Whenever a business unfortunately closes in Reading, the running joke is that a Trader Joe’s would be perfect for that location or another bagel place. So when Staples at Walker’s Brook drive closed last month, the rumor mill once again started….
34 Walker’s Brook Drive, is conveniently located just off Route 128, nearer to Interstate 93 than Burlington (the closest Trader Joe’s), with straightforward access from North Street/Walker Brook Drive. The location would be perfect for Trader Joe’s, just like “all the other ones” were. The rumor was sadly shot down during the June 10, 2025 Select Board meeting when Co-Chair Christopher Haley, asked Economic Director Kevin McCarthy if Trader Joe’s was coming to Reading. Kevin heard nothing about it. Chris went on to say that if Kevin got Trader Joe’s to add a location there, “he’d get a parade in Reading”.
Fast forward to July 12th and in a Reading Facebook group, a post was made stating “It’s official Trader Joe’s is coming to Reading permits have been issued….”. This individual was emphatic that it was happening and was the same person in back in May that started the rumor they were going there in the first place. Still, there was no hint on the official Trader Joe’s page. So we decided to look into it.
We reached out to Trader Joe’s Public Media Relations, and this is the comment they provided to us yesterday:
We are actively looking at hundreds of neighborhoods across the country as we hope to open more new neighborhood stores each year. At this time, we do not have a location confirmed in Reading, MA. We list all of the stores that are opening soon on our website.
As of July, there were no permits pulled or even approved for anyone at 34 Walker’s Brook drive. What there was though was an under the radar CPDC agenda item from last week that simply requested: 34 Walker’s Brook Drive, Delivery Hours. The letter on the town’s website for the meeting is attached below.
The issue was that deliveries specific to 34 Walker’s Brook Drive were limited to a 9am start time only for that single storefront, the others were unaffected. That changed when CPDC voted 4-0 to modify the hours for commercial delivery to 6am – 11pm.
And with that, CPDC may have inadvertently set the stage for Trader Joe’s to finally come to Reading…. or not. Only time will tell and we’ll be sure to keep you updated.
