Could a Trader Joe's Be in North Branford's Future?

NORTH BRANFORD, CT - There are seven different Trader Joe's in Connecticut but none of the high-end grocery stores are located on the east side of the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge. At the most recent Town Council meeting some council members talked openly about why North Branford would be the ideal site for a location when and if the company wanted to add a franchise in this area.

At the February 20th Town Council meeting, officials said that the Town Clerk's office had begun to explore the possibility of applying to have Trader Joe's add a store on "this side of the Quinnipiac River Bridge."

The minutes of the council meeting said that town officials went as far as going onto Trader Joe's website and finding that the company has a form to be filled out if a town and/or person is interested in having a franchise open up in a town.

What the council also discussed, again according to the minutes of the meeting, is while many might support the growth of economic development, such as Trader Joe's in town, many others in town might not.

The board didn't take any action on the matter - just held a discussion - while also noting that there has been other recent economic development news in town, such as a doggie daycare moving into town, Branford Veterinary Associates expanding, J. Cakes expanding, and Dalton's renewing its lease.

The other Trader Joe's franchises in Connecticut are in Orange, Fairfield, West Hartford, Westport, Darien, Danbury and Stamford.