Trader Joe’s Brings Its Goodies To New Harlem Store

The store said it is looking to hire more Harlem residents.

Trader Joe’s has opened its first store ever in Harlem, New York. On July 25, the store at 123 West 125th St. started serving the historic neighborhood.

Harlem, long considered New York City’s Black mecca, has seen a demographic shift over the last decade. In 2022, according to New York University’s Furman Center, there were an estimated 138,953 people in Central Harlem, of which 45.8% identified as Black, 28.2% identified as Hispanic, and 14.4% identified as white.

The brick-and-mortar store is a 17,800-square-foot building selling all of the favorite Trader Joe’s products that customers have come to know and love. The decor for the building features local landmarks in the greater Harlem community, such as the iconic Apollo Theater and the well-known strip of 125th Street.

According to a spokesperson via PIX II, the new location of the Trader Joe’s chain is seeking to hire around 100 new crew members from the area and offers a plethora of different employee benefits.

Its website reads, “We [Trader Joe’s] pay well. To keep the Crew developing and incentivize exceptional performance, we provide a performance review for each Crew twice a year. On average, Crew has the potential to receive a 7% annual increase.”

In addition to competitive pay, the company also offers a 401(k) retirement plan to invest in the future of its employees. Worker benefits also include “exceptional medical, dental, and vision plans” and accessible paid time off.

Not only does Harlem Trader Joe’s offer leadership training, scholarship programs, disaster recovery, and employee assistance programs to its employees, but the food donation program has also been able to donate over 104 million pounds of food to those in need.

A spokesperson for the Harlem location of Trader Joe’s said, “We’re honored and excited to be part of this community. We genuinely look forward to providing our customers with the best food and beverage values and a great customer experience.”

The company intends to back up its values by donating 100% of its unsold products to local profits and community-based organizations in the area. Through all of its locations, the company has donated more than $469 million worth of products to its extensive network of non-profit partners in the United States. The spokesperson said the Harlem site will continue the company’s tradition of donations to the community.

The Harlem Trader Joe’s is open daily from 8 A.M. to 9 P.M.