For 10 years, neighbors in Seattle’s Rainier Valley have wanted a Trader Joe’s. That’s the mid-sized grocery chain, known for lower prices on specialty items. Now there’s a unique campaign to lure the store to South Seattle.
You know how stores pull in customers with ads and commercials? Well, what if it was the other way around – what if customers advertised their community to attract a store?
A new web commercial serves as a love letter of sorts. It’s asking Trader Joe’s to move to Rainier Beach.
Daniel Ballard a local resident produced the video in response to conversations he was having online.
“Overwhelmingly, like 99 percent of all the people who decided to comment at all, said that they wanted a Trader Joe’s,” said Ballard.
A hundred people appear in the commercial toting Trader Joe’s shopping bags.
?
With light rail and lots of new development in the area, Ballard says this is a chance to shape the community.
“We think it’s smart for us to say, ‘Well, what kind of stores do we want to see here?’ We want to see lots of little, locally-owned businesses, but when it comes to larger chain stores, you know, they’re not all created equal,” he said.
Rainier Beach resident Theresa Hazard says there just aren’t enough choices for shopping, especially now that the neighborhood is becoming more walkable. So she – like many -- makes a weekly drive.
“We go over to the Burien store,” she said. “Matter of fact, I was at the Madison store to pick up a few things the other day and I got a $42 ticket picking up gingersnaps!”
Trader Joe’s hasn’t yet responded to the commercial. According the Rainier Chamber of Commerce, a few years back a real estate broker was told Trader Joe’s wasn’t considering the area. But supporters are holding out hope that this time, they’ll get the company’s attention.
