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Editor’s note 8/28/26: The Trader Joe’s reopened on Aug. 21 after passing a county inspection earlier that day.
The Trader Joe’s supermarket at Town & Country Village was shut down Wednesday morning because of an early-morning fire, according to fire officials.
A lingering chemical scent wafted out from around the yellow caution tape wrapped around the Trader Joes’ entrance on Wednesday afternoon. Shopping cars full of bananas, apples and other produce were crowded around the locked-open automatic doors, which were left permanently open with a sign reading “Sorry, for the inconvenience, we are closed today.”
Deputy Fire Chief Kevin McNally said the fire was called in at about 2:53 a.m. by a passing police officer who saw the smoke and flames inside the store. Firefighters were on scene by 2:58 a.m. He said the crew initially asked for additional resources due to the store’s size, but the request was cancelled because the on-site firefighters were able to extinguish the fire.
The department is still investigating what may have caused the fire, and it’s unclear how long the investigation may take. McNally told this news organization there was “some equipment” involved in the fire, but it’s unclear if that equipment was what started the flame or caught on fire after.
“Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s not,” McNally said.
Trader Joe’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The location’s website says they’re closed Wednesday “for maintenance.”
Dozens of shoppers flitted through the complex’s parking lot, many declaring the closure a “bummer” or shrugging and sighing in disappointment.
It’s also unclear when the store may reopen. McNally said the department alerted the Santa Clara County Health Department to the fire and that the county will determine when the store can reopen.
The department’s Environmental Health division said in a statement that it had inspected the store and noticed smoke damage to the freezer and elsewhere in the facility. A follow-up inspection was scheduled for Aug. 21.
Nakia Rohde, Trader Joe’s spokesperson, said the store is closed because of a “small fire.”
“We will reopen as soon as we can,” Rohde said in a statement.
