The specialty grocery store Trader Joe's plans to build a location at LaCenterra at Cinco Ranch, according to an announcement from the California-based company in August.

The stores are known for offering a wide array of reasonably priced domestic and imported foods and beverages. The new location, which will be built in time for a 2014 opening, will occupy approximately 12,500 square feet at 2643 Commercial Center Blvd.

"We're excited to announce that Trader Joe's is going to join the LaCenterra family," said Lindsay Kaye, spokeswoman for LaCenterra at Cinco Ranch.

Among its offerings, Trader Joe's stocks basics such as milk and eggs, as well as an assortment of dried fruit and fresh crop nuts, fresh baked artisan breads, Arabica bean coffees, hard to find international frozen entres, pure fruit juices, deli items, and vitamins and supplements.

The store also carries more than 3,000 items under the Trader Joe's label, including salsas, fried rice and marinara sauces.

One key strategy for the chain is to purchase many items from manufacturers instead of distributors. In many cases the company asks manufacturers to remove preservatives, artificial colors and artificial ingredients before labeling them with the Trader Joe's label and selling them at a discount.

Alison Mochizuki, a spokeswoman for Trader Joe's, said the company was not yet ready to release information about when in 2014 the store will open. The number of workers it will employ was also unavailable.

Currently the company operates more than 390 stores in 35 states. There are three locations in the Houston metro area: The Woodlands on Kuykendahl Road opened in June 2012, the old Alabama Theater building on South Shepherd Drive opened in September 2012 and the Memorial area on South Voss Road opened in January 2013.

The Katy store will be smaller than the existing Trader Joe's locations. The Woodlands store is a 13,500-square-foot space, Montrose is a 14,500-square-foot space and Memorial is a 14,000-square-foot space.