New Trader Joe's opens in San Mateo Friday

The new Trader Joe’s in San Mateo does not open until Friday but eager customers have been peeking through the front doors for a week to get a glimpse inside the specialty grocery store.

From the outside looking in, it almost appears the store at Hillsdale Shopping Center is open because its 85 employees have been busy training at the cash register and getting familiar with the store’s layout.

Workers were busy Wednesday stocking shelves, placing signs and putting finishing touches on some of the many murals that line the walls.

Images of Old City Hall, Bay Meadows race track, the Japanese Tea Garden in Central Park and the San Mateo Bridge adorn the walls to give customers a sense of home along with the cedar-covered walls and Hawaiian-inspired elements that are present at all Trader Joe’s.

Kevin Faber is the new store manager and a 15-year employee of Trader Joe’s. He has spent the past two years working as a manager at the other San Mateo Trader Joe’s on Grant Street.

That store will remain open for now but the lot it sits in is in the San Mateo Rail Corridor Transit-Oriented Development Plan, making the land available for redevelopment in the future.

"It’s an exciting feeling to open a new store,” Faber said. "People have been asking us all week when we will open. There are lots of excited eyes looking through windows for a sneak peek.”

Cheryl Baldanzi is one of the store’s new employees and has been shopping at Trader Joe’s for years. She is a retired phone company employee for 30 years and has taken a job at the grocery store for much less than she used to make.

"I’m working for a fraction of the pay. But this is a fun place with a good attitude. They really want you to have fun here,” Baldanzi said.

Her shopping experience has always been pleasant at Trader Joe’s and that experience caused her to apply for a job at the new store.

"Have you ever met anyone at Trader Joe’s who was not nice,” said Baldanzi, who lives in Foster City.

Trader Joe’s carries an array of domestic and imported foods and beverages including fresh baked artisan breads, Arabica bean coffees, international frozen entrées, 100 percent juices, fresh nuts, deli items and vitamins and supplements, as well as the basics, such as milk and eggs.

The new 12,500-square-foot store is located at 45 W. Hillsdale Blvd. where the old Tower Records used to be. The store will be open from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. daily.

The grand opening is Friday, 9 a.m. A jazz band will perform and there will also be face painting and a balloon artist for children.

Bill Silverfarb can be reached by e-mail: silverfarb@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 106.