TWP MERIDIAN. — The Lansing area’s first Trader Joe’s will open later this week, more than two years after city officials first approved a parking variance for the East Grand River Avenue grocery store.
The store, which is expected to employ 65 people, will open its doors at 9 a.m. Friday, according to the California-based company’s announcement on its website. A brief ceremony will take place at the site before its opening, according to a company statement.
The long-awaited specialty grocery store near East Lansing has been under construction on 2.2 acres at 2755 E. Grand River Ave., across the street from Whole Foods Market, for more than a year.
“Within this neighborhood grocery store, customers will find exceptional value in the form of the highest quality products at the best everyday prices and friendly employees who create a shopping environment that exudes adventure, humor and a warm sense of community” , said the release. “The store’s interior art will highlight local landmarks.”
The “outer building envelope” of the 10,000-square-foot store has been completed since April. It is the area’s first location and Michigan’s ninth store.
Trader Joe’s website lists additional Michigan stores in Ann Arbor, Bloomfield Hills, Grosse Pointe, Kalamazoo, Kentwood, Northville, Rochester Hills and Royal Oak.
Store management is still hiring employees, the release said. Starting pay ranges from $15 to $17 per hour, Trader Joe’s public relations manager Nakia Rohde said in an email earlier this month.
“Our crew members work part-time, up to 38 hours a week,” she said. People can apply online at https://traderjoes.avature.net/careers/JobDetail/United-States-Crew/16380.
“Additionally, through the company’s long-standing Neighborhood Shares program, the new East Lansing Trader Joe’s will donate 100% of products that are not sold but remain fit for enjoyment to a number of nonprofit community organizations, seven days a week,” the statement said.
Contact reporter Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on X @GrecoatLSJ .
This article originally appeared in the Lansing State Journal: Trader Joe’s to open store on Grand River Avenue in Meridian Township