Surprise, Whole Foods! Guess who might be moving in down the street?
Trader Joe’s is eyeing some new retail space in midtown Manhattan for what could be the beloved grocer’s biggest New York store yet.
Earlier this week, an anonymous source told The New York Post that the beloved Cookie Butter retailer has closed a deal on a 12,000 square-foot retail space on 55th and Broadway. The source added that the neighboring seven-story garage is also part of the deal, which would make the new outpost Trader Joe’s biggest Big Apple location.
Trader Joe's has been pretty quiet about the whole thing and has not confirmed or denied any of the details. A spokesperson could only tell Refinery 29: "At this time, we are only interested in a space on West Broadway."
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So why all the secrecy? Allegedly, the plan was to take nearby Whole Foods by surprise. Less than five blocks away, Whole Foods has been a fresh food wonderland on the southwestern edge of New York’s iconic Central Park, reigning supreme with almost 60,000 square, including a sushi bar and pizzeria, since 2004.
"They had to explain to garage users why they were losing their garage," the source told the Post, adding that building residents purportedly had to sign nondisclosure agreements.
With almost 500 locations all over the US, a Midtown location would be Trader Joe’s ninth, and possibly biggest, New York City store.
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