Trader Joe’s Bridgemarket opens on Thursday, December 2nd. Extended by the pandemic, the long wait is over. One of New York’s best loved stores arrives with a grace note of historic preservation.

By David Stone

The Roosevelt Island Daily News

The Historic Bridgemarket Is Now Trader Joe’s

The vaulted tile ceilings are structurally part of the Queensboro Bridge. An original market thrived there until the the Great Depression smothered it. Food Emporium restored it, but a corporate failure closed it again. Now, a thriving grocery chain restores this historic grace note.

Trader Joe’s Bridgemarket Opens at First Avenue and 59th Street

For devoted Trader Joe’s shoppers on Roosevelt Island and the Upper East Side, it’s now a shorter trip for filling carts with unique items. Horseradish hummus, anyone? For the uninitiated, it’s an adventure with friendly employees and great prices. You will come back.

But it’s not the grocery tradition found elsewhere. You will not find stacks of paper products nor is there an array of pet food choices. TJs doesn’t aspire to be everything for everyone, just the best at what it does do.

Now, as the Bridgemarket opens, shoppers can see for themselves.

Enthusiasm for the Bridgemarket opening means shoppers will flock to the store, and other stores will be forced to get better or watch customers drain away. Either way, consumers win.

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Free at the Door, Paid Somewhere Else

RIOC projected Tram growth and OMNY would strengthen transportation revenue. Its latest accounts show the Red Bus and Tram both losing money, while the public is not shown one transportation bill.

Theo Gobblevelt Sep 11, 2026

The Red Bus is one of Roosevelt Island’s most popular public services, and for good reason. For residents near the subway and Tram, it may be a convenience. For residents at Manhattan Park, the Octagon, Coler and the northern WIRE buildings, it can be the connection that makes the rest of the Island accessible.

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