Dive Brief:

• Trader Joe’s opened a store in the Kenmore Village neighborhood of Buffalo area -- where local residents had lobbied the company to set up shop.
• Long lines, local dignitaries and a marching band were on hand when the store opened.
• The store is the first in the Buffalo area. Another six stores are expected to open in the region during the next five years.

Dive Insight:

Trader Joe’s tends to attract a fanatically loyal crowd. No doubt people from across Western New York and from over the Canadian border, will shop at the new location. Unfortunately Trader Joe’s also attracts a particular type of "entrepreneur" -- a guy who shops at Trader Joe’s and then drives into Canada and sells the stuff at a Pirate Joe’s market. Given that a court ruled recently that Trader Joe’s does not have legal recourse to stop such nonsense, we expect to see a new Pirate Joe’s on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls soon.