"For a city that's been wanting a grocery store for a long time, we've got two really great options that I think both together are going to serve every single member of our community," Councilmember Reuben Cozmyer said in June, as the Merriam City Council approved the Aldi deal at Merriam Town Center, according to the Johnson County Post.
The second option, an Aldi, was still under construction at last report. The first, Trader Joe's at 8700 Shawnee Mission Parkway, has been open since September 2. Both stores share one detail that shows up on your receipt. Each one sits in a redeveloped shopping district where a 1% sales tax pays back the cost of the project, and in both cases the city wrote the grocery store out of that tax. The restaurants and shops around the groceries pay for the district. The grocery checkout doesn't add the 1%.
Eight years without a grocery store inside city limits
Merriam had no grocery store within city limits from 2018, when Hen House left Merriam Town Center, until this September. Mayor Bob Pape told the Johnson County Post on opening morning that residents had been asking the city to bring a grocery back ever since. He said the first attempt was supposed to happen across the street, at the old Kmart site that Drake Development turned into Merriam Grand Station. That grocery deal fell through. The city kept pressing, and Drake eventually landed Trader Joe's on the other side of Shawnee Mission Parkway.
Trader Joe's took a site that had served a different purpose. The Antioch Library branch used to stand at the northwest corner of Shawnee Mission Parkway and Antioch Road, until Johnson County Library moved it to Merriam Plaza, next door to the Merriam Community Center. The city bought the old library land and owns the Trader Joe's property today. The project also took down a Caribou Coffee and a gas station. The Chipotle at 8800 Shawnee Mission Parkway is the only business on the site that was left untouched.
The store itself runs 9,498 square feet and employs more than 50 people, according to the opening announcement. It's open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily and doesn't sell alcohol. Prints of school mascots hang from the pillars, including the Hocker Grove Middle eagles and the Shawnee Mission North bison. Murals of barbecue sauce bottles and Union Station run along the walls near the ceiling.
Where the extra 1% shows up, and where it doesn't
Merriam now has two community improvement districts, or CIDs. In each one, a 1% sales tax is added at the register, on top of the regular sales tax, and that money pays back development costs over a set period. The Grand Station district has collected since October 1, 2025. The City of Merriam's notice says it covers restaurants and retail at Merriam Grand Station, Grand Station Marketplace and nearby properties, and that grocery purchases at the new store won't carry the tax.
The Town Center district started on October 1, 2026, about a month before this post. The Johnson County Post reported which Town Center businesses are in and out of that district. The city's council memo set October 1 as the target start date, and the Kansas Department of Revenue's rate-change list for that date includes the Merriam Town Center CID.
| Stop | District | 1% CID tax? |
|---|---|---|
| Trader Joe's, 8700 Shawnee Mission Pkwy | Grand Station Marketplace | No |
| 30Hop, Cava, Chipotle, Jersey Mike's, Shake Shack, Starbucks, Supplement Superstore, Treats Unleashed | Grand Station and Marketplace | Yes, since Oct. 1, 2025 |
| Aldi, 5830 Antioch Rd., under construction | Merriam Town Center | No |
| Home Depot, IHOP, Chili's Grill & Bar | Merriam Town Center area | No |
| McDonald's, Taco Bell, the Jimmy John's retail strip across Johnson Drive | Merriam Town Center | Yes, since Oct. 1, 2026 |
At that rate, a $20 lunch at Shake Shack costs 20 cents more than it would have before October 2025. The same $20 in groceries at Trader Joe's costs nothing extra.
The city chose to keep each grocery store out of its district. The staff memo for the council's Town Center vote put it this way:
"Of note, it is a priority of the City Council to not include the new grocery store within the CID and increase the costs of groceries for our residents."
The same memo says the cost of the Town Center work will be covered only by what the CID collects. The money comes from purchases at the stores around the grocery, not from the city's general funds.
What the restaurant and retail tax pays for
On the Grand Station side, the city expects the CID to bring in about $6.3 million over 22 years. That money pays off general obligation bonds the city issued for infrastructure tied to the development. Drake Development has guaranteed $5 million of the projected total and will make up the difference if collections fall short.
At Town Center, the tax backs a refresh of an existing shopping center. The RH Johnson Company, the firm of owner Bob Johnson, plans to spend about $31.1 million on top of the more than $50 million it has already put into the center since buying it. The plan adds 55,000 square feet of new construction across four buildings, at a projected cost of just under $12 million. Those buildings would go on mostly unused parking in front of Ross Dress For Less and Bob's Discount Furniture, which is where Hen House used to be. The rest of the plan covers new building exteriors, more green space, pedestrian connections, EV charging stations, a covered bus stop and wayfinding signs.
The Town Center CID runs 22 years. It can reimburse up to $6.9 million, and it pays out only if the work is finished under the development agreement and the tax actually brings in the money. Each district has a cap. At Grand Station, the developer has to cover any shortfall. At Town Center, the developer can only be paid back as fast as sales come in. In both districts, that money comes from the restaurants and shops, not from the grocery store.
The Aldi in the old OfficeMax
The Aldi will fill the 24,000-square-foot space OfficeMax left behind at 5830 Antioch Road, which makes it more than double the size of the Trader Joe's. Johnson told the council it would be the largest Aldi in the Kansas City metro and estimated the conversion at about $5.1 million.
The Kansas City Star reported the site under construction, with a "coming soon" sign in the parking lot as of September 4, and said no opening date had been announced. The development agreement gives Johnson one year to start renovating the space and three years to finish. The Star placed the store less than a mile from the new Trader Joe's. When the Aldi opens, Merriam will have one grocery store at each end of Antioch Road.
What's still empty at the Marketplace
The Trader Joe's block isn't finished. Plans for Merriam Grand Station Marketplace include 4,000 square feet of retail or dining space and more than 200 apartments. No tenant has been announced for the 4,000-square-foot space. Under the city's CID notice, any new restaurant or retailer in the area will charge the 1% tax, unlike the grocery store next door.
On the Merriam calendar this holiday season
The Merriam Farmers' Market runs Saturdays from May through September, and the 2026 season ended September 26. The city's holiday events are all at the Merriam Community Center, next door to the library that used to sit on the Trader Joe's corner:
- Holiday Sip and Shop, Friday, November 13, 5 to 8 p.m.
- Christmas in the Courtyard, with holiday lighting at Merriam Plaza, Friday, December 4, 6 to 8 p.m.
- Breakfast with Santa, Saturday, December 5, 9 to 10:30 a.m.
This post is general information about how Merriam's districts are set up. It isn't tax or financial advice, so if a sales tax question affects your business or your books, check with a qualified professional.
Redevelopment like Grand Station and Town Center changes how a part of town gets used, and what a nearby property is worth to the people who live with it every day. If you own a home or acreage in northeast Johnson County and want to know how the changes along Shawnee Mission Parkway and Antioch Road affect your own property, The Benjamin Team would be glad to sit down with you. Request a free consultation and home or land valuation, and we'll walk through it together.
