The busiest Trader Joe’s location is shutting its doors — for now.
The Upper West Side store at West 72nd Street and Broadway is closing temporarily for “major renovation plans” starting next month.
According to a physical sign sitting outside the store, their last day open will be May 17.
“We promise not to be gone too long & will reopen as soon as we can!” the sign read. “This is not a goodbye but a see you later!”
A spokesperson for Trader Joe’s told West Side Rag that the closure will last for “several months” and they will reopen “as soon as we possibly can.”
“We will be updating a lot, including refrigeration and vertical transportation,” Nakia Rohde, a Trader Joe’s spokesperson, told WSR via email. “All the changes are to improve the in-store experience for our customers and Crew.”
Rohde added that some of the Trader Joe’s employees working at that UWS location will continue to work for the grocer at surrounding stores.
The colossal 12,500-square-foot location is “hands down the busiest Trader Joe’s in the world,” according to Trader Joe’s itself.
Two blocks from Central Park, the store covers two stories — or three, if you count the entrance — and is serviced by two elevators and four escalators, including a specific escalator just for shopping carts.
The location has three times as many checkstands and crew members as a typical Trader Joe’s.
Given the wear and tear of heavy foot traffic, it seems the store was due for an upgrade — and that doesn’t appear to be a complete surprise to those in the neighborhood.
The Rag started to receive emails from locals regarding a potential closing starting in September 2025. They noted that a clerk or manager at the store had told customers that the outpost would close for renovations in the near future.
“A store manager told me the other day at the Trader Joe’s on 72nd Broadway that it will be closing in its entirety to replace all the escalators, elevator and remodel the store,” one person emailed West Side Rag in September.
Nevertheless, loyal T. Joe’s shoppers were devastated to hear about the closure.
“This is a catastrophe. Please respect our privacy during this difficult time,” wrote one New Yorker on X.
Lamented another, “Yikes. The one on Columbus is going to be even more crazy now.”