Trader Joes Coming to Denver

  Trader Joe's is coming to Denver in 2013. This specialty grocery store that is famous all over the country will be opening soon at East Eighth Avenue and Colorado Blvd.  The store features high end imported and domestic food at low prices.

Specialty grocer Trader Joe's has signed a lease to open a store in Denver, with a target opening date in 2013, the company announced Wednesday.

As expected, the store will be located at the southeast corner of East Eighth Avenue and Colorado Boulevard. The company said a separate wine shop will be adjacent to the grocery store.
 
For months, Trader Joe's had been expected to build a store on that vacant site, but the company wouldn't confirm its plans. Various news outlets reported that Trader Joe's had signed a letter of intent to develop the site, formerly Annie's Cafe.

It will be the second Trader Joe's in Colorado, the company having already announced a Boulder location in the Twenty Ninth Street mall, also to open in 2013.

Trader Joe's, which has 365 stores in 34 states, bills itself as a neighborhood grocery featuring "high-quality imported and domestic foods and beverages at honest, low prices."

The Monrovia, Calif-based grocer 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.

In May, the Denver City Council cleared the way for a Trader Joe's by approving a zoning change that would allow for the grocer. The zoning application, however, never mentioned the words "Trader Joe's."

The previous zoning designation was intended to accommodate a hotel on the site, but that project was abandoned during the economic downturn.

The Trader Joe's announcement apparently will have no bearing on the 9th and Colorado redevelopment project. Developer Jeff Fuqua wants to build a Walmart as the anchor of that project at 11th and Albion — a plan that has angered many area neighbors.

Asked by The Denver Post last month if there was any connection between Trader Joe's and his project, Fuqua said: "No. I hope Trader Joe's comes. The more the merrier. I think that legitimizes the intersection as a mixed-use retail site."

For more information see the Denver Post.