Sign Our Petition To Open A Trader Joe’s In Miami

Miami has a lot but it doesn’t have it all. And it especially doesn’t have a Trader Joe’s.

And we were kind of cool with that figuring they would eventually get around to opening up one down here.

But then we found out they were opening one up in Naples and were left wondering WTF.

So now we’re using this article to petition Trader Joe’s to open up a store in Miami. We’re hoping our readers will sign the petition by commenting on this article in the comments section below.

For those of you wondering what is a Trader Joe’s, it’s just one of the coolest specialty grocery stores you will ever find. Think Whole Foods without the expense and pretension. Check out the video above to get a better idea. Or read this article comparing the two.

“Trader Joe’s is the poor man’s Whole Foods,” said Peter Ortiz, an old journalism buddy of mine who frequents the Trader Joe’s in New York City.

Spreading everywhere from California except Miami

Originally from California, Trader Joe’s has been spreading eastward for the last decade or so, propping up stores in New York, Connecticut, Virginia, Washington D.C., North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia.

But for whatever reason, they continued to ignore Florida, even though it is the fourth most populous state in the country (they’ve also ignored Texas even though it is the second most populous state in the country, so maybe they fear states with lax gun laws).

But now that they finally decided to venture into Florida, we are a little taken aback that they would choose Naples over Miami.

The last time Miami was bypassed by Naples was when Canadian tourists started choosing it as their vacation spot over Miami after crimes against tourists spiraled out of control down here.

But now that crime is down in Miami, we really don’t mind Canadians continuing to choose Naples over the Magic City because they drive too slow anyway.

But we do mind that Naples ended up getting a Trader Joe’s before us.

After all, what does Naples have that we don’t have? Well, besides old people with disposable income and not much to do but spend their money on cheap wine and cheeses.

Perhaps Miami is oversaturated with grocery stores, but Trader Joe’s has never been the place where you do all your shopping anyway. It’s that specialty shop where you pick up a few items for dinner and desert and maybe breakfast the following morning.

So what can we do to persuade Trader Joe’s to open a store in Miami?

Fellow Miami Beach 411 writer Matt Meltzer and I decided the best place to open a Trader Joe’s in Miami is right in my neighborhood, the Coral Way Corridor.

While that may seem a bit selfish on my part, it is smack in the middle of Brickell, Coral Gables and Coconut Grove, three affluent neighborhoods within a short driving distance.

Not only does the Coral Way Corridor offer cheaper rents, it is a major thoroughfare from downtown all the way out west, which means it will be the perfect place for people to stop after they get off work.

We’ll even hook Trader Joe’s up with local realtors to find the best possible spot.

But the first step is for our readers to sign this petition by leaving a comment below explaining why we need a Trader Joe’s down here.

Related Links: • Any grocery stores like Trader Joe's in Miami? Related Categories: Miami: Local News, Miami: Food & Restaurant News, Carlos Miller is a featured writer at Miami Beach 411. He also operates Photography is Not a Crime, a blog about photographer rights, New Media and First Amendment issues. See more articles by Carlos Miller. See more articles by Carlos Miller Was This Post Helpful? Please Share It With Others! Tweet

49 Comments on

"Sign Our Petition To Open A Trader Joe’s In Miami"

Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.

Discuss the surrounding area in our hugely popular Miami forum.