SANTEE, Calif. — Following months of anticipation, the newest San Diego County Trader Joe’s location in Santee has been revealed.
CBS 8 has learned that the beloved grocery store, Trader Joe’s, will open a Santee location at 9680 Mission Gorge Road. Trader Joe’s will move into the former Best Buy store that has sat vacant since 2021.
“At Trader Joe's in Santee, we see ourselves as your neighborhood grocery store,” the Trader Joe’s website said.
According to Santee vice mayor, Dustin Trodder, Trader Joe's will not be occupying the entire building.
"This is 30,000 square feet here the Best Buy, which a little bit bigger than what Trader Joe's normally uses. They're only taking a portion of that. The landlord is subdividing that into a couple more suites," said Trodder.
No word yet on who will occupy those smaller suites.
Either way, neighboring businesses like 'All 4 Pets' are happy that after two and a half years, someone is finally filling the space.
"I'm super excited. Never personally been to a Trader Joe's but all of the customers are super happy about hearing it's coming to Santee," said Sabrina Brown.
Not only will having a trader joes here benefit them and others by bringing more customers in, Trodder says it will also add more tax revenue to the city.
CBS 8 has been Working for You to find out what is happening with vacant stores across the county, including in Santee.
Santee community members said they were hopeful that Trader Joe’s would be the next store to call the empty building home.
We contacted realtors for the property to find out what was happening with the empty Best Buy store.
In 2023, a Trader Joe’s spokesperson told CBS 8 that the company was working on a brand new store in Santee, but did not share the exact location or address.
The exact opening date for the Trader Joe's Santee store has not been announced.
At CBS 8, we are always Working for You and our community. This is a station promise that we will go the extra mile to solve a problem our audience can’t solve themselves. We want to hear your ideas on how we can cover and help our community. If you have a story idea, please email us at workingforyou@cbs8.com.
WATCH RELATED: Where is Trader Joe's opening in Santee?
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET CBS 8:
ADD THE CBS8+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE Roku | Amazon Fire