Empire Building

Trader Joe’s Coming to Castro in About a Year

Photo: Curbed SF

Finally, residents of the Castro, Noe Valley and the Haight will no longer have to trek as far for their chocolate-covered pretzels and bargain wine. The Business Times reports today that Trader Joe’s has finalized a contract with the landlord of the Market & Noe Center, the former home of Tower Records. TJ’s will be taking over the entire center (some 14,000+ square feet), and as Curbed reported in October, other tenants including Radio Shack will be moving out.

The landlord, Kent Jeffrey, has been struggling to fill the anchor space of the center for three years, since the closing of Tower, and prospective tenants Office Depot and Staples reportedly walked away amidst fears of community opposition in the wake of Proposition G — the local ordinance restricting chain retailers.

But because Trader Joe’s is a chain where anti-establishment liberals still like to shop, and because that empty storefront where occasionally a non-profit holds a silent auction has been kind of depressing for everybody, the community seems to be behind the move. Jeffrey expects the store to be open within a year, and with 39 rooftop parking spots and way more pedestrian access than the city’s other two TJs, it should at least save many of us some parking trauma.

Trader Joe’s to open in old Tower Records site
[SF Business Times]
EARLIER: Trader Joe’s Is Jonesing for a Spot on Market & Noe [Curbed]
Chain store rule rattles SF retailers [SF Business Times]

Trader Joe’s Coming to Castro in About a Year