BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Trader Joe's will open its first Alabama store in Birmingham in 2015.

The Birmingham store will be at The Summit Shopping Center. The store will be approximately 12,600 square feet in size.

The company today said the store will open in the second half of next year.

In 2013, AL.com readers said the store was the retailer they most wanted in Alabama.

The company today issued this press release:

"The "Trader" in Trader Joe's refers to the way the company blazed a distinct trail through the grocery industry, searching the world for great values and distinctive products. Store employees, dubbed "Crew Members," consider themselves "traders on the culinary high seas." Crew Members sport brightly colored Hawaiian-themed shirts, adding to the friendly and light-hearted air of the store.

Many area residents after the store opens can expect to receive a copy of the Trader Joe's "Fearless Flyer" in their mailboxes. The Fearless Flyer is a somewhat irreverent description of a timely selection of Trader Joe's products. It's been called a cross between Consumer Reports and Mad Magazine. Each edition highlights a selection of Trader Joe's products that the company buyers believe are worthy of customer interest, including comfort foods and items that are organic or have other special attributes.

Trader Joe's carries an extensive array of domestic and imported foods and beverages including fresh baked artisan breads, Arabica bean coffees, international frozen entrees, 100% juices, fresh crop nuts, deli items, and vitamins and supplements, as well as the basics, like milk and eggs - all at honest, low prices.

Trader Joe's is truly a grocery store unlike any other. Trader Joe's is a "store of stories," meaning every item in the store has its own virtues -- high quality ingredients, great flavor or simply an extraordinary price -- many items often feature all of those qualities. Another significant point of difference, all of Trader Joe's prices are everyday prices. Trader Joe's doesn't have "sales" for a few days, only to hike the prices back up again. Their prices change only when their costs change -- there are no fancy promotions, discount cards or couponing wars."