Trader Joe's Files Liquor License for New Desert Ridge Marketplace Location

Trader Joe's has taken its clearest step yet toward opening in north Phoenix, filing a liquor license application with the Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control for a planned 15,000-square-foot location at Desert Ridge Marketplace. The application was filed with the state on Feb. 17.

North Phoenix is getting its first Trader Joe's. The specialty grocer is planning to open at Desert Ridge Marketplace, according to a liquor license application filed with the city of Phoenix. The specific address on the filing is 21001 N. Tatum Boulevard, Building 50, Suite 1030.

The grocer isn't sharing an opening timeline, according to a Trader Joe's representative, but construction is anticipated to wrap up in November, per the liquor license filing. Trader Joe's adds stores to the "opening soon" section of its website three to six months before welcoming customers, the spokesperson shared.

Trader Joe's has 19 locations in Arizona. There are three other Trader Joe's locations in Phoenix, but none as far north as the new location. For crew members eyeing a potential transfer or a new store to join, that geography matters: north Phoenix has been one of the fastest-growing corridors in the metro, and a store in this pocket would extend the chain's reach significantly past its existing Phoenix footprint.

Trader Joe's will be among other Desert Ridge grocery and liquor stores, which include Albertsons, Target, and Total Wine & More. Desert Ridge Marketplace is the most visited shopping center in the state of Arizona, sitting at the intersection of the Loop 101 and Tatum Boulevard. Phoenix-based Sprouts is currently building out its headquarters campus right next to the center, within the CityNorth development, a nearly 100-acre property expected to be developed over a decade as a dense commercial core including millions of square feet of new office, retail, and hotel space. Dropping a Trader Joe's into that growth corridor is a logical move; the customer base is already there.

The Arizona expansion push isn't limited to Phoenix. The grocery chain has been expanding in Arizona, and in February announced that a fourth Tucson location, which had been in the works for years, would open in 2026. The Desert Ridge location, if it opens on the November construction timeline, would mark two new Arizona stores in a single calendar year.

Trader Joe's operates 14 stores around the Valley, three of which are in Phoenix. In November 2025, the chain opened a 9,600-square-foot location in Goodyear at the rapidly growing GSQ shopping center. The Desert Ridge store, at 15,000 square feet, would be notably larger than that Goodyear opening and among the bigger Trader Joe's footprints in the state.

No opening date has been confirmed, and the liquor license application status has not been publicly updated. The November construction completion window is the sharpest forward-looking signal available.