Coppell Chronicle Vol. 4, No. 7
Trader Joe’s Report Has Coppell Celebrating • All Lanes are Open on South Belt Line Road • City’s Oldest Park Gets New Lease on Life • Old Town Parking Signs Spark Complaints
I apologize for the lateness of this edition, but if there’s a way to work in advance on unanticipated breaking news, I haven’t figured it out yet.
Trader Joe’s Report Has Coppell Celebrating
No journalist enjoys being scooped on his own beat, as I was on Friday. But I’m a glass-half-full kind of a guy, so I’m choosing to focus on how I found out I’d been scooped.
At 11:50 a.m. on Friday, a website called CultureMap Dallas posted an article that said Trader Joe’s is planning to open a store in Coppell. By 1:30 p.m., multiple subscribers had come to the same conclusion: “This looks like a job for Dan.” They assigned me that job via various platforms.
Facebook Messenger: “The people need to know the legitimacy of this article!!!”
Facebook comments: “@Dan Koller For real?”
Text messages: “If this is fake news, there will be blood in the water in Coppell.”
The CultureMap article, which was written by Teresa Gubbins, said Trader Joe’s would be taking over the space that Natural Grocers vacated last summer. Gubbins’ primary source was the company’s application for a permit to sell alcohol at that location.
That location on the southeast corner of Denton Tap and Sandy Lake roads is known as Town Oaks Centre. Its leasing flyer says the former Natural Grocers space is “at lease,” and a form detailing some “landlord’s work” there was filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in January. Here’s how that form describes the work: “Demise existing suite, add overhead dock door, add concrete dock, construct new accessible parking spaces and accessible route to entrance.”
I’d already emailed one of the Town Oaks Centre leasing agents, Jake Sherrington, twice this year, seeking more information. He ignored both of those emails, but I figured one more on Friday afternoon couldn’t hurt. I also submitted an inquiry to the Trader Joe’s media relations team via the California-based chain’s website.
Because Gubbins’ article was based on an application for an alcohol permit, I then visited the website of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. I couldn’t find anything related to Trader Joe’s, so I checked with commission spokesman Chris Porter to make sure I wasn’t missing something. Porter said he didn’t see any relevant pending applications either.
“Since the applicant is just now in the public notice phase, it’s very likely TABC has not yet received the application,” Porter said via email. “Applications must first be certified/approved by a local government before they can be accepted by TABC for processing, so it’s likely they’re still in that phase of the process.”
Local government? Hey, I know people in local government! I emailed the CultureMap story to Hannah Cook, Coppell’s Chief Communications Strategist, and Mindi Hurley, the city’s Director of Community Development, with a simple question: “Y’all know anything about this?”
By Friday evening, Cook replied with this statement: “We can confirm that a TABC certification packet has been submitted under the Trader Joe’s name.”
So there you have it. We’re supposedly getting an H-E-B in the Irving portion of Coppell ISD, and it looks like a Trader Joe’s will open in the heart of Coppell. I wonder which store will start selling groceries first.
All Lanes are Open on South Belt Line Road
I don’t want to give the impression that I lack reliable sources at Coppell Town Center. On the contrary, a VIP (very important politician) gave me a heads-up on Thursday evening that traffic would be freely flowing on South Belt Line Road by Friday afternoon. I won’t reveal my source’s name, but I will say he is in this photo.
As most Coppell residents are aware, multiple lanes have been closed on South Belt Line since January of 2022. That’s when City Manager Mike Land began urging us to find alternate routes — “at all costs.” I heeded his advice and started using Freeport Parkway and Royal Lane as my primary paths out of town. But I went out of my way on Friday afternoon to cruise Belt Line’s newly paved pavement.