Two-year petition for a Trader Joe’s to open in ‘Southampton’ ends with zero signatures

By: Jamie Shapiro, Local Democracy Reporter

A two-year-long petition for Southampton City Council to build a ‘Trader Joe’s’ has ended with absolutely no signatures.

Trader Joe’s is a well-known American chain of grocery stores.

The campaign, which clearly mistook the port city for a township in the US state of Pennsylvania, had been active on the petition page of the city council’s website since 2021.

It ended on 27 October after failing to garner a single signature – not even one from the petitioner themselves.

It read: “We the undersigned petition the council to make a Trader Joe’s on Street Rd and Davisville Rd where the old Acme was.

“I believe this is beneficial to the community as there is no Trader Joe’s within a five-mile radius. The closest one is 20 mins away.”

The closest Trader Joe’s to Southampton (UK) is in fact slightly more than twenty minutes away. It is a day-long flight – and ironically, in the United States’ New Hampshire.

Regardless of the mistake, the council would have no authority to insist on a private company setting up shop in the area.

As of November 2023, there is still no Trader Joe’s on Street Road and Dashville Road.

(Local Democracy Reporting Service)