After what seemed like a years-long wait for Parker area residents, trendy specialty grocer Trader Joe’s opened its doors Friday morning.

Unlike the first Colorado Trader Joe’s opening in Denver in 2014, there were no overnight campers or blocks-long wait to get into the store. But by 7:50 a.m., there were hundreds of shoppers in line and the parking lot was full.

It’s the chain’s eighth store in Colorado.

Marcia DeBell, 75, of Parker was the first in line.

“This is fun,” she said. “I usually have to drive up to the Colorado Boulevard store to get my balsamic glaze, so this is great. I shop at Costco all the time, so this is perfect.”

The store, on the northeast corner of Parker Road and E470 at 18374 Cottonwood Drive in the Crown Point shopping center, is also across the street from a King Soopers.

Hawaiian-shirted crew members burst out of the store before the ribbon cutting, arms filled with leis to hand out. Parker Mayor Jeff Toborg and council members Joshua Rivero and Todd Hendreks joined “Captain” Ty Poe — the store’s manager. Douglas County Commissioners Lora Thomas and George Teal were also present.

“Tons of citizens have been clamoring for this moment for years,” said Hendreks. “It’s exciting to see a quality business like Trader Joe’s come to Parker. … It’s a cool little store with a lot of good stuff.”

Poe thanked the crowd and said: “We appreciate you. Today is about you.”

The crowd filed into the store, which became packed in just minutes.

The store had several Parker touches with the artwork inside.

“We actually started the mural work three or four months ago,” Poe said. “That’s done by our Trader Joe’s crew members. We try to make each store local to its neighborhood. Besides getting to know the customers, the art is real Parker-centric. We went out and did our homework.”

Asked about hiring, considering many retailers are struggling, Poe said there weren’t issues.

“The hiring went swimmingly, actually,” he said. “We hired more than 60 and brought in about 20 veterans. Most of the hires were from the Parker area and we’re still looking to fill a few more.”

Parker store job openings are posted at traderjoes.com/careers.

The general contractor on the project was Maxwell Builders Inc.

The store will donate food to the SECORCares of Parker, the area’s largest food bank.

“We donate everything that’s not sellable, but still edible,” Poe said. “We took (the) whole crew down there to do a tour of their facility. What a great organization.”

The company’s long-standing Neighborhood Shares Program donates “100% of products that go unsold but remain fit to enjoy to a range of non-profit, community-based organizations, seven days a week,” according to a news release.

In 2021, the private company donated $349 million worth of food to food banks and other nonprofit organizations.

The Monrovia, California-based retailer has 530 stores in 42 states and Washington, D.C. It opened its first Denver store at Eighth Avenue and Colorado Boulevard in 2014, and now has locations in Fort Collins, Boulder, Littleton, Greenwood Village and Colorado Springs. It has been six years since the last Colorado store opened.