Continuing The Discussion on Trader Joe's

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Sometime last week there was brief mention of desire (which I'm sure most of us share) for a Trader Joe's in Davis. Someone here, and I don't remember who, had information on that and said that Trader Joe's rejected Davis as a location because of the lack of parking. I've been thinking about that, and I'm wondering if that person, or anyone, has more information on how the company was approached or how they arrived at their decision.

If it's strictly a parking matter, one need only look at the Boylston Street store to know it can and does succeed with minimal-to-no parking.

Joe's has parking-lotted stores in Cambridge and Arlington. Yet they have not one store in Manhattan. Are they really that afraid of areas with low cars-to-residents ratios? Could it be that when they were asked about a Davis location, they simply didn't know the demographics of this neighborhood and presumed there would be no support or interest? A Davis location would be a goldmine for them, we all know that. But it would appear they don't.

So my questions:

Is there an appropriately sized space for them available? Who owns it?

We know the pros, but would there be any cons to their being here?

And, could an online petition with several thousand signatures from ethusiastic area residents who would be regular customers have enough positive influence to make them think again?

Curious for your thoughts...

Comments

[c-m-i.livejournal.com]

Also, I wonder how well that space would work for deliveries. There doesn't seem to be much loading dock space, but then again I have not really cased the place out.

[ron_newman]

Good point. It was built to be office space and has never had any kind of retail or commercial use. Originally it was the headquarters of Somerset Savings Bank, before USTrust ate it up (and then Citizens ate up USTrust).