Wildfire-damaged Trader Joe’s on Cleveland Avenue reopens to throng of eager shoppers

Jammed parking lots, long lines and crowded aisles weren’t enough to keep hundreds of eager shoppers from the Friday morning reopening of Trader Joe’s market on Cleveland Avenue in Santa Rosa.

Greeted with colorful leis and free reusable grocery bags, shoppers shared smiles, hugs and tears of joy with store employees.The popular grocery store, severely burned in the October 2017 wildfire and closed since then, was back in business at 8 a.m.

Pamela Van Halselma and her husband, Dwayne Mulder, who lost their home in Coffey Park, were among the first shoppers. Van Halsema, new president of the Coffey Strong neighborhood group, brought her “Coffey Strong” sign with her, hoping to plant it somewhere near the store.

“We just want to show that we are so happy to have Trader Joe’s back,” Van Halsema said. “This is a ?community hub.”

Steve Schafer, the store manager, said the Trader Joe’s reopening represented a “rebirth” for the local, fire-weary community.

“This is a tremendous thing for my customers and my crew,” Schafer said. “A lot of tears today (Friday), tears of joy, tears of relief. It really represents a rebirth.”

Van Halsema and Mulder, who are temporarily living near Pacific Market in the Town and Country Shopping Center, said she’s shopped at the Cleveland Avenue Trader Joe’s three or four times a week for 18 years - as long as she’s been living in Coffey Park. The couple are rebuilding their home on Kerry Lane at Hopper Avenue.

“It feels like home,” Mulder said of the neighborhood grocer.

During the first hour of business Friday, finding a spot in the store’s parking lot was extremely difficult. Many shoppers drove to neighboring parking lots and walked to the store. At the entrance, customers were greeted by smiling employees. Some expressed a sense of relief and healing.

The store’s closure for about 13 months caused patrons to drive south for groceries to the city’s other Trader Joe’s on Santa Rosa Avenue in the Santa Rosa Marketplace. Marco León, the manager of the Santa Rosa Avenue store, said that after the Tubbs fire a year ago his store added 100 Cleveland Avenue store employees to its payroll.

He said business at the Santa Rosa Avenue site increased by 65 percent, but his staff doubled.

“Everyone got full hours the entire year,” he said.

The grocery chain spent $1.3 million to repair and remodel the Cleveland Avenue store. The work included a new roof, a heating and air conditioning system, ceiling, restrooms, refrigerated cases and store offices.

You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @renofish.