Trader Joe's opened the doors of its new Lake Grove location on Tuesday, directly across from rival Whole Foods.
Trader Joe's new storefront in the former Toys 'R Us building of the Smith Haven Mall plaza is larger, featuring wide aisles and an open floor plan. Cash registers are named after local towns including Ronkonkoma, Stony Brook, and St. James.
A store employee, who wished not to be identified, said the larger size of the new storefront would allow them to keep popular items in stock longer and encourage shoppers to spend more per visit.
The company ran its former store on Alexander Avenue while simultaneous preparing the new site for launch. A store employee said it was open for regular store hours on Monday before relaunching in its new site on Tuesday.
A Trader Joe's spokeswoman said the company had no comment regarding reasons for the move.
It places Trader Joe's directly across from their competitor, Whole Foods, who opened their Lake Grove store in March. Whole Foods could not be reached for comment.
