Shawna Cloninger, a Conover resident, runs the Facebook page Bring Trader Joe’s to Hickory, NC.
Trader Joe’s is known for its low-cost private label products, which started when it introduced its own granola in 1972. It added Charles Shaw wines in 2002 that earned the nickname “Two Buck Chuck.” The 500-plus stores have a built a reputation for affordable prices and cheerful service.
Shawna Cloninger keeps a cooler in her car in case she finds herself in a city with a Trader Joe’s grocery store. She is always prepared for a Trader Joe’s trip.
The Conover resident frequents Trader Joe’s in Charlotte, Winston-Salem and Chapel Hill. Recently, she went to Charlotte twice in one week and visited Trader Joe’s both times. More commonly she visits the artisan grocery store chain once a month or less.
She’d rather have a location in Hickory.
“I don’t understand why it isn’t here (in Hickory),” Cloninger said. “The most common thing I hear is people saying, ‘We don’t have the right demographics for it.’ But Publix is here and higher end. So why not?”
Cloninger runs a Facebook page to support her goal: Bring Trader Joe’s to Hickory, NC. About 2,300 people like the page, according to Facebook. She’s been overseeing the page since 2017.
The page has been around since 2010, but recently got more attention as more people seek a Trader Joe’s in Hickory, Cloninger said. “I think some of that is the transplants, more people are coming here from other places and they want Trader Joe’s,” she said.
Through the page, she encourages people to fill out a Trader Joe’s store request form. She hopes more requests lead Trader Joe’s to pay more attention.
The grocery chain says it does. Rachel Broderick, a Trader Joe’s spokesperson, said the company takes customer feedback and location suggestions into account when considering new locations. She encouraged people to submit requests. “After all, we want to open in neighborhoods where the community wants us as a neighbor, too,” Broderick said.
While Cloninger and her Facebook followers believe Hickory is the right place for a Trader Joe’s, there are no current plans for one in Hickory, Broderick said. A Hickory store could be considered in the future, she said.
The company is slower than other retailers to expand, Broderick said. There is not an exact formula to determine where or when a store opens, but there are some factors that the company takes into account.
“For us to open in a particular area, it has to be the right time, the right site and storefront, and the right crew available to relocate and run the store,” she said.
Cloninger said she believes several open storefronts in Hickory could be perfect, particularly in the Viewmont area. She cited the former Lowes Foods storefront on 29th Avenue Drive Northeast as an example.
In Cloninger’s opinion, Hickory would be able to support a Trader Joe’s. Even if people have never been before, one visit would win them over, Cloninger said.
“The produce is amazing and their prices are unbeatable,” she said.
One trip is all it took for her.
About 20 years ago, Cloninger visited her first Trader Joe’s in Chapel Hill while there for her son’s doctor’s appointment, she said.
She walked in and immediately loved it.
“It’s a whole vibe,” she said. “The whole culture is great. The employees are always so nice and take time to talk to you. And when you walk in and see fresh flowers, you feel good.”
When Cloninger goes, she has her favorite items — frozen foods, produce and wine. During the holidays she makes more trips to purchase Christmas items the stores sell.
If her husband and kids are with her, they pick up their favorite items as well, Cloninger said. Her husband gets a specific beer he likes and her children get candy.
With the recent uptick in interest in Trader Joe’s in Hickory, Cloninger said she hopes the grocery chain might take an interest in the area.
“It’s encouraging,” she said. “So many people don’t know what it is. But the more that do, the more attention that comes.”
To learn more, find the Bring Trader Joe’s to Hickory, NC Facebook page. Go to www.traderjoes.com/home/contact-us/request-a-store to request a store.
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Shawna Cloninger, a Conover resident, runs the Facebook page Bring Trader Joe’s to Hickory, NC.
Trader Joe’s is known for its low-cost private label products, which started when it introduced its own granola in 1972. It added Charles Shaw wines in 2002 that earned the nickname “Two Buck Chuck.” The 500-plus stores have a built a reputation for affordable prices and cheerful service.
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