Columbia area to get a second Trader Joe’s grocery store. Here’s where
The Midlands is getting a second Trader Joe’s.
The city of Columbia confirms that a construction permit has been issued for the popular grocery chain to work on a location at a shopping center near the Columbiana Centre mall in the Harbison shopping district, and work was ongoing when a reporter stopped by the site Friday morning.
A spokesperson for Trader Joe’s confirmed that the company is working to add a new location serving Columbia.
The new store is set to take a spot at the Harbison Center shopping center at 275 Harbison Boulevard that was formerly home to a Crunch Fitness. It sits between a Rooms to Go and a 2nd & Charles. No opening date has been announced.
The Post & Courier Columbia first reported that the new location has been confirmed.
Trader Joe’s is known for its wide and diverse variety of store-brand products — this reporter is particularly fond of the company’s frozen Indian entrees and its soy chorizo. The chain has an existing Midlands location at 4516 Forest Dr. in Forest Acres.
In Harbison, the store is going into one of the city’s busiest shopping districts. A daily average of 28,100 vehicles travel along the stretch of Harbison Boulevard near the forthcoming Trader Joe’s, according to state Department of Transportation data.
Trader Joe’s website lists four current South Carolina stores with another listed as “coming soon” in Myrtle Beach. The chain has 608 locations nationwide, according to the data website ScrapeHero.
Earlier this year, the town of Lexington, which sits 10 or so miles away from Harbison on the other side of Lake Murray, asked residents to sign an online petition to let Trader Joe’s “know we are the perfect location for their next store.” That petition has gathered more than 10,000 signatures.
This story was originally published August 8, 2025 at 12:46 PM.
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