DAVENPORT, Iowa — Some call the stretch of Elmore Avenue, off of Interstate 74 between Kimberly Road and 53rd Street, "retail row." But right now
"The real estate that's available has interstate visibility from I-74," Chris Glass says. "Right here on Elmore Avenue, it's heavily trafficked, with a lot of good retailers like HomeGoods, DSW and Fleet Feet."
But right now, some of the retail spots in Elmore Marketplace sit empty, and Glass wants to change that. So he's started an online campaign to bring national grocer Trader Joe's to the Quad Cities. Right now, the Facebook page has gotten nearly 10,000 likes in the last two and a half months.
"I think Trader Joe's has a list that we've learned of, things they look at when creating locations, like similar retailers, income levels, and traffic patterns," Glass says. "The Quad Cities checks all the boxes that Trader Joe's is looking for."
It's not his first campaign either. Glass was part of a push that's credited in past for bringing a Portillo's to Davenport.
"It's kind of like a fun hobby," Glass says. "Some people like to go hiking and I just like business and helping businesses grow."
Now, he's urging the community to get involved too, by snapping a selfie at the proposed space in Elmore Marketplace and tagging Trader Joe's. He says that growing the Facebook campaign to 20,000 likes will also help get the company's attention.
"I think Trader Joe's would pay attention to a community that rallies for them," Ajay Singh, Vice President of Development at Heart of America Group, says.
Heart of America Group owns and manages the marketplace. Singh says the development group has done research using cell phone analytics to ping user's regular activity between their home in the Quad Cities area to the nearest Trader Joe's location in Iowa City.
"There's a larger cluster in the Quad Cities travelling two hours round-trip to Trader Joe's in Iowa City, than there are Cedar Rapids patrons travelling an hour roundtrip," he says. "If that doesn't speak to the loyalty, dedication and following that brand has, I don't know if anything else will."
Phil Young, Fleet Feet Davenport Operator, says the addition of Trader Joe's to the marketplace will be a benefit to the other businesses there.
"A full marketplace communicates a healthy marketplace," he says. "It's a full parking lot. We get more exposure if there's traffic through other tenants."
Both the 'Bring Trader Joe's to the Quad Cities' campaign and the Heart of America Group have had preliminary talks with the corporate office's real estate teams. While a process like this can take months, or longer, Glass anticipates a quick timeframe in bringing a storefront to Davenport.
"They're really interested and I think they're trying to get everything together to put it on the table," Glass says.
It's something Glass says can bring new jobs, new tax revenue and a new face to the Quad Cities.
News 8 did reach out to Trader Joe's for comment and did not hear back at the time of publication.