Facebook Campaign Eyes a Trader Joe's in East Brunswick

Liti Haramaty loves the grocery store in West Windsor on Route 1 and in Westfield. And she’s not alone.

Tired of having to drive out of her way whenever she has a craving for the store’s wine, frozen foods, chocolate and more, she decided to take matters into her own hands.

In March, Haramaty started the Bring Trader Joe’s to East Brunswick Facebook page. She hopes to have at least 500 “Likes” soon, at which time she plans on contacting the company about moving to East Brunswick.

“All these companies, they do their market research and open their business based on their business model, so I’m very skeptical,” she said. “But, people say that if you want something, should be proactive so I started this.”

The Facebook page has about 140 “Likes” as of this week.

"I like fact that most of the food has no food coloring and no preservatives," she said. "I love the wine. I don’t think you can get better wine for the prices. They have really good quality frozen entrees that my kids like."

Haramaty said that even though she is skeptical, she has heard of similar efforts working, including for the West Windsor location.

“I’m sure that’s not why they opened, I think if anything it’s because so many people wanted them and they looked and figured out it would be good for them to open,” she said.

Trader Joe’s also encourages residents to suggest particular locations for new stores. The grocery chain did not return several calls from the East Brunswick Patch. Supermarket Weekly, ranked the chain No. 22 in its list of Top 75 food retailers in North America that achieved annual sales in excess of $1 billion.

Visit the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TraderJoesInEastBrunswick.