'Elated': Trader Joe's in Providence is now open. Here's what you need to know.
PROVIDENCE – After anticipation that stretched back before the COVID-19 pandemic, Trader Joe's finally opened its Providence store, at 425 South Main St., Thursday morning.
The grocery store with a cult-like following was instantly swamped, as some 300 people were waiting for the doors to open.
You might think they were describing a religious experience to hear them talk about being among the first shoppers in the store.
'Oh, my God!' Excited shoppers line up for grand opening
"Elated" came to mind for Elizabeth Achilles, a neighborhood resident, who posed for a selfie before stowing her shopping cart just outside the store.
"I'm so excited," said Sally Zhang, a Brown University student who lives near the store and will no longer have to walk 20 to 30 minutes for produce and frozen foods.
"Oh, my God!" uttered Thais Serrano. "Since I heard they were opening, I've been looking for news, Googling. I'm so thankful it's here!"
Serrano had been driving from the East Side to the Trader Joe's in Warwick, but now will have the convenience of passing the Providence store on her daily trips to drop her two children off at school and daycare.
Many of the first shoppers walked to the store and exulted in having groceries in their neighborhood.
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"There weren't really any other grocery stores on College Hill," said Pilar McDonald, who was one of the first through the doors, along with fellow Brown student Ben Rosenn.
"Being able to just carry my groceries from here is good," added Rosenn.
Achilles said she drove on Thursday – and had no problem finding a spot in the parking lot – "But I will be jogging here with my double stroller."
The Providence location is the second of the 535-store chain to locate in Rhode Island. It is also the second grocery store to open in the downtown area, joining Rory's Market + Kitchen, at 113 Washington St.
Despite the crush of shoppers when the doors opened, the first morning went off without a hitch, according to Linda Iannitti, the store's general manager, a position the chain likes to title "captain."
Said Iannitti: "Smooth as butter."
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Providence Trader Joe's by the numbers
Just over 100 - The number of store employees (with 87 of them living in the neighborhood)
120 - Shopping carts
100 - Off-street parking spaces
16 - Registers
80 - Percentage of merchandise that is Trader Joe's private label
8 a.m. to 9 p.m. - Daily hours, seven days a week
9,000 - Store size in square feet
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence Trader Joe's opens on S. Main Street to excited shoppers
