Backwater No More, Two-Buck Chuck Is On The Way!

New York City may have eight Vermeers but it had no Trader Joe’s . . . until now:

The specialty grocer Trader Joe’s will open a store near Union Square in about three months, a spokeswoman said yesterday, confirming a year’s worth of reports that the national chain would join a growing list of food stores along 14th Street.

Trader Joe’s, based in Monrovia, Calif., is best known for low-priced groceries and prepared and frozen foods. About 80 percent of what it sells carries the Trader Joe’s label. A little more than a third of its merchandise is fresh, but also packaged.

It is also known for selling cheap Charles Shaw wine, known as Two-Buck Chuck because it sold for $2 a bottle when it was first offered.

The company, which has 250 stores in 19 states, will open at 142 East 14th Street, with a separate wine shop next door at 138 East 14th Street. It has 19 stores in the New York area, but none in New York City.