Business & Tech

Trader Joe's Opens in Pinellas Soon

Grand opening festivities for the new St. Petersburg store are expected to draw big crowds.

Pinellas County residents itching for Trader Joe’s new St. Petersburg location to open don’t have much longer to wait.

The new 2742 Fourth Street North store opens at 8 a.m. Friday and throngs of shoppers are anticipated to take part in grand opening events. That’s why the city of St. Petersburg is gearing up to help ensure traffic flows as smoothly as possible.

“Due to the popularity of the specialty retailer and anticipated large number of shoppers, city officials have implemented traffic controls during the weekends of February 13-15 and February 20-21 to keep traffic issues at a minimum,” a media release from the city stated.

Find out what's happening in St. Petefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on both weekends, the city plans to close the retailer’s Fourth Street North entrance. Shoppers will have to enter the store’s parking lot from Fourth Street through a one-way entrance on 28th Avenue North and return to Fourth Street from a one-way exit on 27th Avenue North, the city announced.

Trader Joe’s employees will be stationed inside the lot to direct shoppers to available parking, the city noted. Police will also be out to monitor traffic. The situation will be assessed following the two opening weekends to see if additional measures are needed.

Find out what's happening in St. Petefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

The new 9,000-square-foot store is a first for St. Petersburg and Pinellas County. The specialty chain currently has two open stores in the region: Tampa, 3808 W. Swann Ave., and Sarasota, 4010 S. Tamiami Trail.

The St. Petersburg store will be open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

For more information, visit Trader Joe’s online.

Are you excited to see Trader Joe’s opening in Pinellas? What other stores would you like to see come to the area? Tell us by commenting below!

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.