’d bet Tarpon Springs meets the income requirements, but the population density that Trader Joe’s looks for might not be there. [Sources: The Morning Call, The Tampa Bay Times]
Our Q105 digital goddess Rachel snapped pics of her favorite TJs finds last month for Christmas at the Tampa Trader Joe’s.