Our pal, Deep Joanna, wrote with news from the first Trader Joe’s in Brooklyn, which is set to open on Friday September, 26th in the landmark Independence Bank building at the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Court Street

Suffice it to say, Deep Joanna is relieved to report that it looks like the elevator should be completed by late Thursday the 25th, just in time for Friday’s opening. It’s been a real nail-biter as to whether it would be finished. This elevator brings products to and from the deep freezer in the basement or lower level of the store.

Our source reports that the brass doors on Atlantic Avenue—not the front doors—are said to have cost more than the elevator This high cost may have something to do with the landmark status of the building, she conjectures.

Because of its size, the Atlantic Avenue store will be the flagship store for the East Coast region. Much of the square footage is outside of the customer’s view: upstairs there are several office spaces and a huge area for crew member tastings.

Says Deep Joanna, the lower level is big enough to hold the Union Square store in, including two large conference rooms for training. There’s also an art department, which DJ says is about the size of a studio or 1BR apt.

According to Deep Joanna there is an old safe that the company still doesn’t know what to do with. She suggests that it be used for an indoor gym.

There will be about 18 registers to ring up orders from customers. Hey, that’s more than the Food Coop.

According to DJ, Union Square was the learning curve for New York City; mistakes were made with the layout and square footage allotted for both crew members and customers

For Friday’s opening, staff from other East Coast Trader Joe’s locations will be on hand to help out with the festivities.

I’m sure the Urban Outfitters just a few doors away is looking forward to the opening of this store which should bring many thousands to that street weekly.

Pix of the store pre-renovation courtesy of the Brooklyn Paper.