Trader Joe’s plans new Merriam, Kansas store as expansion continues

Trader Joe’s picked Merriam for its next Kansas store, placing a new location at 8700 Shawnee Mission Pkwy and giving shoppers in and around Topeka a closer in-state option to watch. The company said it had found “a terrific location” and plans to open the store in 2026, though the opening date and time are still TBD.

That address matters because Merriam sits in the Kansas City metro, close enough to serve a wider regional draw while still being the Kansas-side store many local shoppers will use instead of driving farther for a Trader Joe’s run. The retailer already lists the site in its store directory as “Coming Soon,” a signal that the project is now part of its active opening pipeline rather than a vague future idea.

The Kansas store also fits into a much bigger expansion wave. Trader Joe’s said it has 18 upcoming locations across 12 states in 2026, and Merriam is one of them. The company has been moving quickly: it opened 34 new stores in 2024, and by early 2025 it already had around a dozen locations in the pipeline. For crew members, that kind of growth usually means pre-opening hiring, training and transfer opportunities, especially for experienced employees who can help a new store get up to speed.

That is the part current workers should care about most. A new store does not just add another sales floor, it creates a staffing project. Trader Joe’s says it recruits crews, supports transfers and structures each store around its own local team, which makes a fresh opening a likely magnet for leaders, trainers and crew looking for a change. If Merriam follows the company’s usual pattern, it should surface in the “Opening Soon” section roughly three to six months before opening day, giving job seekers and nearby stores a practical marker to watch.

The opening may also carry a community angle beyond groceries. Trader Joe’s says every store manages its own Neighborhood Shares program and donates 100% of products that go unsold but remain fit to be enjoyed to local nonprofit partners. The company says nearly 80% of those donations are produce, entrées, bakery items, proteins, dairy and eggs, and that it supports more than 2,100 Neighborhood Shares partners nationwide. In Merriam, that means the new store is not just another retail address on Shawnee Mission Parkway, but a future source of jobs, traffic and local food donations in one of the region’s busiest retail corridors.