Written by Renton citizens are doing their part to try to persuade Trader Joes to open at the Landing. Here is an email chain I received from a friend, which includes a link to a Traders Joes request page (sponsored by Trader Joes Company).
If you want a Treader Joes at the Landing, you may want to go to this page and register your support.
Thanks,
Randy
————– Forwarded Message: ————–
From: Jennifer Douwes
Subject: Fwd: Trader Joes in Renton
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2008 21:43:49 +0000
Hi guys – I got this email from a friend and I really want a Trader Joe’s here so if you all could take a minute and follow the link and tell them you too want one here, maybe just maybe we’ll make a difference. OH and pass it on!See below and follow the link if you would like to see a Trader Joe’s here in Renton!!!!!!
I got this from a friend of mine here in Renton – if you are interested in having a Trader Joes in Renton, read on. ~L
Hello,
Greg had a lunch meeting today with the owners/developers of The Landing in Renton (off exit 5). He had really good discussions with them about their progress and was pleased to learn they are really pushing for some smaller stores to open and are planning on making it more walkable. Greg was given a tour of the development including inside the new movie theaters which he said they were really nice. They explained their vision for The Landing and Greg was encouraged that they don’t see the current Landing as the final product. The big box stores were built first to actually fund some of the later development, and the walking area (scheduled to be about 80 stores) will open for the first time in mid-October. They did say they are having a hard time attracting some of the smaller stores in this economic downturn and the final product in the near term will depend greatly on the current economy, but he was very optimistic after speaking
with them. Anyway, there are more details but I mainly wanted to
email you about Trader Joes. Some of you don’t live in Renton, but
if you have friends that do, they might be interested in this. They have been
trying very hard to get a Trader Joes to come to the Landing and have
not been successful, because, in a nutshell, the next closest Trader Joes (in Burien) has not been making money, so they are reluctant to open up in Renton. The owners of the Landing even offered to purchase the 18-year lease that TJ’s currently has in Burien. TJ’s is concerned that since they are losing money in Burien, they will also do so here, but the owners are trying to convince them that the communities are very different. They asked Greg to assist in getting people to contact Trader Joe to encourage a store
opening there and seemed to think local requests would go a long way to
help change their minds. I figured all of you would be thrilled to see a Trader
Joe go in there, so, if you have a few minutes, click on the link below, it’s a brief online form to fill out for a location request:http://www.traderjoes.com/location_requests_form.aspx
Hello from a fairly new Rentonite. I used to live at 95 Burnett, but recently bought a house up on Renton hill. I found your LJ via the Renton community, so I figured I’d add you as a friend. I’m quite interested in local government, and I’m planning to get involved at some point.
A question – what’s going on at the Landing? I saw pickets out front on my way by this morning. A labor dispute I take it, but I haven’t heard anything else. Any scoop?
First! Welcome to Renton! You will love living on Renton Hill…it’s a wonderful community.
Council received a memo about the labor dispute at the Landing, which is linked to one of the sub-contractors of the builder. I don’t have the memo at hand, the same information can be obtained in this Redmond Reporter article here. Note the article is from Redmond, not Renton, but explains the labor dispute at the Renton Landing site.
I just submitted my request! I let them know that Burien is best known for its meth labs, international airport, and difficult-to-reach location. I also pointed out that we’d be more likely to go to Bellevue or Issaquah before even thinking about driving to Burien.
By the way — is there a reason why the official hamster cage liner, err.. “Official Newspaper” of Renton can’t even report news about Renton? Why is that stuff showing up in the Redmond reporter? At least the Renton Reporter is showing up again. Next time the “official newspaper” issue comes up, please advocate for a real paper. Hell, I’d even go for The Stranger, or The Little Nickel over the Renton Reporter. (sorry, off-topic rant… getting off soapbox)
Thanks for the Welcome. I love this community already. It’s interesting that I ended up here, as my great grandfather and his family is buried in the cemetery just off of 4th Street.
Thanks for the link – I will definitely check it out.
Welcome to Renton Hill! It’s a truly special community up here.
Thanks! I take it you’re up here as well?
Yep! It’s amazing how many of my neighbors I’ve gotten to know in the 3 years I’ve been here. It’s really a close-knit neighborhood (for those who want to socialize), and there’s a very interesting mix of people, architectural styles, income levels, and ages. Definitely not a cookie-cutter subdivision (except for the Heritage Garden Estates on the other side of the park).
You mean the McMansion estates? I enjoyed going to a garage sale up there, but I like it on the side of the hill better. I’m not a big fan of the suburbs, but Renton Hill seems different (I was also looking downtown or north renton).
I’m looking forward to getting to know people here – I’ve now met a lot of my neighbours, and you’re right, it really is a great mix. It’s too bad I moved in just after the block party.
Yep, I don’t mean to offend anyone who might live there, but those homes are pretty darn McMansioney, mostly due to the fact that they’re so friggin’ close to one another. But, whatever floats people’s boats. I’m sure they’re really nice inside.
If you haven’t already done so, be sure to check out all the cool trails in the “Power Lines” area past the park. There are some excellent mountain biking trails that are well-maintained and locally famous. Here’s a satellite view of the area:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=renton,+wa&ie=UTF8&ll=47.470487,-122.192516&spn=0.009892,0.014505&t=h&z=16
Seattle is making some strides to stop the McMansions and Garage Mahals…
Randy (if you’re listening), can we incorporate Seattle’s new rules into our building code? We’d have to fight off the builders associations….
Or am I out of line and these things are good for Renton?
Garage Mahals. Hadn’t heard that one!
Do you guys get ice on the road up there that keeps you trapped?
If you do…. these things are awesome: http://www.autosock.co.uk/
To some degree, yes, but the city always opens the gate to Beacon Way as an alternate exit. I usually park at the bottom of the hill by the railroad tracks whenever snow is predicted, then walk up the hill. Two years ago, when we had that traffic nightmare snow storm around Thanksgiving, my mom was visiting, and were stuck on the hill the day she was flying home. So, we wrapped her suitcase in plastic, made a handle out of rope, and pulled it down the ice-encrusted sidewalk, all the way to the transit center, where she hopped a bus (with chains on) to the airport. It was quite an adventure.
The AutoSock looks like a great idea! They sell them on Amazon, so I just added it to my wish list for Christmas. 🙂
I’ve had a chance to walk up there at night only. I need to get home earlier, and not be so busy on the weekends. 🙂
Do bikers object to hikers on the trails? I like to walk…
Most of the trails are more like dirt roads, and people use them for walking and running, too. The bike trails are all twisty and random, with obstacles and ramps, so you’ll know if you’re on one. Any trail that looks like it actually goes somewhere (rather than looping around like a maze) is safe to walk on! Do you have a dog?
I do have a dog – two actually. While it’s nice that they have a yard (I used to live in an apartment), they still like to walk. Do you have a dog?
Yep, I sure do have a pooch! She’s a new addition to the family, and she’s awesome. If you see what looks an adorable little yellow lab/shepherd/boxer mix walking her human companion, that’s us. The park at the top of the hill is a fun place for dog socializing, but the football practices pretty much takes up the entire evenings now. An off-leash dog park is apparently going to be created at the bottom of the hill, close to where 405 crosses the Cedar River. I’m really looking forward to that.
I heard that there was going to be a new off leash area – that’s awesome that it’s going to be so close. A walk down to get excited, and a walk back up to cool down.
If you see someone with two dogs – a terrier mut and a pug mut, that’s us. My name’s Erick, so feel free to say hello!
Will do!
No mercer island for TJ
A friend touched base with one of the TJ’s high-mucky-mucks. Apparently Mercer Island doesn’t have enough people to support a TJ’s. They need 50,000 people to go through the store per month because their margins are so low.
I’m starting not to care much anymore: We have Marilyns Produce, Green Fresh, Sam’s Club,Thriftway and Viet Wah too. We have everything from dirt cheap to gourmet right here already.
Check this place out if you haven’t:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/marilyns-produce-renton
I am thankful for the new things I learned reading your post. I have been reading a lot on here and have picked up some great ideas.
markets
Trader Joe’s in Renton
Yes! It’s a long drive from here to Burien or Issaquah. Bring Trader Joe’s to Renton.