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New Trader Joe’s store opens in Reno. Here’s a look inside

Jasper
New Trader Joe’s store opens in Reno. Here’s a look inside

Curious to see what the new Trader Joe’s in the Summit Reno mall looks like? Here’s a first look.

A woman squinted as she peered through the glass doors of the new Trader Joe’s store at the Summit Reno shopping center on a Tuesday afternoon.

“Are you open?” the lady asked the store manager, Sam West.

“Sorry, not yet,” said West. “Tomorrow morning!”

Only a few minutes later, a young man in a tank top comes in through a small opening left by a worker who has gotten out.

“Aren’t you guys open yet?” he asked.

“We don’t open until tomorrow morning,” West replied with a smile. “Sorry, come back!”

“Oh, we’ll be back,” the man said as he left the store. “See you tomorrow morning.”

For West, the steady stream of passersby and onlookers just before Wednesday’s opening was, in a word, natural. As a 44-year Trader Joe’s veteran, West is familiar with the passion the deli inspires among its loyal fan base.

“I think it’s because we have a set of values ​​that we live by,” West said. “And that culture continues to this day.”

Trader Joe’s Growing Reno Connection

Long before organic and deli competitors like Whole Foods and Sprouts entered the Reno market, Trader Joe’s already had its roots in Reno.

Trader Joe’s was founded in Pasadena, California in 1967 and opened its first store in Reno on McCarran Boulevard on October 31, 1997.

Back then, gaming was still king in the largest small city, while technology heavyweights like Tesla and Google – which now have a strong presence in the region – didn’t yet exist as companies. Reno also had a smaller population, with just under 161,000 residents.

Fast forward to the present: According to 2023 figures from the US Census Bureau, there are currently about 275,000 people living in Reno. If you include Sparks, the number rises to over 382,000.

“The growth here has exploded,” said West, who moved to Reno in 2000. “Reno has grown so much in the last 10 years or so.”

It turned out that the growth was not too great for a single small business.

In January, Trader Joe’s confirmed to the Reno Gazette Journal that it would open another store in Reno. The company did not confirm the location at the time. A representative at the Summit Reno shopping center, meanwhile, only confirmed that there would be a new, unspecified deli.

Trader Joe’s confirmed the Summit Reno mall location about a month later.

The permits also showed a new Trader Joe’s in Sparks — one of the locations the company is receiving a lot of inquiries for — at the Sparks Crossing shopping center in Spanish Springs. Trader Joe’s would confirm that location in April.

The new openings were necessary, said West, who first managed the Carson City store and then the original Reno store before moving to the new Summit Reno location.

“There was a lot of pressure on that one (reno) store,” West said. “It was definitely time to open a new one.”

So how about a Trader Joe’s in northwest Reno?

At the new Trader Joe’s store, several employees were busy setting up displays and items on Tuesday afternoon.

Near the ceiling were large, colorful signs with the names Reno, Geiger Grade and Virginia City.

At the front, near the door, it looked like a variety of products such as apples and bananas were ready to go on sale. The same was true of the middle of the store, where a selection of cereals, jams, breads and frozen foods were on display.

Only the rear area still needed some work, while the areas behind the cash registers and the plants in the front fountain only needed a few finishing touches.

When asked if there would be any significant differences between the new store and the old store – which will remain open – West replied that the shopping experience should be very similar.

“We source all of our goods from the same warehouse, so we carry the same items,” West said.

“It’s up to each store manager to decide what sells best… but we try to offer the full range.”

When you leave: Trader Joe’s new Summit Reno Mall store is located in the former Orvis space at 13945 S. Virginia St., Suite 640, off Mount Rose Highway. The store will open at 7:55 a.m. on Wednesday, August 21, and close at 8 a.m. The store will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

After speaking with another curious consumer who asks about the opening status, the topic of other possible locations comes up.

After Carson City got a store in 2006 and Sparks also had a location confirmed, there was another area in Reno that often comes up when talking about Trader Joe’s locations.

West quickly guessed what place it was.

“I live in the northwest (part of Reno),” West said, looking sheepish. “So I’ve definitely heard from a lot of people in the northwest that they would like to see a Trader Joe’s there.”

Although the Northwest presents its own challenges for any retailer, West hopes the area will eventually get a Trader Joe’s. As long as the Reno area continues to grow, there will be more opportunities for new stores, West said.

“Real estate is pretty tight there,” West said. “But I’m sure we’ll have a (store in that area) eventually.”

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