Trader Joe’s in Baton Rouge reopened early Friday after hurricane damage had closed the store for more than a week.

A pink sign taped to the front of the door starting Sept. 11 told patrons the store was closed because of hurricane damage. Windows were blacked-out with trash bags.

“We are happy to be able to welcome customers back into their neighborhood Trader Joe’s,” a company spokesperson told the Reveille Friday.

Signs of life have returned to the grocery store with the talkative cashiers. 

The plap-swoosh of its automatic doors made soft music as customers bustled through Friday afternoon. 

Sports administration freshman Lilly Lawrenz and business freshman Tessa Zonneveld sat outside on the low wall by the carts, looting snacks from paper bags.

“Our friends called us with the news. Finally, Trader Joe’s is open,” Zonneveld said. 

Popping a banana chip into her mouth, she kicked her legs and smiled. 

Lawrenz peered into the parking lot and, opening her mouth, began to speak. 

“We came on Tuesday, and they had it shut down,” she said. “It was so sad.”

More shoppers recounted the dark days of more than a week and a half when Trader Joe’s sat shut and lifeless. 

“It was terrible,” said communication disorders junior Courtney Barrett, who found the store closed earlier in the week on a shopping trip with her boyfriend, biology senior Jackson Boyd. 

“We dropped to our knees and cried out in pain,” Boyd said with a laugh. He raised his fist to the air in a gesture of futility. “We just turned around.”

A burst of cold air shifted Barrett’s curly hair, and the couple walked gleefully into the store. 

Humming, cool and well-missed—Trader Joe’s is back.