Wilmington puts out a plea for a Trader Joe's, and asks residents to help

Do you wish there was a Trader Joe's in downtown Wilmington? 

Time to make it happen. 

The city of Wilmington on Wednesday asked local residents to help it get the "fresh format" grocery chain's attention. 

"#ItsTimeWilmDE for a Trader Joe's we can walk to in downtown Wilmington," the city posted, along with a link at which people can formally request that Trader Joe's builds a new location in their neighborhood. 

(Go to www.traderjoes.com/contact-us/location-request to make your appeal.)

Typically, Trader Joe's is pretty judicious about where it opens new locations. 

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But it does let fans make requests online. All you have to do is visit their website and fill out a form with your name, contact information, city and state.

You can also add a few comments to support your case. The Daily Meal, a site for foodies, recommends being as specific as possible and including reasons why a Trader Joe's would do well in your city, such as a lack of supermarkets, a large population, economic growth and more.  

"There are no guarantees," Trader Joe's says online. "But being wanted matters to us." 

What could Trader Joe's mean for Wilmington? 

Right now the closest supermarket to downtown Wilmington is a ShopRite on Walnut Street, across the Christina River. 

Further away, there is an Acme in Trolley Square, a  Save-A-Lot in Hilltop and a Food Lion on Governor Printz Boulevard, as well as The Fresh Grocer in Adams Four Plaza and the 7 Day Farmers Market just outside the city's western boundary. 

John Rago, deputy chief of staff for the mayor's office, said Trader Joe's would be "a good fit for a growing and prospering city" like Wilmington. He said the hope is Trader Joe's sees the social media post and gets enough responses from the online form that it is interested in opening a store. 

Allison Karpyn, an associate professor at the University of Delaware who served as the director of research and evaluation at The Food Trust in Philadelphia for 11 years, says Wilmington could definitely use a new grocery store. 

Parts of the city are considered "food deserts," which means there aren't enough places for families to buy affordable, nutritious food. More than 65 percent of Wilmington residents live more than a half-mile away from the nearest grocery store, according to Wilmington Green Box. It's a nonprofit that supplies urban city communities with access to cold-pressed juices and healthy goods. 

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While living next to grocery stores doesn't necessarily mean you'll be healthier — people need to know the food is there before they can start thinking about eating better— research has found that being able to buy fresh food can reduce violence and make people more invested in their community.

Rago said the city has made good progress toward expanding the range of healthy food options in Wilmington. He mentioned, among other things, the downtown farmer's market on Wednesdays during the spring and summer, smaller neighborhood farmers markets, a number of community gardens, Wilmington Green Box and the new Faire Market & Cafe, which is like a mini Trader Joe's where you can get a few items you need for the house, as well as hot foods to take out or eat in.

Something like Trader Joe's could have a big impact on the city, Karpyn said. 

For one, new grocery stores usually mean new jobs. 

"Not only are they good jobs, but they're important jobs for people who may be coming out of the criminal justice system," she said. 

Supermarkets are often "anchor" stores, too, she said, which means they can spur retail development.

“What we wouldn’t want to happen is for a store to come in and close or for a store to come in and really struggle," Karpyn said. 

That could be a death knell of sorts, discouraging other grocery stores from picking the area, she said. 

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In many ways, the Trader Joe's "request a location" form isn't a bad idea, she said. If there really is a strong feeling that it’s the right store at the right time, it could be more successful. 

Ways Wilmington could get a boost

Both Trader Joe's and Whole Foods have been tied to an increase in home values, according to a 2016 study by online real estate company Zillow. 

Between 1997 and 2014, homes near the two grocery chains were consistently worth more than the median U.S. home. By the end of 2014, homes within a mile of either store were worth more than twice as much as the median home in the rest of the country.

"Like Starbucks, the stores have become an amenity in their own right – a signal to the home-buying public that the neighborhood they're located in is desirable, perhaps up-and-coming, and definitely improving," Zillow Group Chief Economist Stan Humphries said in a press release. 

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Though Trader Joe's is sometimes associated with gentrification, Karpyn said grocery stores increasingly tailor themselves to the communities they're located in, sometimes with different formats or a slightly different selection of products. 

“It would be too quick to know whether or not putting a Trader Joe’s in this particular location is going to be a gentrifying element or not," she said. 

Contact Jessica Bies at (302) 324-2881 or jbies@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @jessicajbies.