Vehicles line up to leave the site of the annual Burning Man Festival on September 5, 2023.
The last two weeks of August are a festive time in Reno, Nevada. For the tens of thousands of people going to Burning Man, this high desert city is the last major stop before the playa and their last chance to stock up on food, coconut water, actual water, booze, costumes, bicycles, furs — the essentials.
For retailers in Reno, the days leading up to Burning Man are the busiest week of the year, rivaling Thanksgiving and Christmas, which might have been part of the reason a new Trader Joe’s in south Reno opened its doors for the first time on Wednesday, Aug. 21.
Minutes after the ribbon was cut for the south Reno Trader Joe’s grand opening, a line of customers filed into the store, passing beneath a red-and-white balloon arch while a couple of musicians played. Trader Joe’s crew members draped lei around the first customers to enter the new store and passed out Nevada-branded reusable shopping bags with the company’s whimsical artwork spotlighting the best of the state, including an unmistakable Burning Man attendee with purple bunny ears and aviators riding a bicycle, a stream of balloons trailing behind.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
A new Trader Joe's location opened this week in south Reno, Nev.
The opening of the south Reno store has been in the works for more than a year, said Sam West, captain of the store. West has been employed by Trader Joe’s for 44 years, since he was 16, working for Joe Coulombe and breaking down........