More than two years after opening its inaugural Jacksonville location, retailer favorite Trader Joe’s is expanding.
The Monrovia, California-based grocery store will be going into a 13,700-square-foot spot on 11112 San Jose Boulevard inside the Claire Lane Shopping Center.
The store is slated to open in the second half of this year.
The Mandarin area location is just over half a mile off of Interstate 295. Carrie Smith, a managing director with Franklin Street, said the Mandarin market has similarities to the Beaches market where Trader Joe’s first opened in Jacksonville, including a dense population with high incomes that trend toward a healthy lifestyle.
“Mandarin was a natural next step for them,” she said.
This will be the company’s 15th store in Florida.
“It just seemed like the right time,” spokeswoman Alison Mochizuki said. “It’s a great location.”
Trader Joe’s will enter an already crowded specialty grocer scene in Mandarin as Whole Foods, Native Sun and Fresh Market are already in the Mandarin with Earth Fare joining them soon.
Specialty grocers are seeing something they like in Jacksonville: Whole Foods, for example, in the process of expanding in the Beaches area, noted Matthew Clark with Prime Realty.
“It’s a good sign of Jacksonville’s progress,” he said, “when specialty grocers consider Jacksonville for more than one location.”
