Is Trader Joe's Open On Easter Sunday 2022?

If this were 1950, you'd know your local Trader Joe's would have been closed for business Easter Sunday. In fact, it would have been closed for business every Sunday in compliance with "blue laws." The term refers to legislation prohibiting the conduct of business on religious holidays, including Sundays, which is the Christian Sabbath.

Blue laws date back to medieval Europe, wherein religion and religious beliefs dictated most facets of everyday life (via Lords and Ladies), and the only accepted religion was Christianity. When European colonists arrived here, they brought the blue laws with them, and at their most restrictive, those laws prohibited not only the conduct of business but the doing of basically anything that might in any way interfere with spending Sunday in church (via Middle Tennessee State University). That may have included hunting, watering your lawn, and wearing certain clothing that might be deemed inappropriate for church-going.

As much as blue laws may promote religion in a nation purporting to separate religion and government, the Supreme Court ruled them constitutional in 1960. To this day, 28 states enforce blue laws of one kind or another they typically don't restrict grocery stores from operating, although some states don't sell alcohol on Sundays (via World Population Review). So whether and to what extent your local Trader Joe's will be open on Easter Sunday will, for the most part, reflect Trader Joe's corporate policy. 

You can't buy a car on Easter Sunday in Nevada, Illinois, or Minnesota, among others, per World Population Review. Clothing and furniture can't be sold on that day in Bergen County, New Jersey. But in virtually every state you can shop for groceries on any given Sunday, including Easter (albeit not necessarily for any wine you might need). However, before you decide to wait until the last minute to head on over to Trader Joe's to purchase whatever it is you might need for your holiday dinner, you'll want to bear in mind that just because your Trader Joe's isn't prohibited by law from opening on Easter Sunday, doesn't mean it will be open.

That being said, Trader Joe's should remain open and available for its customers on Easter Sunday. It has a long history of doing so, with the exception of 2020, when it gave its employees a "much-needed day of rest," per ABC11. Trader Joe's has not made any statement this year that its grocery stores will not be open on Easter Sunday throughout the U.S. As reported by Delish and Good Housekeeping, TraderJoe's will be open on Easter Sunday, and likely during its normal business hours. It never hurts to call or check in with your local store as well.