It’s really happening. Trader Joe’s, the wildly popular grocery chain and a perennial source of envy, is coming to Lafayette.
Documents obtained by Developing Lafayette show that the chain secured a permit earlier this month to build a location at the intersection of Camellia Boulevard and Bluebird Drive. Construction is expected to begin in October and completed by next spring.
Rumors of a Lafayette location have circulated since early this year.
Trader Joe’s has rapidly expanded in Louisiana over the last few years. Founded on the West Coast, the brand has developed a devoted following. Shoppers are known to line up for drops of Trader Joe’s canvas tote bags or make interstate pilgrimages to stock up on the brand’s line of international frozen foods.
Unlike other grocery brands, Trader Joe’s markets most of its products under its house name. German grocery brand Aldi Nord (confusingly not the owner of the American Aldi’s chain) purchased Trader Joe’s from its eponymous founder, Joe Coloumb, in the late 1970s.