‘It's coming up in the world,’ Merriam is getting an Aldi and Trader Joe's after years without a grocery store

KSHB 41 reporter Olivia Acree covers portions of Johnson County, Kansas, including Olathe and Lenexa. Share your story idea with Olivia.

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After almost a decade without a grocery store, Merriam is getting two. Aldi will move into the former OfficeMax at Merriam Town Center, while Trader Joe's continues moving in just down the road at Shawnee Mission Parkway and Antioch.

Trader Joe's signs went up last week, and the city expects a fall opening. Aldi should be done by the end of the year.

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The last grocery store left in 2018. Crystal Fisher, a Merriam resident, said the community has felt the absence.

"We go all the way out to Shawnee Mission Parkway to go to Aldi," Fisher said.

Merriam Assistant City Administrator Caitlin Gard said the community led the charge getting these stores.

"Merriam hasn't had a grocery store since 2018 and ever since then, we've heard from our community that that's something that was a priority for them," Gard said.

Even though Aldi will be located in a new community improvement district, or CID, Gard said there will be no additional sales tax there.

"It's a very big priority for the council to not have additional sales taxes on groceries," Gard said.

Aldi and Trader Joe's have been reported to have started in the same family in Germany, though the companies are run separately in the United States. That proximity has the Fishers wondering about competition.

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"It's amazing how they've decided to stay connected and so close, being that they're going to be competing," Fisher said.

Gard said the two stores serve different audiences.

"Trader Joe's is kind of a specialty grocery store, whereas Aldi is just an everyday grocery store that even I shop at," Gard said.

Aldi is the first step in a larger revitalization plan for Merriam Town Center.

"Over the course of the next few years, you'll see more improvements," Gard said. “However, our biggest priority, and the developers biggest priority, is the grocery store.”

The investments are expected to continue attracting change beyond the grocery stores. For Fisher, the changes are a welcome sign.

"It's coming up in the world," Fisher said.

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