Food Options Expanding

Delray Place at US 1 and Linton will be anchored by a Trader Joe's.

Delray Place at US 1 and Linton will be anchored by a Trader Joe’s.

Trader Joe’s is bullish on Florida, especially South Florida.

The popular grocery store chain has announced several new stores and opening dates for stores in Boca Raton and Delray Beach.

According to the grocer’s website, new stores are coming to Delray Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Wellington, Palm Beach Gardens, Boca Raton and Pembroke Pines.

 The Delray Beach location is set to open on Friday, September 5th. The Boca Raton location is scheduled to open on Friday, September 26th.

 The rest of the South Florida opening dates have not been announced.

 The company will also open stores in Winter Park, Jacksonville Beach, and St. Petersburg.

Trader Joe’s has become a hugely popular brand, with dedicated fans. But until recently, the chain hasn’t had a presence in the Florida market.

 A majority of the products stocked at Trader Joe’s are private label.

 The private label that means it’s free of artificial colors, flavors, ingredients, and preservatives.

 Some of the most popular are “Two Buck Chuck,” bottles of wine for 2.99 a pop and Trader Joe’s famous cookie butter products

 Since its launch in 1958 in the Los Angeles area, Trader Joe’s has expanded to more than 390 stores in 35 states.

With Whole Foods, Western Beef, Aldi, Walmart food stores, several ethnic markets and Fresh Market in Boca-Delray, the food landscape is rapidly evolving and becoming more diverse.

This is good news for a growing cadre of foodies, including Julie McNamara of West Boca, who says she visits up to three different stores a week.

“I’ve been living in Boca for 22 years and the only choices used to be Publix or Winn Dixie,” she said. “Albertson’s came and went but this is just a far better situation for people like me who love to cook and comparison shop.”

Nationally and locally the interest in food is soaring. Green Markets and community gardens have become popular staples in many cities, the restaurant scene is thriving and craft food and beverage manufacturers are cropping up everywhere.
The food trend is even spawning new magazine titles, Delray Beach entrepreneur Irene Revelas recently launched Edible Palm Beach, a glossy publication devoted to food, chefs, gardens, agriculture and craft purveyors. Visit
www.ediblepalmbeach.com for more information.