People in Logan woke up Monday morning to what they thought was exciting news: A Trader Joe’s would soon open in the Cache Valley.
One Instagram user said it could be “the best news of the entire year” for the northern Utah community.
That was one of many comments made on social media about a “coming soon” sign announcing the new Trader Joe’s draped over the vacant JoAnn Fabrics store’s entrance. The sign had people Logan wondering if their long-held dream for a Trader Joe’s had finally become real.
Kathy Schroder, who runs the Instagram account, @cachevalleybuzz — where she posts about local events and news for 23,000 followers — said she was “flooded with messages” Monday at about 9 a.m. from people wondering if the news announced by the sign was real.
But she, and others in Logan, soon found out that the banner, and with it the promise of a new Trader Joe’s, was too good to be true.
“They usually advertise that these are coming months in advance, and we’ve heard absolutely nothing about it,” Schroder said.
Tiffany Hatch, a Trader Joe’s enthusiast, made her way to the building at 10:30 a.m. to see the sign for herself, and it was already gone, she said.
Trader Joe’s has not posted any plans for a store in Logan. A company spokesperson did not immediately respond Tuesday to questions about the sign.
Kirk Jensen, Logan’s economic developer, said Trader Joe’s currently has no plans in Logan. But hope for one remains.
Jensen said people often ask him about the possibility of a Trader Joe’s store opening in Logan — and even point out vacant buildings that would be good locations for one.
“There’s been an interest in Logan for many years,” Jensen said.
Jensen said he and the city are working to make sure the company understands Logan’s potential, with a large customer base of both locals and visitors.
“They would do well here,” he said.
Schroder said she considers Trader Joe’s the last puzzle piece to meet shoppers’ needs in the Cache Valley. The region in recent years has seen several big box stores open locations, including a WinCo in 2021, a Costco in 2022 and a Target that’s now under construction.
Without a Logan store, she said she has friends who take chest freezers to Trader Joe’s Salt Lake City locations to stock up.
Hatch channeled her passion for a Logan Trader Joe’s by starting a Facebook group, “Bring Trader Joe’s to Logan,” where hundreds of members have united in their love for Trader Joe’s and a shared hope that one will come to their community.
On her honeymoon in San Francisco in 2017, Hatch said she became enamored with Trader Joe’s blueberry bran muffins when she and her husband found the breakfast at their hotel too expensive. Soon, she found she loved everything else she bought there, as well.
Those products now take her all the way from Hyrum to Salt Lake City, almost a 90-minute drive, she said.
“I kept my passion about Trader Joe’s quiet for quite some time, but started to discover that I wasn’t the only one up here who loved it so much!” she said. “Whenever I mention I’m going down there, people ask me to pick stuff up for them.”
One member of her Facebook group, Alexis Metcalf Davis, said Trader Joe’s has “several affordable and easy options” for people with celiac disease.
“That’s not easy to find,” she said. “You wouldn’t believe how a loved one with celiac’s ‘food world’ shrinks with the diagnosis, and how much the food bill grows. I drive to the Salt Lake location once a month for this reason alone.”
Another member of the group, Gabbi Roderer, said Logan is the perfect location for a Trader Joe’s because “it’s both a college town and a wonderful place to raise a family. … The result is a varied and dedicated shopping base who will appreciate the prices, variety and the ‘affordable gourmet.’”
While Logan might not be getting the store the locals hoped for, they will be able to drive to a new Trader Joe’s set to open Friday in Riverdale — shortening their pilgrimage to the grocery store.