Trader Joe's next location, a landmarked space below the Queensboro Bridge, will open this fall, according to Patch.
The beloved grocery chain will be taking over the former Food Emporium space under the bridge at East 59th Street and First Avenue "within months," spokesperson Rachel Broderick told Patch this week.
"While we don't have an opening date just yet, we expect the store to open sometime this fall," she said.
Photograph: Courtesy NYC Landmarks Commission
The space closed in 2015 after 16 years in the space after Food Emporium went bankrupt. Craft store Michael's then attempted to move in but was not able to get permission because its design didn't jive with the historical space, according to Patch.
In February 2020, the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission approved Trader Joe's planned modifications for the space (hiding mechanical equipment, adding a new loading dock, installing signs and automatic sliding doors and creating new public restrooms)
The vaulted market space was originally built in 1908 with the completion of the Queensboro Bridge. Architect Rafael Guastavino, who also designed elements of Grand Central Terminal, the Hall of Fame in the Bronx, the Elephant House at the Bronx Zoo, the main hall at Ellis Island, was tapped for the project.
Photograph: courtesy NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission
Photograph: courtesy NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission
Last year, Trader Joe's opened another spot in the East Village and earlier this year opened its highly-anticipated Long Island City Trader Joe's and announced a new Harlem store.
If you're looking for Trader Joe's in other neighborhoods, you'll also find them on the Lower East Side and Upper West Side (two locations) and in Murray Hill, Soho, Rego Park, Cobble Hill, and at City Point in Downtown Brooklyn.
