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Updated 08/03/2012 01:02 PM

Trader Joe’s now open for business in Colonie

By: Megan Cruz

Before Friday, you had to travel to Hadley, Massachusetts, for one, but those two-hour trips are a thing of the past now that a Trader Joe's has finally opened in Colonie. As our Megan Cruz tells us, the opening had people heading out their doors earlier than usual, but for different reasons..

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COLONIE, N.Y. -- "I wanted to make sure I was first in line."

And that he was. All Ed Davis from Watervliet had to do was park in the new Trader Joe's parking lot Thursday night at 10 p.m. for the store's grand opening Friday at 8 a.m.

"You can find things here you can't find other places," said Davis. "The quality is good. They back their product 100%."

His love of their unique line was shared by the hundreds who lined up after him. The two women directly behind him showed up at 3:45 a.m.

"We wanted this store to come here forever," said Sandra Chisholm of Watervliet. "Everything in the store is great; the people are wonderful."

"We've traveled to Hadley, Massachusetts - 2.5 hours away - to get their product," said Barbara Hildreth of Cohoes.

But with hundreds coming to the store, a problem is parking. With only 85 spots, customers have spilled over into other neighboring lots like Newbury Plaza.

"I'm stressing for my clients being annoyed," said Lindsay Grimes. She's a hairstylist at Shapes and Colours Salon in Newbury Plaza. She left for work much earlier than usual to make sure she got a parking spot.

"It's already pretty difficult, especially at lunch time with Panera," said Grimes.

But she said the trade-off is for maybe potential new customers like Joan Abrahamson, who parked in the plaza and said the crowds couldn't keep her away.

"It's crazy. I love it! I'm at a party! I love Trader Joe's!" said the Ballston Lake resident. "I feel like I'm dancing through the aisles! I'm going to be here once a week."

For the next two weekends, the Colonie Police Department is on hand to help with this increase in traffic. Faithful fans say they'll try to get out of there as soon as possible, and to not get too carried away.

"I love it! It's like Christmas!" said Chisholm.