Bradenton area Trader Joe’s announces hiring fair as store moves closer to opening date
Trader Joe’s has announced that it’s holding a hiring fair for its first grocery in Manatee County.
The three-day hiring fair is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 9, through Wednesday, Oct. 11, at 8111 Cooper Creek Blvd.
Candidates unable to attend the hiring fair can also apply online at traderjoes.com/careers. Starting pay is listed at $16 to $18 per hour.
The still-to-open grocery is in the The Shoppes at University Town Center shopping center.
“We are getting closer to being able to announce an opening date and I will let you know as soon as we do. The store is still not quite photo ready. However, we are looking to hire 40-plus local crew members,” a company spokesperson said in an email.
Trader Joe’s confirmed to the Bradenton Herald in May that it planned to open the store north of University Parkway and west of Interstate 75 by the end of the year.
The announcement in May came after weeks of intense speculation on social media that the long wished-for grocery was finally coming to the Bradenton area.
The first Trader Joe’s opened in Pasadena, California, in 1967.
The Sarasota Trader Joe’s opened in 2012 at 4101 S. Tamiami Trail in 2012. At the time, it was only the second Trader Joe’s in Florida. The first was in Naples. The Bradenton store is the company’s 23rd in Florida.
Trader Joe’s has a fervent following, as reflected in the Bradenton Herald story from 2012 when the Sarasota store opened: “Thousands from the Manatee and Sarasota counties packed the aisles of Trader Joe’s during its grand opening Friday, which drew an estimated 3,000 shoppers.”
