[RP TownTalk] Trader Joe's from HOPE list

[Alan Thompson & Sarah Wayland]

This *very* interesting post was on the HOPE (Hyattsville Organization 
for a Positive Environment) e-mail list, regarding the persistent rumor 
that Trader Joe's can or should be lured to our area.

    Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2006 15:27:10 -0500
    From: "stuart eisenberg" <sweisenberg at covad.net>
Subject: Trader Joe's and criteria

Folks,

The discussion on this listserv is very valuable for the ideas that are 
articulated, the aspirations that are revealed, and the range of 
dialogue that is then generated and carried back into the community, 
and so filtered back and forth.  It is a part of what makes our 
community uniquely what it is.  This listserv is a great local 
institution that has served us for about ten years now.

Unlike locally born and community oriented retail or commercial success 
stories such as Franklin's or Glut or TPSS Coop, Trader Joe's was a 
chain store from its very inception. The vast majority of its stores 
are a manifestation of the alluring dark side of suburban sprawl.

See: http://www.traderjoes.com/about/index.asp

I wanted to report that I have just finished a series of very revealing 
and informative conversations with Trader Joe’s real estate division, 
and its acquisitions team at several corporate levels inside and 
outside their company.

Bottom line: I'm told unambiguously that no Trader Joe's is coming now 
or in the next several years to our strip of Route One or East West 
Highway.  They know we're here, they know some, many of us, want them 
in our neighborhood.  And although it almost feels like a sentence or 
judgement is being passed, this is not a reflection of what any 
individual thinks about Hyattsville, its neighboring towns or 
residents.  These folks don't know us, and they don't choose new 
locations based upon the identity, coolness, uniqueness, historicity or 
anything that sets us apart and attracts or retains the members of this 
community: quite the contrary.

It is a misconception to think that a community attracts or lures 
Trader Joe's.  Incentives can help once your market is in the runnning, 
but they are a very conservative organization when it comes to growth 
and I am told that they are leaving millions and millions of dollars  
"on the table" by not opening stores in markets that actually do fit 
their privately-devised business model profile.

But within several critical criteria, municipal Hyattsville doesn't fit 
their target market profile for location.  For physicality of site they 
look for a 10,000 sq ft, stand-alone, set-back structure surrounded by 
a sea of parking (think 30% bigger than Sudsville's building, with a 
much larger parking lot).  A site could be built that meets those 
criteria, but our zoning & smart growth orientation don't easily 
support that kind of construction and we aren't moving in that 
direction of strip mall suburban siting.  I know of other TJ locations 
that have strayed from that guideline, but only a minute fraction of 
the 250 or so stores have done so.

But more importantly, it appears not to be about ethnicity or even 
income directly either.  Their demographic model searches for high 
educational attainment levels in the adults within a two to three mile 
diameter (their Primary trade area).  The concentration of high 
educational attainment that is sought is 25,000 households within that 
area.  Our community doesn't meet this entry level threshhold by some 
considerable degree.

So where does that leave us?

I believe that we should strive to be an authentic version of 
ourselves, not shape our community to the needs of any entity.  One of 
my Board members has said on a number of occasions that shopping should 
be one of the least of our concerns as a community and as a society, 
and that is true, but nonetheless we're going to be shopping and eating 
& engaged in commerce of many sorts: and good choices and options make 
our community more attractive and livable.

Ultimately, if we want certain kinds of services and businesses, 
someone is going to have to open them up.  I encourage and applaud the 
local entrepreneurs to step up, the way Mike Franklin, Doug Thompson, 
Carlos Lizanne, Susie Rhabb, Barry Wells, and many others have.  Take 
your dream to the next level, and do it with eyes open.

We're all still going to be out there promoting Hyattsville and 
recruiting businesses to come here, but let's keep rescuing ourselves 
in the meantime.  We can and should define our own behavior and 
expectations, count our blessings, and keep it all in context.

Have a good weekend all.

Stuart Eisenberg