Unsure that the sign was real, some wishful media outlets like Eater Detroit and BLAC Magazine reported that Trader Joe's might be coming to Detroit's Corktown.
Unfortunately, it's not true. Detroit could certainly use more grocery stores and alternatives to Whole Foods in Midtown.
It started on Tuesday when local prankster Matthew Naimi posted a photo of the CPA Building on Michigan Avenue with a sign tied to the fence saying: "Trader Joe's Corktown," Lee Devito of Metro Times reports.
His caption: "You can forget about all the uncertainty in the world... No matter what happens in Washington this week, NOTHING will make such a difference in the lives of Detroit citizens like a Trader MF'in Joes! We did it! We did it!" he wrote.
Aaron Foley wrote a brief BLAC Magazine BL:AC Detroit magazine post headlined: "Is a Trader Joe's coming to Corktown, or are we being trolled? We're trying to find out."
"Not gonna lie, I just wanted to post this before everyone else did," he wrote. "But since you’re here, let’s speculate: Is a Trader Joe’s coming to Corktown?"
Brenna Houck of Easte Detroit chimed in under the head "Is Trader Joe’s Setting Up Shop in Corktown?"
By Tuesday afternoon, MLive confirms that the company says no Detroit site is in its two-year expansion plan.
In May 2015, I posted a column about my conversation with Trader Joe's titled: "We Dislike Trader Joe's Reply to Our 'Why Not Detroit' Question."
At the time, company spokesman Matt Sloan said: "We're always looking for new sites, but we have nothing immediately planned" for Detroit.
Nearly two years later, that still stands.
