Trader Joe’s Market Set to Open in Yorktown This Summer

By Rick Pezzullo

The first Trader Joe’s supermarket in northern Westchester is scheduled to open in Yorktown this summer.

Breslin Realty Development Corp. confirmed last week the worst secret in town that the long-sought-after specialty grocer would be occupying the 12,500-square-foot, freestanding building on Route 202 in the shopping center anchored by Lowe’s Home Improvement.

Breslin stated Trader Joe’s, whose only other locations in Westchester are in Hartsdale and Larchmont, had signed a long-term lease to operate in Yorktown.

An application to construct an unnamed specialty grocer was unanimously approved by the Yorktown Planning Board in December 2020.

The original site plan that went before planners called for a 7,600-square-foot building and parking lot for unknown tenants. However, when developers requested an expansion to accommodate a grocer, Breslin Realty, which owns the land, was asked to submit revised plans for what’s deemed Pad Site A.

Besides Lowe’s, other tenants in the shopping center are Starbucks, AAA and Slice Pizza. There is currently a build-to-suit pad site available for lease, up to 2,900 square feet with a drive-thru.

A Trader Joe’s spokesperson said last year the Yorktown store would employ mostly local residents and feature artwork and murals that reflected the community.

“It’s important for Trader Joe’s to be a good neighbor,” the spokesperson said.

Trader Joe’s stocks about 4,000 items, 80% of which bear one of its brand names. Products include gourmet, organic and vegetarian foods, imported foods, domestic and imported wine, and unusual frozen foods.

Rick Pezzullo

Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/