It's official: Columbia has a Trader Joe's.
At the store's opening Thursday morning, a line of shoppers stemmed from the front of the store, which is located in the Shoppes at Stadium shopping center, all the way to the nearby Old Navy.
The highly-anticipated Trader Joe’s opening in Columbia comes after years of residents asking to host a location for the store. In the meantime, to acquire Trader Joe's products, mid-Missourians have made the nearly two-hour drive to either St.Louis or Kansas City.
Makayla Miller is a Columbia Native and was the first person in line for the store opening.
“I think everyone’s going to be excited to not have to wait until the next time they go to a big city to get their Trader Joe’s fix," she said. "They can get it whenever they want."
While waiting, people discussed what foods they’d be excited to get from frozen goods, like soup dumplings, to snacks like the dark chocolate covered peanut butter cups.
Among the fans, Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe stood watching the store’s ribbon-cutting.
“I think it just shows the vibrancy and growth of Columbia,” she said. “They came here because we are a growing community and they knew that they could support this. And now we just need to find out where the second one is gonna go I guess!”
The store is open daily from 9am to 9pm.
