Trader Joe’s once appeared to be coming to Crystal City. But that effort seems to have quietly come to an end.
A little over a year ago, a construction permit application filed for 2450 Crystal Drive explicitly said that the grocer was coming to the property. In March, a liquor license application confirmed the same.
As of Monday, however, the liquor license application had been taken down from the Virginia ABC website. The construction permit application has also been revised, removing the mention of Trader Joe’s for an unnamed “future grocery store tenant.”
The building’s owner did not respond to a request for comment. If plans exist for a new Trader Joe’s store in Arlington — or did at one point — the grocery store has also not publicly acknowledged them.
“We are actively looking at hundreds of neighborhoods across the country, including Arlington, as we hope to open more new neighborhood stores each year,” a company spokesperson told ARLnow, each time we asked about the potential store. “At this time, we do not have a location confirmed in Arlington.”
ARLnow first heard last month that the new Trader Joe’s might have been nixed.
“[An employee] said that the Crystal City location has been scrapped by the company,” a tipster told ARLnow in mid-May. “His understanding is that the reason has something to do with the delivery trucks. Apparently, they would not be allowed at the building or in the general area for some reason.”
The supposed truck restrictions could not be independently confirmed. It’s also unclear whether Trader Joe’s would resume efforts to open in the area at a later time or in a different location.
If the company’s move into Crystal City is off the table, the decision is particularly disappointing to a neighborhood long considered a grocery store desert.
The area’s lone grocery store was an Amazon Fresh at 1550 Crystal Drive that shuttered in April after less than two years in business. Now, residents must again head to Pentagon City or Potomac Yard to shop a traditional supermarket.
Currently, a Clarendon location is Trader Joe’s only presence in Arlington. The company has a handful of other D.C.-area locations, including five in the District.
