The Wait Is Over: Lafayette’s First Trader Joe’s Opens Next Week
LAFAYETTE, La. — Lafayette’s long wait for a Trader Joe’s of its own ends Thursday, September 17, when the specialty grocer opens its doors at 1710 Camellia Blvd. at 8 a.m., complete with samples, giveaways and a welcome from Store Captain Johnny Veillon and the new Lafayette crew.
The 9,192-square-foot store sits on Camellia Boulevard between Verdot School Road and Kaliste Saloom Road, and it becomes the sixth Trader Joe’s in Louisiana and the first anywhere in Acadiana. The company says it hired more than sixty new Crew Members from the surrounding area for the opening, along with additional transfers from other Louisiana Trader Joe’s locations to help get the new store off the ground.
What Opening Day Looks Like for Lafayette Shoppers
Doors open at 8 a.m. sharp on the 17th, and Trader Joe’s is leaning into the occasion, treating the opening like the neighborhood event Acadiana has been asking for. Expect product samples and giveaways at the launch, with Veillon and the crew on hand throughout the morning to greet the first wave of customers. Once the grand opening rush settles, the store will run its regular hours: 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week.
Louisiana has had a Trader Joe’s for years, just never one in Acadiana. Shoppers here have made the drive to Baton Rouge or the New Orleans area to stock up on the chain’s private-label staples, and this week that drive gets a lot shorter.
A Long Time Coming for Camellia Boulevard
This one didn’t sneak up on Lafayette. Rumors of a local Trader Joe’s had circulated for years before the company quietly began working through zoning approvals for the Camellia Boulevard site, and local reporting confirmed the deal was real once permitting documents surfaced. From there it came down to construction timelines, and now there’s an open sign on the door.
The Lafayette store’s arrival brings Trader Joe’s Louisiana footprint to six locations, joining stores in Baton Rouge, Metairie, Mandeville and two in the New Orleans area. It’s also the chain’s first foothold west of Baton Rouge in the state, putting it within easy reach of Acadiana shoppers who’d otherwise be making a longer drive.
Neighborhood Shares Program Extends to Lafayette Nonprofits
Trader Joe’s is bringing its Neighborhood Shares Program to Lafayette along with the new store. Any product that goes unsold but is still fit to eat will be donated to community-based nonprofit organizations, seven days a week, rather than thrown out. It’s a practice the company runs at every location, and it means local food banks and charitable groups stand to benefit from day one alongside shoppers stocking up on cookie butter and mandarin orange chicken.
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Gallery Credit: Joe Cunningham
