Over the past several months, shoppers at the East Sacramento Trader Joe’s have experienced a rollercoaster of emotions as an auxiliary parking lot meant to relieve the chaos of this notoriously crowded location has opened, closed and now reopened.
Customers have rushed back to the lot, eager to escape the gridlock of the main lot. Meghan O’Hara was one of the first to notice its reopening.
In her 24 years of driving, O’Hara said she had never been in a car accident. That changed a few months ago when she got into a fender bender in the main lot.
“I tapped another car as they were backing out,” she explained. “It was easy, thankfully not complicated, but felt very stressful. Especially because I have two toddlers, so at the same time it’s just a lot to manage.”
She said one of the reasons the accident occurred was because of how narrow the spaces are.
“I drive a minivan so I think somehow I just miscalculated last time where I was pulling in the lot and I bumped a car,” she added. “That’s not my usual M.O.”
Xeng Vang has shopped at this Trader Joe's location since she moved to Sacramento in 2006. She agreed with O'Hara's sentiments regarding the narrow lanes, noting that it makes getting her 1-year-old son in and out of the car difficult.
“There's not a lot of space in between where I can go in and out of trying to put him in the car and out of the car,” she said. “So this is nice that there's actual space out here for me to do that.”
Vang used to park at the Ace Hardware lot next door, but she stopped when she noticed the “No Trader Joe's Parking” signs.
"No Trader Joe’s parking signs" on display Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, along the fence of Ace Hardware’s parking lot in the neighboring strip mall at 5030 Folsom Blvd.(Gerardo Zavala/CapRadio)
“They kind of were regulating that so I didn't want to get in trouble,” she said.
Her husband works a block away, so she'd sometimes park at his work's parking lot and walk a block to get her groceries.
“He gets to see his dad and then we walk over here and come back,” she said. “I only come and park on this side when I'm in a rush or there's actual parking, but usually there isn't.”
However, Vang would have to limit the amount of groceries she bought when she parked this far.
“I have to walk maybe a block away, so it's harder,” she said. “But because there is access to this parking lot now, I can buy more things and be able to cart it back to this parking lot.”
Others, like Jared Danek, were glad to see the lot reopen because of how much quicker grocery trips are when not having to worry about parking.
Jared Danek loads groceries into his car Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, at Trader Joe's reopened auxiliary lot in Sacramento.(Gerardo Zavala/CapRadio)
“I was parking across the street at the [CVS] lot, but once this place first opened, it was a lifesaver,” the 25-year-old said. “There was no traffic. People were in and out. I could grab my groceries and be back within 15 minutes. Before it was a 45-minute trip, which was quite the time crunch for me in my school studies.”
The closure of the lot last August meant the Sacramento State student had to plan accordingly for long trips, which he said “was a big bummer.”
To Danek, the lot reopening was “a saving grace,” especially for those shopping between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., which he described as the busiest times.
“It was like a gift from god,” he emphasized.
Is this permanent?
CapRadio reached out to Trader Joe's and the owner of the auxiliary parking lot, but both refused to comment.
Nakia Rohde, Trader Joe's public relations manager, directed people to an Inside Trader Joe’s podcast episode explaining why parking at Trader Joe’s is so bad, but wouldn't answer if the grocery chain is planning on purchasing the lot to make it a permanent addition.
A raised chain with a sign reading "No parking any time" Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, at the old location of Burr’s Fountain at 4920 Folsom Blvd. in Sacramento.(Gerardo Zavala/CapRadio)
Despite rumors from staff that the lot had changed ownership, Ridge Capital Principal Michael Diepenbrock confirmed that he has been the sole owner of the property for several years. However, he did not want to speak about the lot or what led to its reopening.
Diepenbrock also confirmed that Trader Joe's had canceled the lease "much to [their] disappointment last August, which led to the six-month-long closure of the lot.
Turton Commercial Real Estate represents the property for Diepenbrock and Ridge Capital, but also didn't want to provide comments regarding the matter after speaking with Diepenbrock.
As of now, the lot — including the building that used to house Burr's Fountain — can be purchased for $2 million. Turton Real Estate representatives posted an Instagram reel last month advertising the space.
The website also lists the price of leasing the property at $4.98 per square foot a month. Assuming Trader Joe's is paying to lease the entire property, which is 1,705 square feet, the grocery store is likely spending close to $8,500 a month.
Danek said he understood if Trader Joe's closed the lot because of the cost of leasing it, but said he'd be willing to spend more if that meant getting access to it.
“With it now being open, I think everybody is pretty happy,” he stressed. “If they have to raise the price of groceries, raise the price of groceries because I'm not shopping anywhere else, baby. Trader Joe's!”
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