MERIDIAN TWP. — The Lansing area’s first Trader Joe’s will open later this week, more than two years after township officials first approved a parking variance for the East Grand River Avenue grocer.

The store, which is expected to employ 65 people, will open its doors at 9 a.m. on Friday, according to the California-based company’s announcement on its website. A brief ceremony will take place at the location before it opens, according to a news release from the company.

The highly anticipated specialty grocery store near East Lansing has been under construction on 2.2 acres at 2755 E. Grand River Ave., across the street from the Whole Foods Market, for more than a year.

“Inside this neighborhood grocery store, customers will find outstanding value in the form of the best quality products at the best everyday prices and friendly crew members who create a shopping environment that imparts adventure, humor, and a warm sense of community,” said the release. “The store’s interior artwork willhighlight local landmarks.”

The 10,000-square-foot store’s “exterior building envelope” has been finished since April. It is the area’s first location and Michigan’s ninth store.

Trader Joe’s website lists additional Michigan stores in Ann Arbor, Bloomfield Hills, Grosse Pointe, Kalamazoo, Kentwood, Northville, Rochester Hills and Royal Oak.

The store’s management is still hiring staff, the release said. Starting pay ranges from $15 to $17 an hour, said Nakia Rohde, a Trader Joe’s public relations manager, in an email earlier this month.

“Our crew members work part time, up to 38 hours a week,” she said. People can apply online at https://traderjoes.avature.net/careers/JobDetail/United-States-Crew/16380.

“In addition, through the company’s longstanding Neighborhood Shares Program, the new East Lansing Trader Joe’s will donate 100% of products that go unsold, but remain fit to enjoy to a range of nonprofit, community-based organizations, seven days a week,” the release said.

Contact Reporter Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on X @GrecoatLSJ .

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Trader Joe’s to open store on Grand River Avenue in Meridian Township