Trader Joe’s grocery store may open in St. Paul

A public hearing was held at the Ramsey County Courthouse to discuss a rezoning proposal to make way for a Trader Joe’s grocery store in St. Paul’s Highland Park neighborhood. St. Paul’s City Council postponed a key vote until Wednesday, Jan. 9th. The popular national grocery chain, known for off-beat marketing and select discount items wants to build a 14,000-square-foot store on the southeast corner of Lexington Parkway and Randolph Avenue just west of Interstate 35E. The popularity of its suburban sites has fostered concerns of heavy traffic in the area along with the uncertainty of what demolishing several homes would do to the neighborhood. The store needs at least five votes on the seven-member City Council for zoning approval that would allow the development in the largely residential neighborhood.