NewsNation

Trader Joe’s plans to open 21 new locations across 13 states

(NEXSTAR) — Is your neighborhood lacking a grocery store that could easily double as a well-lit tiki bar? That may change in the coming year.

Trader Joe’s currently has plans to open 21 new locations across a dozen states and Washington, D.C., according to the “Opening Soon” section of the company’s website. A representative for Trader Joe’s said the company is unable to confirm when each location will open, but a spokesperson previously told Nexstar that at least 10 of the stores are expected to be operating by the end of 2025.


The Trader Joe’s website indicates that its coming stores will be opening in the following locations:

Alabama

California

Colorado

Washington, D.C.

Louisiana

Maryland

Massachusetts

New Jersey

New York

Oklahoma

Pennsylvania

South Carolina

Texas

Washington

Limited information about select planned locations can be found on the Trader Joe’s “Announcements” page, under the “Store Openings” tab. (Consumers can also find out whether their closest location will offer beer or wine on the “Opening Soon” webpage.)

A Trader Joe’s grocery store is pictured on February 28, 2025, in San Diego, California. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

When selecting a location for a new store, Trader Joe’s marketing executives Tara Miller and Matt Sloan explained in a recent episode of the “Inside Trader Joe’s” podcast that the company seeks out spaces that meet specific criteria for population density, traffic patterns and parking availability, among other factors.

The two also emphasized that Trader Joe’s is very deliberate about its “controlled growth,” and may even avoid moving into spaces that housed former chain grocery stores, as it wouldn’t “feel” like a Trader Joe’s.

Letter-writing campaigns or petitions to bring a Trader Joe’s to a certain area will also usually fall on deaf ears, Miller and Sloan suggested.

“Our decisions, they’re business decisions. We’re excited when people are excited about us, but that’s really not what’s driving the decisions about what brings a Trader Joe’s,” Miller said.