The Downtown Development Authority hasn’t been shy about its quest to bring Trader Joe’s to downtown West Palm Beach, putting together a video pitch to sell West Palm to the boutique grocer’s higher-ups. As Trader Joe’s expands to Florida, DDA director Raphael Clemente said Friday that he’s hopeful West Palm is “moving up the list.”
“We’d had a few conversations with them,” Clemente said. “They’re non committal but we have certainly gotten their attention. They don’t reveal what their plans are, where their next moves will be. My hope is that we’ve raised our profile with them to the point we’re moving up the list.”
The DDA’s “What what you trade for a Trader Joe’s?” Facebook page posted this morning that, “We’ve just been told that West Palm Beach has now been placed on the 2nd tier of possible Florida locations for a Trader Joe’s!”
Clemente said he heard that directly from Trader Joe’s representatives, but didn’t have specifics.
“We know they’ve got their Naples store and Sarasota may be the next one to open,” Clemente said. “What moves are beyond that, they haven’t really said. But the fact that we’re on the list is quite encouraging.
“I don’t know if they have a physical list, a database, but speaking with their representatives, they’ve got their eyes on West Palm Beach as a potential location. When they say second tier, it means we’re on their (potential) list of the next wave of stores to open. Whether it’s something being considered for next year, the year after — I haven’t gotten that information yet.”
Clemente said the DDA’s strong pitch to Trader Joe’s also caught the attention of The Fresh Market, a gourmet supermarket chain based out of Greensboro, N.C. The Fresh Market already has locations in Wellington and Stuart.
“Recent conversations with Fresh Market indicates our video got their attention as well,” Clemente said. “It was kind of our hope that (the video) would go beyond the target of Trader Joe’s. We’d be thrilled to have either of those businesses in the district. Fresh Market has been interested in us for a little while.”
Check out the DDA’s video pitch to Trader Joe’s
