While Trader Joe's has yet to utter a word about expansion plans in San Francisco, it looks like the company is serious about opening a new location in the heart of downtown.

On May 9th, the grocer submitted a liquor license application for 10 Fourth St.—a 21,000-square-foot basement below Old Navy, which lies at the intersection of the always-bustling Union Square and ever-growing Mid-Market and SoMa neighborhoods.

Just a few months ago, we reported that Trader Joe's requested a meeting with the Planning Department to find out what type of approvals would be needed to sell groceries and alcohol in this location. Those talks went well, it seems.

We've reached out to Trader Joe's for comment and have not received a response, perhaps due to the fact that the company has been dealing with a series of produce recalls due to fears of listeria monocytogenes contamination. The recalls, affecting stores in California and four other West Coast states, began May 3rd and continued early this week.

Regardless, those already dreaming up the ways a downtown Trader Joe's will change their habits —or vowing to stay true to their current supplier—may be interested in this recent [unscientific] report by MarketWatch. The national news site compared the prices of 14 products at Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Safeway and Target to see which offered the best bargain. Spoiler alert: Trader Joe's won by a landslide—which could be a boon for longtime residents of the Tenderloin, who've yet to receive a full-service grocer in their nearby neighborhood despite Supervisor Jane Kim's efforts to lure one in.