The retailer paid $22 million this month for a shuttered Rite Aid at 1331 Wilshire Blvd., according to real estate data provider CoStar.
The Monrovia-based grocery chain, known for its inventive, original products and frozen meals, is expanding across the country and opened a branch in Costa Mesa earlier this month.
A store opened in La Verne in October.
“We see ourselves as your neighborhood supermarket,” the company said on its website, announcing the latest store openings. “Step inside and you’ll find unconventional and interesting Trader Joe’s branded products like Mandarin Orange Chicken and Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate.”
There are more than 600 Trader Joe’s nationwide and about 200 in California.
Locations in Santa Monica include 2300 Wilshire Blvd., where Trader Joe’s occupies 2,130 square feet on the ground floor of an apartment building, according to CoStar.
The former Rite Aid location, a few blocks away, is much larger at 17,800 square feet and has 125 surface parking spaces.
It’s unclear if Trader Joe’s will continue to operate both locations, but there is precedent in Los Angeles, where two TJ’s are across from each other in Sherman Oaks.
The original plan was to close the Sherman Oaks location once the new branch was completed; both are located off the 101 Freeway on Riverside Drive.
But ultimately the company decided it would be “nice” to keep both open, the new store’s manager said last June. Both stores are expected to remain open, the company confirmed.
Trader Joe’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment on when the new Santa Monica store will open.
The company’s expansion comes as grocery stores throughout Southern California and the nation compete to win over price-conscious consumers.
Inflation has driven up supermarket prices in recent years, causing the average American to cut back on spending and look for bargains.
Trader Joe’s is privately owned and owned by families who also own part of the Aldi supermarket chain, according to its website.
Are first location opened in Pasadena in 1967.
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