Trader Joe's will ask Santa Monica officials Tuesday, Oct. 13, for an alcohol permit at 1331 Wilshire Blvd., where the grocer plans to open a store in the former Rite Aid building.

The Monrovia-based chain is requesting a Minor Use Permit to sell a full line of alcohol for off-premises consumption at the location, the Santa Monica Daily Press first reported. The company has not formally announced plans for the site, but the permit filing marks the first public step toward opening.

If approved, it would be the fourth Trader Joe's in Santa Monica.

The 17,800-square-foot building sits at Wilshire and 14th Street. Rite Aid closed the location in June 2025 as part of the chain's restructuring under its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Trader Joe's bought the property in December 2025 for $22 million, roughly $1,236 per square foot, according to Westside Current. The 1.4-acre lot includes about 125 surface parking spaces. The former Rite Aid side has been fenced off since closure, though an adjacent grocery store continues to operate.

Before the sale went through, the property needed a zoning fix. City planning staff identified a split-zoning issue as a mapping error: the front of the building carried a commercial mixed-use designation while the rear parking lot was zoned residential. The Santa Monica City Council approved the correction on Sept. 30, 2025, but the vote drew debate.

Mayor Pro Tem Caroline Torosis argued at that September 2025 meeting that leaving the property nonconforming was "highly problematic" given the city's roughly 30% retail vacancy rate. Council Member Jesse Zwick also supported the change. Council Members Ellis Raskin and Mayor Lana Negrete opposed it, raising concerns about spot zoning.

For decades, the Pico Boulevard store at 32nd Street was Santa Monica's only Trader Joe's. A second location opened at 2300 Wilshire in 2019, and a third opened downtown in 2022.

The chain is also expanding nearby. Trader Joe's filed an application in April for a 12,585-square-foot store at the former Fox Venice theater at 620 S. Lincoln Blvd. A Los Angeles zoning administrator has approved alcohol sales there, and the Venice Neighborhood Council's Land Use and Planning Committee voted 7-0-1 in July to support the proposal. Trader Joe's representatives told that committee the Venice store could open by early 2027.

No opening date has been set for the Wilshire location. The Oct. 13 hearing is the next public milestone.