The Dirt: Trader Joe’s to open new store Friday on North Division

California grocery retailer Trader Joe’s opens its north Spokane store at 8 a.m. Friday in the Franklin Park Commons shopping center.

Grand opening activities for the 12,000-square-foot store, at 5520 N. Division St., will include music, food demos and giveaways. It occupies a remodeled portion of the center in a former Rite Aid space. Rite Aid moved to a stand-alone structure north of Burlington Coat Factory.

This is Trader Joe’s second Spokane location after opening its first store in October 2011 in the Lincoln Heights Village shopping center. Other regional outlets aren’t expected soon.

“It’s not in our two-year plan to open an additional location in Spokane Valley or Coeur d’Alene,” company spokeswoman Alison Mochizuki said.

Mochizuki said Trader Joe’s doesn’t disclose how many workers a store employs, but they were hired from surrounding neighborhoods. The store’s manager is Dean Gasaway, a 22-year company employee who worked in West Los Angeles.

The store’s opening is expected to energize commercial activity at the center, which has retailers Bed Bath & Beyond, Guitar Center, Ross Dress for Less and Plato’s Closet.

Kiemle & Hagood, of Spokane, is working with New York-based Kimco Realty, the center’s real estate investment trust owner, to lease five empty commercial spaces, including a 12,000-square-foot bay on the south end. An Outback restaurant recently vacated 6,425 square feet with its NorthTown Mall relocation. The other Franklin Park spaces vary in size.

Jim Quigley, a Kiemle & Hagood listing agent, said the company is fielding numerous inquiries. “We’re anticipating another national retailer going into that endcap because of the positive draw of Trader Joe’s.”

Trader Joe’s arrival on Spokane’s South Hill drew almost cultlike interest, with a Facebook fan page drawing more than 21,000 “likes.” The company began in 1958 in Southern California and now has more than 450 stores in 41 states.

Hammer coffee plans new Valley location

Spokane-based Thomas Hammer Coffee Roasters will open its 19th store in May at the corner of Sprague Avenue and Thierman Road.

The company is remodeling the 1,800-square-foot space at 6630 E. Sprague Ave. It was formerly a Starbucks.

Founded in 1993, Thomas Hammer Coffee has retail and wholesale divisions. With headquarters in downtown Spokane, its company-owned stores cover Eastern Washington, Post Falls, Hayden and Boise.

NIC building technical education center

Construction is underway for North Idaho College’s 111,000-square-foot Career and Technical Education Facility that will open this fall.

The $20 million project on Lancaster Road in Rathdrum is next to the Kootenai Technical Education Campus.

NIC’s site will offer a number of trade and industry programs, including automotive, welding, architectural and mechanical computer-aided design. The college announced a $1 million donation from J.A. and Kathryn Albertson’s Family Foundation, part of a $5 million capital campaign. NIC has other funding sources for remaining project costs.