An unnamed specialty grocery store is set to take over a large space at Sparks Crossing in Spanish Springs that is being vacated by World Market.
Is Sparks getting a Trader Joe’s?
Documents obtained by the Reno Gazette Journal show a “specialty grocery store” is on tap to fill a soon-to-be-vacant space at a Spanish Springs shopping center.
Details about the project surfaced at a recent Sparks Planning Commission meeting when representatives of the specialty grocer sought a conditional use permit for an 18,300-square-foot commercial space at the Sparks Crossing shopping center on Los Altos Parkway.
The space is currently occupied by World Market, which is in the process of permanently closing the store.
Which specialty grocery store is applying for a conditional use permit?
The planned development handbook for Sparks Crossing allows for a specialty grocery store to be located in the shopping center.
Such stores, however, can only be open for a maximum of 17 hours per day.
Although the specialty grocery store stated that it will only be open to the public from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, it needs to be able to receive truck deliveries 24 hours a day. In its application, the grocery store stated that it expects to receive around three deliveries per day around 5 a.m. with no deliveries expected after 10 p.m.
The Sparks Planning Commission agreed to approve the conditional use permit based on the recommendation of staff, which noted that the applicant is sufficiently addressing any potential impacts from the new grocery store.
The question now is who the specialty grocery store tenant is.
At the moment, city staff are unaware of the exact identity of the tenant, according to Julie Duewel, community relations manager for the city of Sparks.
“When the Planning Commission asked who the tenant was, the applicant declined to answer,” Duewel told the Reno Gazette Journal.
What’s fueling the talk about needing a Trader Joe’s in Sparks?
The Reno Gazette Journal first broke the news last month about a new Trader Joe’s store coming to the former Orvis location at the Summit Reno.
While south Reno residents welcomed news of a new 15,000-square-foot Trader Joe’s, Sparks residents pointed out that Reno already has one of the specialty grocery stores. Residents of northwest Reno also noted that both the old and new Trader Joe’s are in south Reno.
Why not put a Trader Joe’s in Sparks or northwest Reno and spread the love, several residents asked?
In the meantime, discussions started popping up in social sites about Trader Joe’s opening a store in Sparks.
Most of the talk centered around Trader Joe’s taking over the World Market location in Spanish Springs, which is in the final stages of shutting.
Trader Joe responds to question about a Sparks location
To determine if there’s any truth to the talk about Trader Joe’s putting a new store in Sparks, we went directly to the source — well, two sources.
We reached out to real estate investment group RCG Ventures, which owns the Sparks Crossing shopping center where World Market is located. The company has yet to respond at this time.
We also reached out to is Trader Joe’s itself.
Here is the response from Trader Joe’s spokesperson Nakia Rohde when asked whether the company is looking at a Sparks store and whether it plans to take over the World Market location.
“We are looking at many neighborhoods,” Rohde said via email. “I do not have a location to confirm for Sparks.”
While it doesn’t confirm an incoming store in Sparks, some might say it isn’t an outright denial either.
In the meantime, folks can also let Trader Joe’s know that they want a store in their city or neighborhood by filling out an online form at the Request a Trader Joe’s in My City site.
