After opening in Long Island City in June, and with another location coming to Harlem in 2023, the beloved grocery chain is expanding to the Upper East Side — and opening date is this week!
The much-anticipated location — which is tucked right under the Queensboro Bridge in a historic building and most recently housed a Food Emporium — will finally open on Thursday, Dec. 2 at 8 a.m., according to the Trader Joe’s website. Local residents have been waiting over a year to be able to shop there. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place with Store Captain Brian Lamothe on hand along with the Trader Joe’s staff, 99 percent of which are local New Yorkers, AMNY reports.
And the spot has a rich history of providing New Yorkers with goods, as a food market first opened there back in 1908. It lived there until 1930, and eventually the space returned to its roots in 2000 when the Food Emporium opened.
Trader Joe’s did have to get permission from NYC’s Landmarks Preservation Committee to make changes to the space, which features beautiful vaulted, tiled ceilings originally designed by Rafael Guastavino (known for the now-abandoned City Hall subway station).
Keep track of all their NYC locations here.