Trader Joe's confirms plans for new Long Island store in Massapequa Park

Trader Joe’s is expanding again on Long Island, with plans to open a store in Massapequa Park.

The Monrovia, California-based retailer would occupy space in a shopping center formerly leased to Rite Aid, at 5125 Merrick Rd.

Trader Joe's spokeswoman Nakia Rohde confirmed in an email that the grocer plans to open a Massapequa Park store, but she declined to provide more information about the location, including when the store will open, the number of people it will employ and why the Merrick Road site was chosen.

Robert Delavale, director of leasing for the shopping center’s landlord, Garden City-based Breslin Realty, said that a "specialty grocer" will be opening in an approximately 12,000-square-foot space, likely in the first quarter of 2027, but declined to name the retailer.

Trader Joe's will be a welcome addition to Massapequa Park, and Town of Oyster Bay officials "worked hard behind the scenes" to help bring the grocer to the neighborhood, town Supervisor Joseph Saladino said in a statement Friday.

"It’s exciting to see another great business coming to the area, expanding shopping options for our residents and strengthening our local economy," he said.

Trader Joe’s has eight stores on Long Island, including one that opened in Miller Place in February.

The retailer also has a distribution hub under construction on a 66-acre site in Islandia that was formerly occupied by Computer Associates’ headquarters.  The 922,084-square-foot, three-building distribution center is being built at the southwest corner of Motor Parkway and Bedford Avenue.

The retailer paid $118.6 million for the property in August 2025.

Founded in 1967, Trader Joe’s has 643 grocery stores in 42 states and Washington, D.C., including 21 stores that have opened in 2026.

Later this year, Trader Joe's will open new stores in New York, Illinois, Washington and California, Rohde said.

Trader Joe’s ranked highest among grocery chains for customer satisfaction in the 2026 American Customer Satisfaction Index, which was based on 31,293 customer surveys about retail experiences. 

Trader Joe’s is considered a limited-assortment grocer, which means its stores are smaller and carry fewer items than traditional supermarkets. The majority of products in a limited-assortment store are its own private-label brands.

Limited-assortment grocers are typically discounters, such as Aldi and Lidl, but Trader’s Joe’s is not a traditional discounter, said Jon Hauptman, founder of Price Dimensions, a Chicago-based pricing adviser for supermarket chains.

One reason is Trader Joe’s selection of curated, high-quality products that meet shoppers’ needs for taste, health and excitement, he said in an email.

“They've done the ‘heavy lifting’ to identify products their shoppers will love, so people entering their stores feel comfortable shopping intensively because they know whatever they select will likely be a great product at a strong value,” he said.

By Tory N. Parrish

tory.parrish@newsday.comToryParrish1

Tory N. Parrish covers retail and small business for Newsday. She has worked at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Observer-Dispatch in Utica, N.Y.