Goodyear secures Trader Joe's for downtown GSQ after seven-year resident campaign

I'm Karen with the city of Goody here. Um hope you are joining this live. Um we are just about to get started with a big event celebration to announce a new business that is coming to the city of Goodyear. Uh we are seeing quite a few people starting to join us. Uh we are at the Goodyear Civic Square Park. This is just outside of City Hall um where the new downtown Goodyear is being developed known as GSQ.

Uh currently downtown Goodyear is um quite a few new businesses that have popped up recently. We have Distillery, Copper and Sage, uh Bacus Wine Bar, Spits Mediterranean Street Food. Um and as people get started here, I wonder if we could grab anyone and see what they think might be getting announced today. Now, we do know three things. We know that it's a business that's getting announced. We know that they're going to be located right here in downtown Goodyear GSQ.

We also know that we were told to wear Hawaiian attire today. So, let's see. Excuse me, man. Do you mind if I ask you? We're with the city of Goodyear. What do you hope is announced today? Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's. All right. And what do you hope is announced? Trader Joe's. Same thing. All right. Yeah. Now, Trader Joe's has been something that residents have wanted for a long time. We don't know what's going to be announced yet. Excuse me. Server with the city of Goodyear.

What do you hope's announced today? We're going to have a Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's. What about you, ma'am? What do you hope is announced? I know it's a Trader Joe's. You know it. All right. Okay. Let's see. Um, it seems like everyone thinks it's going to be a Trader Joe's. We're going to find out here shortly. We have Desert Edge cheer team and the Desert Edge band in celebration of today's event. Hi, we're with the city of Goodyear. What do you think's going to be coming to Goodyear?

Trader Joe's. What do you think? Trader Joe's. Oh, and you. Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's. Okay. Again, we're gonna find out shortly. We're having this nice celebration. There's going to be some giveaways. There's still plenty of time to come out. The announcement will be made shortly, but we'll be out here until 6:00. Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for the Desert Edge High School marching band. We just take a listen at at the band performing.

[Music] And we'd love to hear your guesses on what you think is going to be announced. Leave it in the comments. Good year, Arizona. What is going on, man? Feel the hype. Are you guys as excited as I am to be here today? Awesome. Oh, this is great. This is incredible turnout. Good year, welcome to the heart of Goodyear here at GSQ. Beautiful, isn't it? Come on, take a look around. I'm saying, well, I know some of you might be wondering why you're here.

I've been here walking around, people taking saying all kinds of things. But hey, we're going to get to that. We're going to get to it in just a second. But number one, the reason we're here is we're here to celebrate. Come on. I want to hear something. We could not do this without you, our community. Thank you, Goodyear, for coming out in mass for this celebration.

I know some of you are looking up here going, "Matt, how did the city of Goodyear get Gabriel Glacius aka Fluffy the Comedian, to come up here and uh MC?" Sorry to disappoint, not Gabriel Glaciius. My name is Jeremy Dyke. I am the neighborhood services manager here at the city of Goodyear and it is my honor and my privilege and my joy to be here to help make this announcement. Thank you guys. But we have an announcement and not just any announcement. This is a huge announcement.

It's a huge announcement. A very big announcement. The biggest announcement we've ever had in my entire life. It's huge. There is a business that we have been clamoring for, that we have been crying out for, that has decided to make their home here in Goodyear, Arizona. Guys, this isn't just any business. It's one that you all have been asking for year after year after year. Give it to us. Come on, please. We want it.

So, when it came time when we got the call and it came time to make an announcement as to who this business is and and how we were going to announce it, we thought, "No, this isn't going to go on social media. No, this isn't going to go on our website. We're not going to send out a press release. We want to celebrate. We want to celebrate with y'all." So, we said, "Let's get together. Let's have a party right here in TSQ and make this announcement." So, we talked it over. We wanted to go big.

So, without any further ado, I want to get to this. But before I do, before I do, before we do, I want to say a special thank you, a special welcome, Mayor Joe Cazillo, good year mayor, I'm tripping over things. Good year, city manager, Wet Reed, thank you for being here. George Gat, thank you so much for being here. Chris Warren, thank you for being here. We're going to hear all these folks here in just a little bit. Let's get to it, will you? All right, you guys ready? You guys ready?

All right. Desert Edge High School. Can I get a drum roll, please? Ladies and gentlemen, would you count down with me? Here we go. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. [Applause] [Music] Oh yeah, that's who I'm talking about right there. How many of you guessed it? How many of you guessed it? Yeah, that's right. I kept hearing, "Oh, there's going to be another hono Hawaiian barbecue." But no, this is great. This is fantastic. Then I want to invite Mayor Joe Pazilla to come up here and say a few words.

Mayor Paso. [Music] [Applause] Oh, thank you for that. I like that. Uh, it's hard to put into words the excitement of this moment. It really is. We are standing in the heart of Goodyear's downtown. What a vision. GSQ. Just a few years ago, there was nothing here. Now look at it. But then the vision came together thanks to kinds of partnerships that doesn't come often. The city partners with our friend at Globe who brought all of this to life.

We would like to be wouldn't be here today without celebrating this event weren't for them and my friend George gets with that a special thanks to all of you. If we can get the city council to please come on up on stage for a second in you know everything we do is a team event and what I mean by that nothing gets done in a silo. We've got great staff. We got great management. And we got great counsel. As a result, with our team and our things working with others, this is what we have.

So with that, to my right, we have the vice mayor, Lai Campbell. Also on the council, Vicky Gillis Bonita Beckles Craig Kerry Laura Ko, and Brandon Hampton. [Applause] Listen, without them and our and our uh individuals that we've partnered with, this doesn't happen. Our city staff, economic development services, and other workers behind the scenes. Red Development was real crucial in pushing this. They make projects like TSQ come to life.

Our residents who who've waited so long and patiently for this moment. For me, it's been able to look back on a moment someday to say if if I was here to watch Goodyear's downtown come to life. And again, this is just the beginning. It's going to go all the way to board. All the way to board. You're going to have a nice walkable downtown with a variety of things. I know you all were pushing at one time for a mall. Trust me, what we got coming is going to be much, much better.

Not many mayors can say that. And there's something else I'm just sorted about. Trader Joe's is coming to town. Now, if I can have what is it you're up bringing it down to my level. So, as um mentioned before, I'm Wette Reed. I'm your uh city manager, and I want to share with you some numbers. And since 2017, we've been surveying our residents on what businesses they want in Goodyear. Guess which one has been the number one requested ger over the past seven years. Which one? Trader Joe's.

Every single survey for the last seven years. In 2019, our mayor proclaimed, "We want Trader Joe's day." In Goodyear, hundreds of residents came out to sign a petition and held signs saying they wanted the ger here. In 2022, we live streamed a 4hour birthday party celebrating Trader Joe's turning 55 years old. Again, hundreds of our residents turned out for that event. To say our city loves this company, it runs runs deep is an understatement.

So, I'm so excited to celebrate this announcement with all of you today. First, I want to sincerely thank Trader Joe's. Thank you for choosing to be here. I want to thank Globe Corporation and Red Development for believing in the vision and the momentum here in Goodyear. Thank you. I would also like to thank Carol and Cole Schilly of Orion Investment Real Estate for their work and dedication to this specific project.

And finally, I'd like to extend a very special thank you to our incredible city team, which I am so proud of. You embody the spirit, adaptability, and optimism that defines this city. This team's tireless work since 2017, creative pitches, innovative strategies, constant follow-ups, and frankly, a little bit of good old-fashioned persistence to get things done helped to make this possible. So, thank you all for being here and Trader Joe's, welcome to Goodyear. Thank you, Wette.

Oh, this is fantastic. Now listen, there is a person here that this would never have happened without them. And I want to make sure that we have a moment to hear from George Gats. He is Globe Corporation's president and co-CEO. Come on up here. Share some words. Thank you so much, George. Thank you, Jeremy. And thank you all. Thank you all for being here. Uh welcome to the new downtown for for Goodyear.

My family has owned this section of land here for 50 years when it was just a farm when all it was was farms around here. And um over the past 20 years or so, the city of Goodyear has continued to grow and the property has finally reached a point where it can sustain development. And while the mall never materialized, the wait is going to be well worth it.

Today you'll see you see malls being torn down and redeveloped into more of a mixeduse communityfriendly shopping and entertainment districts. That's what we're going to have here. Our partner uh Red Development who are here today. I'd like to thank uh Scott and Mike and another Mike who's here, Mike Calendarer. Mike Calendarer runs the leasing. He's actually the guy that's responsible for this, although the whole team did it. Um they're the perfect developer for this innovative project.

And by the way, this will be the first of many announcements that we'll be rolling out over the next couple of months. As I told the mayor, the city council, and the staff, I would rather sell the stake rather than the sizzle. That's why we've waited so long to make this announcement to make sure that uh it wasn't just a pipe dream. It's a reality. We announced deals when they are signed and not before.

This entire development has been a great collaboration between the city and globe and we're excited to bring more quality restaurants, retailers, and hotels to this overall project. So, thank you again, Red Development, Trader Joe's, my team at Globe Corporation, and the city of Goodyear. The best is still yet to come. Come on. Come on. Thank you, George. We obviously have some Trader Joe's fans here. So, I want to introduce someone very special, Chris Warren. Chris Warren is from Trader Joe's.

He's going to be the store captain at our Goodyear location. He's going to be a face of this community to know. Chris, come on up here. Hi everyone. My name is Chris Warren. I can't begin to express how excited and honored I am to be here as captain of the upcoming Trader Joe's in Goodyear. Uh this city's passion and persistence, especially through the we want Trader Joe's campaign, made it clear that this isn't just about opening a store.

It's about becoming part of a community that genuinely wants us here. From the billboards to the social media buzz to the h the heartfelt outreach, we heard you and now we're ready to show up in the best way we know how by being your neighborhood brochure. I'm thrilled to build a team of incredible crew members who will bring the Trader Joe's experience to life. friendly faces, unique products, and a warm, welcoming atmosphere.

We're here because of you, residents of Goodyear, and we can't wait to open our doors and be a part of your daily lives. Let's make something truly special [Applause] together. Man, I'm excited, guys. I'm excited. But you know what? I know you guys aren't here just cuz you want to sit in the sun and bake. You guys want some free stuff. I know. We'll get you some free stuff. But before I give you some free stuff, I want to say thank you to a few people.

We We also want to say again, Globe Corporation, Red Development, thank you so much for sponsoring this event. This whole party's happening because of them. You can give it up for them. That's right. Want to make sure I recognize I know you're out here somewhere. You're hiding. Arizona State Representative from Legislative District 23, Mariana Sandival, if you're out there, can you guys give it up for Mariana Sandival, thank you so much for being here.

Good year resident, strong supporter, Trader Joe's fan herself. Trader Joe's, we understand you don't typically do these types of events, but we are extremely excited that we get to partner with you and we hope this kind of tells you how excited our community here in Goodyear is to have you come and be a part of this home. So, thank you so much. I also want to say thank you to Aguafia Union High School District and of course Desert Edge High School marching band cheer squad color guard. Come on.

You guys are amazing. Thank you to Goodyear's very own Youth Commission for coming out and serving. And in just a second, they're going to give you all kinds of free stuff. So, be kind to them. Give them a hand, not the finger. It'd be great. They're going to do their best. Hey, we are glad you guys are here. I want to make sure you guys are aware. You see that little Can we see our our our photo booth back there? See that thing? If you guys didn't know what that is, that's a selfie station.

That's a photo booth. Go back there, man. Commemorate this day. This is historic. Go get your picture taken. Share your pics on social hash join Goodyear. Josen Goodyear. Come on. [Applause] Right after this, we're going to be taking some pictures up here. So, we're going to have some folks come up here and take some take some pictures. So, if you guys want to head over to these tables, where's my Goodyear Youth Commission at? Goodyear youth commission. Wave those hands high in the air.

Just want to let you guys know they're going to be over there handing out some goodies. And we've got some great goodies here for you. We've got some incredible insulated Trader Joe's bags. We've got some shirts. We've got some stickers. Come on out there. Get some of that. There's some snacks that are available. Thank you guys for coming out. Joy Goodyear. All right. Certainly exciting. There you have it. It's official. Trader Joe's is coming to Goodyear.

looking at some of the comments on social media. We have a lot of people who are super excited. Let's step away from the music. You can probably hear me a little bit better. We're going to make our way towards some of the giveaway items to see what you can pick up. We'll be here until 6:00, so there's still plenty of time. All right, we're going to watch your step Eric. Ladies and gentlemen, while you're waiting for your free swag, I want to introduce All right.

So, hopefully you can see there's some t-shirts with um that are custom for Goodyear. It says, "Dreams really do come true." There's also some tote bags, some stickers just like you would get at Trader Joe's. Might be able to get some of those stickers right there on that table. Um, one of the questions, a great question on social media was where is it going to be located? So, it's going to be um just east of the BJ's restaurant on the northwest corner of McDow and Bowler.

And we have big appreciation today to the Goodyear Youth Commission. These are local students who are helping us pass out everything. There's also some Trader Joe's snacks, some of their most popular items. And again, we're here till 6:00 at the Goodyear uh Civic Park. Sorry. [Music] Um, we do have a couple more businesses that we get to announce today. So, in addition to Trader Joe's coming to the city of Goodyear, um, also coming to DSQ.

So, right next to Trader Joe's is Black Rock Coffee Bar and Firebirds Wood Fire Grill. So, three big announcements today, but of course, Trader Joe's just such a highly anticipated business. Uh, you heard Wette Reed, the city manager, say in her speech up there that Trader Joe's has been the most requested brochure by residents since 2017.

And so the city does a resident survey to ask residents what businesses they want in the city of Goodyear and which ones that are currently here that they really enjoy. And Trader Joe's was always top on the list as the ger the business that they wanted to come to the city. And ladies and gentlemen, it's happening again. We're here till 6:00. We're asking everyone to just take one of each item. So hopefully there'll be enough to go around.

We are at Goodyear Civic Park, 1900 North Civic Square, which is just right outside of City Hall in Goodyear's new downtown. [Music] We're just trying to make our way through just to show you a little bit more of the excitement of the band and the cheerleaders. We couldn't have done this without the community support and celebrating this exciting day. And residents really made this happen. Residents said they want Trader Joe's and Trader Joe's heard them. [Music] Good job.

[Music] All right, guys. If you missed any of the excitement, it's official. Trader Joe's is coming to the school high school downtown GSU in the northwest corner of Mcdal and Bullard. Also, really exciting news to announce. Uh, two other businesses that will be right next to the new Trader Joe's, Black Rock Coffee Bar and Fireburns Woodfired Grill. So, lots of exciting things happening into the city of Goodyear. Thank you so much for watching. There's still time to come down until 6:00.

We hope to see you. Have a good one. [Music]