A new application points to development of a Trader Joe’s in west Little Rock.
Little Rock spokeswoman Stephanie Jackson said the city received a permit request from California-based Trader Joe's last week.
In a follow-up email, Jackson relayed that architecture firm Jeda Designs applied July 8 for a building alterations permit at 11500 Financial Centre Pkwy. The address was previously the site of a Toys R Us, which shut in 2018.
An employee of Jeda Designs said the firm, also based out of California, handles design work for Trader Joe’s. The man who filed the application declined to comment on the company’s relationship to the grocer.
Kenya Friend-Daniel, spokeswoman for Trader Joe’s, likewise declined to confirm whether Trader Joe’s was considering the Financial Centre Parkway space as a possible site for a new store.
Friend-Daniel wrote in an email that the chain is “working to bring a Trader Joe’s store to Little Rock" but said she could not provide a timeframe for the outlet.
Jackson, in a separate email, wrote that Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. has made job growth and economic development a “top priority” for the city.
“A grocer as wildly popular as Trader Joe’s deciding to locate in our city would be great news all around,” she wrote. “If and when it happens, Mayor Scott will be happy to welcome them to Little Rock.”