Trader Joe’s is ramping up its pace of expansion, with plans to open two dozen new grocery stores around the country, including eight in Southern California.
The SoCal stores will be in South Pasadena, Northridge, Sherman Oaks, Santa Clarita, Murrieta, Mission Viejo, Poway and Santee. Opening dates have yet to be announced.
Nakia Rohde, a spokesperson for Monrovia-based Trader Joe’s, said the rate of openings “is faster than it’s been in the last few years.”
“Not a lot of businesses are growing their brick-and-mortar, so it’s nice,” she said Thursday.
The push by Trader Joe’s to increase its footprint comes as grocery prices have climbed about 25% over the last four years, and competition within the industry has been fierce as stores compete for budget-minded consumers, many of whom say they’ve been buying only the essentials.
With its tightly curated selection of trendy snacks, frozen meals, alcohol and produce at affordable prices, Trader Joe’s has been a popular destination for the budget conscious.
But even it has had to raise prices: In March, it increased the individual cost of its beloved 19-cent bananas for the first time in more than two decades, to 23 cents each.
Food price inflation is expected to slow in 2024 but remain slightly higher than a year ago, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Privately held Trader Joe’s operates 549 locations in 42 states and Washington, D.C.
This month, it opened new stores in San Francisco and Boston. The first Trader Joe’s opened in 1967 in Pasadena.