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The bastion of cheap organic food, cheap wines, great specialty chocolate and yes, the Two-Buck Chuck, finally crossed its final hurdle yesterday when the Berkeley City Council voted to reject an appeal from neighbors to try to stop the specialty grocery store from coming into town.
Yes, Trader Joe’s finally got the green light after five years of debates, 14 different public hearings and being suspended in purgatory.
Trader Joe’s can finally be built on the corner of University Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Way, on the present site of a Kragen Auto Parts store.
Of course, Trader Joe’s adds to a growing list of corporate America seemingly being able to invade the city, which may or may not be such a bad thing.
About a month ago Walgreens opened its Telegraph Avenue location. Last fall we saw the grand opening of really bad Mexican food, a.k.a. Chipotle.
We also guess that this underlines the city’s focus to revitalize both the Telegraph Ave. and Downtown Berkeley areas.
But of course, some residents won’t be happy. Not with all the traffic and congestion that they say will come with the new Trader Joe’s. This is what one resident said back in October, when neighbors filed the appeal.
“Trader Joe’s is a nonunion store owned by a secretive German family that sells specialty food and low-cost alcohol,” said Steve Wollmer, who lives 250 feet from the site. “Do we really need this in our neighborhood?”
Maybe you haven’t had some of that Two-Buck Chuck. Try some. We’re sure it’ll relax you and maybe convince you that Trader Joe’s won’t be too much of a problem.
Downtown Trader Joe’s wins approval with 5-3 council vote [SF Gate]
Neighbors say no to popular market [SF Gate]
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