Trader Joe's and Whole Foods Take Stock Before Opening

It is no secret that there are vacant storefronts in Marlboro, and across NJ. And when asked, more than a few residents say they want a Trader Joe’s or a Whole Foods to fill the void.

In our "What Should It Be" series, we asked residents what they would like to see in the Some said Trader Joe's, but many have said the proposed location for Whole Foods (just across the street) should be at the old Pathmark.

Marlboro Resident commented on the article and said, "Whole Foods, they are knocking down trees across the street to build a new store when this storefront remains empty. If you can make it through the traffic at this intersection and survive MAYBE you too can shop there!"

Lindsay Griesbach commented, "I vote Trader Joe's!"

, but its location on an empty lot rather than in the empty Pathmark across the street was chosen through a set of standards the company keeps when choosing new locations. And even then, meeting those standards doesn’t necessarily mean the companies will come.

“It’s all laid out on the web,” said Whole Foods spokesman Michael Sinatra. “People always think it’s financially driven, they think it’s about income. But one thing we do look at is the number of college educated people in an area.”

Sinatra said that shoppers with college degrees are often more interested in the type of food they’re putting their body, creating a demand for natural or organic foods.

Both Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s invite people to visit their websites and suggest areas for new stores. According to the Whole Food’s site, some requirements include: having 200,000 or more people within a 20-minute drive time; a location that’s between 25,000 and 50,000 square feet; that there be a large number of college-educated residents; ample parking for the store’s exclusive use; a stand alone location preferably; easy access from roadways, lighted intersection; excellent visibility directly off the street; and that the location be in a high traffic area either by foot or vehicle.

But even if an area meets all those requirements, Whole Foods may still not come, said Sinatra. The small company is just a little over 30 years old, and only has been in the Northeast for 10 years. The slowly expanding grocery chain expects to open just 20 to 35 new locations nationwide this year—with an eventual goal of 1,000 stores nationwide—with only one to four of those sites in the Tri-State area.

Sinatra said the company could consider opening a location in the area, but not necessarily in East Brunswick, and for now the company is content with it’s locations in Princeton and the one in development in Marlboro.

 “We’re very selective in what we do. We don’t grow fast in that every store is custom built for the community,” said Sinatra.

Like Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s also encourages residents to suggest particular locations for new stores. The grocery chain did not return several calls from Patch. In addition, several real estate professionals that have worked with Trader Joe's say they are forbidden to speak to the press about the grocery story chain.

The chain has about 375 stores and was founded in in the last 1950s. 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.

Trader Joe’s also has been described by CNN Money as “an offbeat, fun discovery zone that elevates food shopping from a chore to a cultural experience. It stocks its shelves with a winning combination of low-cost, yuppie-friendly staples (cage-free eggs and organic blue agave sweetener) and exotic, affordable luxuries—Belgian butter waffle cookies or Thai lime-and-chili cashews—that you simply can't find anyplace else.

“Employees dress in goofy trademark Hawaiian shirts, hand stickers out to your squirming kids, and cheerfully refund your money if you're unhappy with a purchase -- no questions asked.”

In addition, its Trader Joe’s line of foods is sought after by many shoppers, with the coffee, wine, chocolate and veggie burgers among the favorite purchases

Click HERE for Whole Foods, and HERE for Trader Joe’s.