Trader Joe's in Whittier: Too close for comfort?

The prospect of Trader Joe's expanding its empire to Minneapolis' Whittier neighborhood is creating a buzz -- and it's not entirely harmonious.

The budget gourmet grocer would be part of a development to be built on Lyndale Avenue near 22nd Street, a short distance from the Wedge Community Co-op and Hum's Liquor Store. Managers of the stores, both longtime neighborhood fixtures, say their businesses will be seriously hurt if Trader Joe's is allowed to move in.

And, they say, it would have an unfair competitive advantage. The reason: The proposed Trader Joe's, like its other area stores, would sell wine and beer in an adjacent shop with a separate entrance. The Wedge can't do that, because it's too close to Hum's. A law requires off-sale liquor stores in the city to be at least 2,000 feet from each other.

But a bill working its way through the Legislature would allow the city to grant a variance specifically at the Lyndale site. Last week, the City Council narrowly voted to support the state bill. If it becomes law, the council would still have to consider whether to grant the variance allowing the off-sale wine and beer store.

"It would be a severe blow," said Mike Mackey, who owns and operates Hum's with his sister, Laurie. Granting the variance would make his store, which their parents opened in 1963, the only one in Minneapolis having to compete with another off-sale store so near.

Lindy Bannister, general manager of the Wedge, estimates her sales would drop by 20 to 30 percent. "Under the current law, we are not allowed to sell wine or beer, but the Trader Joe's would be," she said. "It's not a level playing field."

Trader Joe's has declined to confirm plans for a store at the Lyndale site. The California-based chain has 325 stores nationwide, including locations in St. Louis Park, Maple Grove, Woodbury and an outlet set to open this summer in St. Paul.

He declined to confirm Trader Joe's would be part of the development, saying he is prohibited from discussing prospective commercial tenants with the media. But at a Monday meeting of the Whittier Alliance, a neighborhood group, Dzuik confirmed that a Trader Joe's would be part of the project.

Erica Christ, board chair of the group, said the project got both positive and negative reactions at the meeting. "It was a pretty balanced discussion," she said.

The issue of allowing wine and beer sales didn't appear to concern most people, Christ said. Most opposition centered on whether a large project would displace some small businesses and add more traffic to an already busy area, she said.

"I would be surprised if it made much difference in the Wedge's business; they're totally different stores," Christ said. Comments on the co-op's website seeking reaction echo that sentiment, with some people saying they would shop at both grocery stores.

In an interview, Dzuik said the development would include 58 condominium units and up to 20,000 square feet of street-level commercial space. It would occupy the same block as Le Parisien, a 13-unit housing development he completed last year.

Dzuik said he has a hard time agreeing with the Wedge's objections to the new project, because at one time the co-op considered putting a wine bar and off-sale liquor store in Le Parisien -- a move that would have required the same type of variance the Wedge now opposes for the Trader Joe's. Bannister said the co-op only considered the wine bar and off-sale store briefly before deciding to focus on expanding other parts of its business, such as online sales.

City Council Member Robert Lilligren, who represents the Whittier area, said Dzuik will need to pay about $40,000 in taxes, interest and penalties on Le Parisien before the new project can be approved. Dzuik said he intends to do that.

Lilligren said the council could still deny the variance for the off-sale liquor store. "But the debate on the merits of the project, including the [off-sale] licensing issue, can't take place unless the state law passes," he said.