The Busiest Trader Joe's In The World Is In This Iconic City

The Upper West Side has long been known for its food culture, especially along its main thoroughfare, Broadway. Fairway, the fruit and vegetable stand turned grocery store, has been on 74th and Broadway since 1954. The flagship store for Citarella, the tiny seafood shop turned specialty market, is on 75th and Broadway. And Zabar's, the specialty store and smoked fish emporium, opened its doors on 81st and Broadway in 1934. So, it was no surprise when Trader Joe's opened its second store in New York City, it chose Broadway and 72nd Street. What it might not have anticipated is that it would eventually become the chain's busiest Trader Joe's store in the world.

Trader Joe's opened the store in 2010, just four years after opening its first New York City location on 14th Street, not far from Union Square, to much enthusiasm. A little more than a decade later, the chain announced the store as its busiest location, requiring three times the number of checkout stands and three times the number of crew members. According to the Daily Mail, the store takes up 12,500 square feet, in line with the retailer's average store size of 10,000 to 15,000 square feet. The chain hasn't said recently whether the store still tops its list, but a cashier did tell a local publication that it is usually one of the three busiest, vying for the top spot with other Manhattan locations.

Trader Joe's is known to open stores in historic buildings, like an art deco theater in Houston, a bank in Brooklyn, and an armory in Media, Pennsylvania. But, even though the Upper West Side has its share of turn-of-the-century landmarks, that specific Trader Joe's is located in a modern luxury apartment building that opened around the same year as the store. Four escalators, including one just for shopping carts, help shoppers navigate the cramped aisles. Still, the store does make a nod to its location by parodying the posters of Broadway shows, even if that Broadway is 30 blocks south. It's a local touch for a store that has California roots and German ownership (Trader Joe's is owned by Aldi North, one of the two separate businesses that operate Aldi supermarkets globally).

New Yorkers are grateful they don't have to be one of eight states without a Trader Joe's, even if checkout lines often snake throughout the Upper West Side store. Still, the lines are not quite as long now that a second Upper West Side location opened on 92nd Street and Columbus Avenue, and savvy New Yorkers know it's best to shop at Trader Joe's on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Unfortunately for Trader Joe's, the 72nd Street store will soon have some tough competition. Wegmans, the privately-held East Coast supermarket chain that also boasts high quality and consistently low prices, is due for its own Broadway opening. The retailer, which has one other store in Manhattan, recently leased a nearly 59,000-square-foot space between West 64th and 65th streets that was once a Bed Bath & Beyond.