A movement is afoot to find a new tenant for the vacant Red Apple Market site in Newport Hills.

The search is getting specific for some residents. It’s Trader Joe’s they want.

“Myself and many of my neighbors are serious when we say ‘We want a Trader Joe’s in our neighborhood,'” said Carolyn Pastoriza of Newport Hills.

The reasons are plenty.

Trader Joe’s is a specialty grocer with products that are hard to come by at other markets.

There’s a selection of organic, imported, vegetarian, and gourmet products, as well as the Trader Joe label itself, which includes everything from soap to unusual frozen foods.

“I like their selection better than a regular supermarket,” Pastoriza said.

Trader Joe’s also has a reputation as one of the more attractive employers among grocery chains. Part-time employees get benefits, and most of the workers reportedly earn more than the union average.

One assistant store manager profiled in a Los Angeles magazine article was quoted as making $90,000 a year.

Newport Hills resident Wendy Kaehler says Trader Joe’s is just the type of store she’s looking for in her neighborhood.

“It has such a lovely organic selection,” she said. “It provides an excellent alternative to the other mainstay chain grocery stores.”

Kaehler said she misses having a neighborhood grocery store near the Lake Heights YMCA, where she takes her daughter every day in the summer.

The close proximity of Red Apple allowed her to make easy shopping stops in the past. Now she has to travel out of her way.

Convenience is a common theme for many of the residents who are calling on Trader Joe’s to move in.

Pastoriza used to stop at Red Apple on her walk home from the nearby Park and Ride, which is five minutes away from her house by foot.

Thomas Tan lives in Newcastle, and prefers shopping at Trader Joe’s above other markets. That means he has to travel across town once a week to do his shopping at the store on Northeast 20th Street in Bellevue.

Trader Joe’s has no plans for opening a store in Newport Hills at this time, according to company spokeswoman Alison Mochizuki.

“Right now it’s not on our two-year plan, but things change all the time,” she said.

Mochizuki said letter-writing campaigns don’t influence the company’s decisions, but there is a web site where people can request stores for a particular location.

Trader Joe’s has over 300 stores nationwide, 14 of which are in Washington.

A new store is due to open in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood this year.

Joshua Adam Hicks can be reached at 425.453.4290.