Trader Joe's to Open Soon in Manchester: Officials

MANCHESTER, CT — Trader Joe's preparing to open in Manchester's Buckland Hills shopping district in "late summer," economic development officials said Thursday.

Work began in the spring to convert the former Eastern Mountain Sports into a Trader Joe's at the Plaza at Buckland Hills. The EMS space became vacant in April, when the new owner of both EMS and Bob's Stores announced a rash of closings. Two months earlier, the previous parent company had filed for bankruptcy.

Trader Joe's is a chain of markets specializing in packaging innovative, hard-to-find foods under the store brand.

In 1958. the chain was called Pronto Markets. In '67, the name was changed to Trader Joe's and the stores became larger, the walls were adorned with with cedar planks crew members began wearing Hawaiian shirts.

The EMS space became vacant in April, when the new owner of both EMS and Bob's Stores announced a rash of closings. Two months earlier, the previous parent company filed for bankruptcy.

Photo Credit: Trader Joe's

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