U Street Trader Joe’s Coming Soon
The U Street Trader Joe’s is coming to 14th and U Streets in Northwest DC. Trader Joe’s is a privately held grocery store chained based in California where employees don Hawaiian shirts on a daily basis. The chain is dislikes public address systems and uses a bell instead. Trader Joe’s is known for inexpensive, but delicious prepared frozen foods, as well as inexpensive wine. The U Street Trader Joe’s is only the second Trader Joe’s store in the District, with the first DC store in Foggy Bottom.
The U Street Trader Joe’s will be part of a new mixed-use development called Louis at 14th that will preserve the facades of the neighboring historic buildings. Louis at 14th will have nine stories, 267 luxury apartment units, a rooftop pool, underground parking, and a fitness center within the development. It is likely that some of the development’s 148 underground garage spaces will be dedicated parking for the U Street Trader Joe’s. Louis at 14th will include 30,000 square feet of street-level retail, which includes the U Street Trader Joe’s. Construction on the project began in February 2012 with plans to complete development late this year.
Currently, the grocery stores in the U Street Corridor are YES! Organic Market at 2123 14th Street in Northwest and the Best DC Supermarket at 1507 U Street, NW. But it looks like a new Harris Teeter may appear at the intersection of V Street, Sherman Avenue, and Florida Avenue in Northwest after the U Street Trader Joe’s opens just a few blocks away. Like Trader Joe’s, this Harris Teeter would be the second store of it’s kind in the District.
For a location that didn’t have many grocery options within the neighborhood, it looks like the landscape is changing. Many residents are very excited about the additional grocery options coming with the U Street Trader Joe’s.