‘A top-performing store.’ Puyallup city councilor pushes for Trader Joe’s
A member of the Puyallup City Council is trying to get a Trader Joe’s in town.
Council member Dennis King, who represents District 2, made a Facebook post on March 10 urging people to show their support for a Trader Joe’s in Puyallup.
“This really started as an opportunity to listen to those in our community who have been asking for a Trader Joe’s for many years now,” King told The News Tribune. “... From time to time, we receive requests to advocate for a business like theirs to join our community and I thought, ‘Well, I’ll just get it out here and see what interest will spark from it,’ and it certainly sparked some interest.”
As of March 27, the post has 432 engagements, about 84,000 views and 150 shares. The original post has 932 comments, but King estimates there are about 3,000 total comments when factoring in comments on shared versions of the post.
In the post, King encouraged Puyallup residents to comment if they would shop at a Trader Joe’s in Puyallup, along with ideas on where it should go within city limits.
“If this post reaches 5,000 comments, I’ll personally make sure the feedback gets sent to the Trader Joe’s corporate team so they know Puyallup is ready,” King wrote in the post.
King told The News Tribune he’s still monitoring the comments on all versions of the post, with the hope of it gaining enough traction to catch the eyes of the Trader Joe’s corporate office.
“Hopefully [it will] garner enough information from the public to be able to print it out, put it in a big envelope, and get it sent onto Trader Joe’s corporate office to see if it really would make sense,” King said. “I think there is enough interest and enough population in our area to sustain their business model, and the people really would like to see that store in our city.”
Nakia Rhode, spokesperson for Trader Joe’s, told The News Tribune there are no plans for a Puyallup location.
“We are actively looking at hundreds of neighborhoods across the country as we hope to open more new neighborhood stores each year,” Rhode wrote in an email to The News Tribune. “At this time, we do not have a location planned in Puyallup.”
Pierce County’s lone location
Puyallup is not alone in wanting a Trader Joe’s. The Monrovia, California-based company has one location in Pierce County: the University Place store at the Green Firs Towne Center, 3800 Bridgeport Way W.
Rhode told The News Tribune the University Place location opened in 2004.
Other towns, such as Gig Harbor and Lakewood, told The News Tribune in 2017 and 2023 they were interested in having a Trader Joe’s.
But more than two decades after the University Place store opened, there is still no movement in sight for more locations in Pierce County.
Customers who don’t mind driving to neighboring counties will find many options. According to the Trader Joe’s website, here are neighboring locations in nearby areas:
- King County: 17 stores, with seven in Seattle, two in Bellevue and one each in Burien, Federal Way, Issaquah, Kent, Kirkland, Redmond, Sammamish and Shoreline. Another location is set to open in Woodinville soon, the website says.
- Thurston County: One store in Olympia and one store in Lacey.
- Kitsap County: One location in Silverdale.
There are 30 stores in Washington state, according to the website, with the Woodinville location set to be the 31st. Other locations include two stores in Bellingham, one in Everett, one in Lynnwood, three in Vancouver, two in Spokane and one in Spokane Valley.
In his post, King said thousands of Puyallup shoppers often visit the Federal Way or University Place locations to get their Trader Joe’s fix. In his interview with The News Tribune, he said he sees his post as a way to start a conversation with the larger business community.
“The consistent interest from residents really, kind of, sparked the idea, and this isn’t just limited to just Trader Joe’s. This is an opportunity for all businesses to see that Puyallup is open for business,” King said. “We want them to come join us here and allow our residents to shop local and not have to travel so far to have destinations like this one.”
What does it take to get a Trader Joe’s location?
The News Tribune asked Rhode what factors lead to the formation of a new store. Rhode sent The News Tribune a transcript to an Aug. 1, 2022 episode of the Inside Trader Joe’s podcast, called “How To Make A Trader Joe’s, Part One.”
In the podcast, Donnie Martin — the vice president of real estate and construction for Trader Joe’s — said the company looks at several factors before deciding to build a store.
“We go through, we look at accessibility, we look at our loading dock, we look at the size,” Martin said. “We look at everything to really make sure that we belong there. It’s gotta check every box.”
Martin said out of the hundreds of site submittals the company gets, about 20% pass the company’s test and move onto an internal review.
“[The internal review] is where we really dig in, that’s when we dive into everything,” Martin said.
Out of the options that move onto internal review, about 50% actually become a Trader Joe’s store, Martin said. As of the episode’s airing date, Trader Joe’s had been considering “between 200 and 209” possible store locations across the country.
“We could go anywhere and open a Trader Joe’s, but is it gonna feel like Trader Joe’s when customers walk in?” Martin said.
The episode did not list additional geographic or economic factors they consider when deciding to open a new store.
‘A top-performing store’
King thinks Puyallup is a prime spot for a future Trader Joe’s, citing Puyallup’s growth and residents’ enthusiasm for the chain.
According to the city of Puyallup’s website, the 2025 population was 43,730, with 13,070 new people expected to move in by 2030.
“Puyallup is one of the fastest-growing areas in Pierce County, and we have strong rooftops and homes and strong incomes, and we also have a very engaged consumer base here in our city,” King said. “And with that, we are seeing a lot of momentum for Trader Joe’s, or companies like that that would fit right on in. We believe that something like this retailer would fit right in line with our lifestyle here and families and young professionals who value quality and affordability. Personally, I think it would complement and not compete with our existing local grocers in our area.”
King said the city “doesn’t necessarily recruit specific retailers in that way,” but has seen such a strong community interest that it inspired him to make the post.
“We’re going to just try and see if this will do the trick and see if we can get their attention to at least consider Puyallup as one of their next locations,” King said.
The News Tribune asked King if he had any specific locations in mind for a future Trader Joe’s location. He said he does not favor any particular places, but does want to see it happen within city limits.
As for the commenters? King said the most common idea floated in the comments was Valley Plaza, a shopping center by Catapult Adventure Park, 1417 E. Main Ave.
“I believe there are enough Trader Joe’s fans in our city that I think it would not only sustain itself, but be a top-performing store amongst all Trader Joe’s locations,” King said. “Not only that, it strengthens our economy, it strengthens our working base here, it creates many jobs for those who are, hopefully, within our city, who are looking to find work —and this is just another opportunity for our local economy to continue to thrive.”
King encouraged Trader Joe’s lovers to keep engaging on his post, which you can find on his Facebook page at facebook.com/dkingpuyallupwagov. You can also submit a form on the company’s website to request a Trader Joe’s in your city.
This story was originally published March 29, 2026 at 5:15 AM.
