Tracking down Trader Joe’s: Rumors, social media, and how Ashvegas broke the story

Share
Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

  • 1

In yesterday’s edition of the Asheville Citizen-Times, Jason shares the story behind how Ashvegas.com broke the Trader Joe’s news last week.

Image from the Asheville Citizen-Times

I like the interplay between blog and newspaper: The AC-T disallows anonymous sources, so official confirmation didn’t appear on the paper’s website until Tuesday July 10. But the first unequivocal media statement that Trader Joe’s was coming to Asheville was the day before, on Ashvegas on Monday–backed by reliable sources that wished to remain anonymous.

On Monday Jason knew, and his sources knew, that TJ’s had made a huge local property purchase ($3.2 million, according to WLOS reporter Russ Bowen) and was coming to Merrimon Avenue, displacing local businesses. The news was ready even if the sources weren’t–and only a blog provided the place to share it.

From the AC-T: Tracking down an Asheville Trader Joe’s rumor

Tracking down Internet rumors can sometimes feel a lot like chasing the wind.

Take the story this week about Trader Joe’s plans to open a store along Merrimon Avenue. The rumor that Trader Joe’s was coming to town has been floated since at least 2009. But the old rumor took on new life last month when a person identifying themselves as an employee of the specialty grocery store chain in Greenville, S.C., wrote a note on Facebook. The posting, on a page titled “Bring Trader Joe’s to Asheville,” said unequivocally that a TJ’s was coming soon to Asheville.

***

A couple of weeks later, a local woman posted a note on the same Facebook fan page that Trader Joe’s had purchased property along Long Shoals Road in South Asheville. She wrote that she met the commercial realtor who was part of the deal.

Both times, the Ashvegas blog repeated the Facebook postings, noting that it was speculation and asking anyone for more information. In the meantime I sought confirmation by talking to sources I trusted. I kept running into brick walls. A company spokeswoman wasn’t returning my phone calls, and nobody seemed to know for sure what was happening.

Read the whole story here.

Roundup of Asheville Trader Joe’s news here.

Tags::
Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

  • 1

You Might also Like

3 Comments

  1. Sarah July 15, 2012

    I’m finding more and more that I rely less on the ACT for local news and much more on Ashvegas, supplemented by Mountain Xpress. Ashvegas has the coverage I want. Go Jason go!

    Reply
    1. Jason Sandford July 16, 2012

      Sarah, thank you so much!

      Reply
  2. plastic paddy July 15, 2012

    So much unequivocalness.

    Reply

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Stories