April Burbank

Free Press Staff Writer

SOUTH BURLINGTON The new Trader Joe's store in South Burlington might be the only place in town where leis and orchids coexist with murals of skiing and maple syrup.

On Tuesday, the tropical-themed grocery store's employees — known in Trader Joe's parlance as the captain, mates and crew members — were busy stocking shelves and hand-painting walls and signs to prepare for Friday's grand opening.

"This is a incredible community," said captain Shawn Minihane, the manager. "It's full of foodies, you know. It's just our kind of place."

The Trader Joe's at 200 Dorset St. is the national grocery brand's first outpost in Vermont. The store managers and city officials are planning on large crowds Friday.

To manage traffic, management has enlisted the help of three South Burlington police officers at a standard off-duty rate of $40 per hour, said Detective Ron Bliss.

"We are going to do everything we can to help facilitate their opening and keep the traffic flowing," Bliss said.

Events kick off with a "lei-cutting ceremony" at 8 a.m. Friday and continue with live music performed by Trader Joe's employees, food demonstrations and face painting, Minihane said.

Minihane declined to say how many employees work at the new store.

"Well, we don't discuss how many," he said. "I can tell you that approximately 80 percent were hired through the community."

The rest, he said, already worked for Trader Joe's at other locations. Minihane is part of that group: He came to the Burlington area after managing a Trader Joe's in Albany, N.Y.

Custom murals throughout the 12,800-square-foot store depict Vermont scenes such as Church Street Marketplace in Burlington, skiing and an apple orchard.

The majority of the products on the shelves bear the Trader Joe's labels, and some local products like Vermont cheese and maple syrup are also interspersed on the shelves.

"Anything in the Trader Joe's label is not going to have any GMOs, no preservatives, no artificial flavors and no synthetic colors," Minihane said. Some products are also organic.

Consumers Union, an advocacy organization connected with Consumer Reports magazine, is pressing for more: The group launched a local advertising campaign pressuring Trader Joe's to stop selling meat from animals raised on antibiotics.

Jean Halloran, director of food policy initiatives at Consumers Union, said similar advertising campaigns have targeted Trader Joe's at a number of store openings across the country.

Kelly Adams of Essex Junction is connected with the campaign locally.

"I'm delighted that Trader Joe's is coming to town," Adams said. "And I hope they'll make a good decision about this issue. ... As they are entering the food culture of Vermont, I think we are a state that works to take these issues very seriously."

When asked to comment on the advertising campaign, Minihane said, "We just want to give the customer an option. We have conventional beef and poultry, we have organic beef and poultry, we have all-natural beef and poultry."

The Trader Joe's store is next door to Healthy Living Market and Café, but Minihane said he does not anticipate the two grocery stores being too close for comfort.

"We consider ourselves our own competition," Minihane said. "We're just happy to be here and just give customers another option."

The developer, Malone Properties, owns both the Trader Joe's and Healthy Living properties. Patrick Malone said last summer he believed Trader Joe's would actually draw customers to Healthy Living.

Malone Properties razed three single-family homes to make way for the development.

Another building on the site, expected to hold a Pier 1 store, remains under construction.

The Trader Joe's and Pier 1 developments are playing a key early role in South Burlington's plans for a new downtown: The street leading to the shopping complex is expected to be extended and become one of the main entry points to a planned City Center.

In addition, the city has said the new buildings create property value in the city's tax increment financing (TIF) district, where the city can use increased property taxes to finance public infrastructure such as roads, parking garages and sidewalks.

"This is really the beginning of City Center," said South Burlington City Manager Kevin Dorn.

Contact April Burbank at (802) 660-1863 or aburbank@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AprilBurbank