That's kind of ominous. I'm no fan of massive chain burrito joints, but I do hope they manage to find tenants for the Ballard Bollocks before too long.

Word has it Red Robin pulled out too. This news from a friend in RR management. Ballard Blocks wanted too much $$. I imagine only chains with very deep pockets will be able to afford the space...

*giddy giddy* 5 days til i can get all my favorite Trader joes goodies! So excited to not have to take the bus to the u-dist store! /giddy

You can all carry on now about no chipotle and etc.

Some other high margin mid sided national chain will snap up the space sooner or later. Their per foot cost is way too much for local companies.

sorry people I was copying that into something with spell check and hit submit

Love that TJ's video! Although mine would list ALL of my favorite discontinued items, not just two.

I don't care about Chipotle Grill one way or the other, although it would be a shame if high leases prevent other businesses from coming here. Red Robin hasn't turned my crank for years, but I'd expect they'd do well there. I'd much prefer Jolly Roger any day, although it sometimes can get pretty crowded.

I cannot wait until 9AM Friday. I hope they have plenty of wine in stock, and, those nice two-tiered shopping carts. And ooh....no French Roast as the coffee sample. Making us taste it because you have too much in stock, is so unfair to your customers. Let us taste the spendy stuff, if it tastes good, maybe we'll buy it!

Darn. I like Chipotle. Hopefully something good will come in to replace it.

Also can't wait for TJ's.

Yeah I must admit calories and all I was really excited about Chipotle grill coming here....better than more Pizza or Sushi.

Sorry, Chipotle fans and Neighbor-haters. But I had this pegged from the start: http://www.myballard.com/2009/02/06/chipotle-gr...

could care less about the Chipotle Grill...too many chain joints do not need to be invading Ballard anyway. Ditto, I hope they find tenants too, and super excited about Trader Joes' opening! I was a little disappointed when I peered in the windows to see it was smaller than I thought...same size as Queen Anne's location.

What's the big deal about Trader Joes? Can I trade stuff for food? I have some old LIFE magazines....

While I'm not a fan of Red Robin or Chipotle and was dissapointed when I heard the announcement they were coming in it is pretty likely that the rents being asked for will engender more of the same. I also find it a bit odd that no one posting recognizes that Trader Joe's is a chain... granted a popular, semi-funky one but it's still a chain folks.

Maybe Baja Fresh can take Chipotle's spot since they just closed their Fremont location.

Jmi-
true TJ's is a chain, but it's not a formula resturant...and I guess thats the difference.

When I went in to TJ's to interview.. i can tell you for certain its definatly bigger than the queen anne location. I think its even bigger than the u-dist store too.

Very excited about Trader Joe's. But the parking lot is still pretty silly. I have a Mini and I can barely fit into one of those spots.

Mike's Chili Parlour is still there, so what's the problem?

I read in the Wall Street Journal today that Trader Joe's is owned by the German grocery conglomerate Aldi. So much for buying local!

Trader Joe's was started by a guy in Southern California who sold it to a Trust which owns Aldi (think German Walmart) in 1979 or so.

Speaking of Aldi, they plan on opening 75 stores in the US this year. The money they make on Trader Joes is supporting that endeavor.

None the less, I'll buy some things at TJ, I'm sure. As for what else will go in that space, it will be a big chain. Let's hope it's not an Olive Garden, but it's possible.

Cry me a river.

For all of you who love Trader Joe's check out the link below on who owns TJ's. Sort of surprising to see the owners are the German equivalent of Walmart.

http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/1...

I was starting to feel back for wanting to use amazon fresh only but hearing that TJ is owned by the Euro-Walmart makes me feel ok. Aldi is totally Euro-walmart btw.

I love TJ's because their products are exceptional, and they have great employees. I'd rather spend my money there than at QFC, even though QFC's owners also own Fred Meyer, and I've loved FM since before they were in Washington. But their employees seem to love working for them, unlike Wal-world.

But if someone is unfamiliar with Trader Joe's, there is absolutely no reason to shop there. But if you do, for gosh sakes, PLEASE visit the QA store, or Roosevelt, or drive across town to the Central District or up to Lynnwood. There's no need to go to the one in Ballard, no need at all.

Ah, more aisle room for me...more flatbread...more limes...more organic sour cream...more mushrooms and green beans...ooh, more cheese...more nuts...more sesame sticks...and last (but most certainly not least) more wine...

let's see if it work Annie! ;0)

Bummer- I was really looking forward to that, actually!

f.y.i.- there have been many aldi stores in the united states for as long as i can remember. they are scattered all over the midwest and the east coast. they offer very cheap food from mostly unrecognizable brands and in no way resemble a walmart. from what i can remember, it seemed their employees made a fairly decent living wage.

(Re: 10, 15)

Employees at the U. District store told me that the Ballard space is bigger than the U. District one.

Looking forward to finding out on Friday.

glad to hear it is bigger than I thought...looking forward to it's opening

Given this location's proximity to the bridge, I can only hope it won't take long for the hobos to figure out that they can get a bottle of wine at TJ's for less than $4 after tax--almost as high in ABV as Mad Dog, and far superior in taste. Gonna need a corkscrew though...

Andy,
Show a little respect dude. Even those you call "hobos' deserve 3 Buck Chuck.

Yea, TJs!!

so what do we know besides tj's that will come into the blocks? Is anything official?

homeless have new place to rob

First, I'm baffled by people who complain about chains but then cheer for TJs.

Second, comparing Aldi to Wal-Mart isn't really accurate. They're VERY different business models. For starters, 95% of what Aldi sells is private brand. At Wal-Mart their private brands account for less than 20%. Next Wal-Mart stocks a greater variety of goods whereas Aldi deliberately limits selections. In this respect Aldi is more like Costco than Wal-Mart. Finally, Aldi isn't even remotely close to Wal-Mart in size. Only real comparison between the two is their drive to deliver the lowest prices. How they do that is completely different from each other.

As for Chipotle, no loss. I find them just as bland and mediocre as Taco Del Mar.