Speculation about Trader Joes in Colorado

This is all speculation, so we don't need to get into any arguments like we did last year...at least not yet. Rumor has it that Trader Joe's will be opening up shop in Boulder and that they will open their one allowed alcohol retail location next door to that location. There's also rumor of three Trader Joe's opening up in Denver. The article linked above suggests that perhaps Trader Joe's hasn't entered Colorado due to the nature of our liquor laws, which we are all familiar with from last year...that grocery and convenient stores cannot sell alcohol over 3.2% abv. This can't really be entirely true because Trader Joe's already has some locations that don't sell alcohol. Of course, the reason Trader Joe's never entered this state has never been outright stated, and this is all speculation but I just thought I'd throw it out there to you all. Who knows if we'll see a big push for the "3.2 bill" again this year or not, according to this Denver Post article, it's not really on the dockets this year and everyone is tired of fighting their side.

As an anecdote, I for one would like to have a Trader Joe's or two in Colorado Springs. In general I'm a consumer at local businesses and of local products, and I won't stop shopping at those if TJ moves in, but I think Trader Joe's plays a gigantic part in getting people to think more about what's in their food, which gets people to think a little more about where their food is coming from. So even though it may be competition for my favorite local grocery shops, I think TJ has an important role in changing people's attitudes about food and so I see the good in it.

- - -
To stay up to date with Focus on the Beer you can receive email updates and join us on our Facebook page.