Report: Champaign being considered for Trader Joe's store

Could a Trader Joe's be coming to central Illinois?

Multiple media reports Thursday state that Champaign is among the cities being considered for the grocery chain's next expansion.

The company's CEO confirmed that to the Champaign News-Gazette on Wednesday, the paper asserted in a story.

Trader Joe's lists 200 areas in which it is pondering expansion, based on feedback from company retail officials, and narrows that down to about 30 locations in which to build stores.

Real estate brokers will evaluate possible locations in the 200 cities on the list, while the company also weighs them for factors that include population density, median household income and education, the News-Gazette story states.

There is no firm deadline for narrowing down the larger list or making a decision, and the CEO stated that online petition signatures or customer campaigns don't affect the decision. Online advocacy for a store in the Peoria area has had a regular drumbeat.