Photo Friday by Pinch
A one-off store on Union Square opens today for the Trader Joe's brand.
Trader Joe's Pronto is a grab-pay-and-go concept at 138 E. 14th St. at Irving Place (inside TJ's former wine store and steps away from the Trader Joe's at 142 E. 14th St.).
"Trader Joe's Pronto is a one-of-a-kind extension of our store in Union Square," a company spokesperson told EVG. "This additional space allows us to carry more of the products our customers in this neighborhood purchase daily."
The idea is that TJ's shoppers can get items in a hurry for, say, lunch and dinner and not have to wait in longer lines with customers shopping for the week.
And there aren't any other Prontos planned for now.
The spokesperson said, "We do not have plans to open additional Trader Joe's Pronto markets in New York or elsewhere in the country."
TJ's Pronto hours:10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
The wine shop, representing the brand's only liquor license in New York State, abruptly closed on Aug. 11, 2022, after 15-plus years in business. Workers here reportedly planned to unionize when the company announced the closure.
Since the shop closed, Trader Joe's has held onto the space for storage at the base of NYU's Palladium Hall. At the time, the company announced that the "space currently used for the wine shop will be used to improve the overall operations of store 540, our grocery store in Union Square."
In a statement to Gothamist, a company spokesperson said that its decision to close the store had nothing to do with the unionizing efforts. The spokesperson called the outpost an "underperforming wine shop," which anyone who saw the lines out the door disagreed with.
Last fall, EVG readers noticed activity inside the 138 E. 14th St. space, fueling speculation of a wine store comeback. Perhaps they were planning for Pronto.
As CNBC noted in 2021, TJ's founder Joe Coulombe previously ran a chain of convenience stores in California called Pronto Markets, though they couldn't compete against the likes of 7-Eleven.
Updated 4:30 p.m.
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) released this statement:
"Trader Joe's decision to open a new store in place of its former wine shop, after displacing its former staff without warning, is a giant slap in the face. We are disappointed, but not surprised, to learn that the space has been filled before reopening our shop. While management claims to be searching for a new location to move its successful wine store, they've been content to let its former location lay empty for almost 2 years as an alleged cost-saving measure."We believe Trader Joe's is doing everything in its power to prevent a profitable unionized shop from reopening. We refuse to let Trader Joe's continue to get away with their egregious and illegal union-busting tactics."
Trader Joe's is part of a far-right lawsuit, along with Amazon, Starbucks and Elon Musk's SpaceX, hoping Trumper judges will rule the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) unconstitutional, eliminating all enforcement of labor rights nationally and threatening our entire regulatory structure. I would urge everyone never to purchase from them. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/10/starbucks-trader-joes-spacex-challenge-labor-board
ReplyDeleteAnd you can donate to the union here:
ReplyDeletehttps://traderjoesunited.org/
They also have merch.
I miss trader joes wine shop, always went there for holidays and whenever I needed a bottle of wine for cooking.
ReplyDeleteDamn peak predatory capitalism! Trader Joe's is part of that obscene NLRB lawsuit too! The original owners would be so against that. Oh no, between that and their union busting, such as the (under performing my a##) wine shop and whats going on with the union busting down at their Essex Street place, I may have to forego shopping there. So hard to do given the prices in NYC. So disappointed.
ReplyDeleteFar-right lawsuit? There was a complaint filed by the National Labor Relations Board alleging that Trader Joe's closed to prevent the workers from unionizing and fired a union supporter for spreading "false information". They are demanding TJ's reopen and reimburse workers for lost wagers.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to them. I miss the wine shop which supposedly sold more than double the amount of goods per square foot than its rivals.
I wonder if their restrooms will be available to customers.
ReplyDeleteCarlo, I believe they are saying Trader Joe's filed the far-right absurd lawsuit claiming the NLRB is unconstitutional. The union filed a different lawsuit that you're speaking about. it seems (so far) everyone in this comments section is on the same page that Trader Joe's behavior in the face of workers organizing has been awful. EVG is one of the few comment sections I actually read because the community here (usually) has a good heart!
ReplyDeleteThere is no reason for Trader Joe's employees to unionize. The starting salary is higher than other grocery stores, employees get raises twice a year, an extra $10 an hour on Sundays, and 20% off their purchases.
ReplyDeleteWith that being said this whole wine store situation is fishy.
Oh great, more poor quality food infiltrating the community. No thank you.
ReplyDelete