Excitement building over new Sprouts Grocer

At work, at home, and among friends and family, I’m noticing some excitement over the forthcoming Sprouts Farmers Market store. The grocer won’t open until August, but already the people of the SCV are cheering their arrival at the old Mervyn’s building on Magic Mountain Parkway.

What’s the big deal about Sprouts? Well, Sprouts isn’t just another lame grocer. They’re not high-end like Bristol Farms (which carries all the name brand foods at higher prices), they’re not solely going after the organic/locavore segment like Whole Foods either. No, instead, they’re shooting directly for the “funky budget grocer” segment that’s currently dominated by Trader Joe’s.

Anyway, I thought I’d steal some pictures of Sprouts from Flickr to sate your appetite until they open in August and to see how the store might differ from other grocers in town (click the photos to visit the owner’s Flickr picture):

Hmmm. Where have we seen chalkboard signs before? Also, notice the nice-sized produce section (other Flickr pictures show more produce)

They appear to sell products with their own branding, just like Trader Joe’s. And many of the shots show organic products.

Also, the pictures show that like Whole Foods, Sprouts allows you to buy things like coffee and other items in bulk. This is certainly cool; Trader Joe’s, as my friend Mike says, isn’t necessarily for people who like to cook, it’s for people who like prepackaged meals at a good price. But Sprouts may offer the best of both worlds.

There also appears to be a lunch/deli counter at Sprouts, which will add to the lunch time dining options available to us in the central valley. This is one of my favorite features of Whole Foods: buy lunch and get some shopping done at the same time. It appears we’ll be able to do the same thing at Sprouts.

Another shot of the produce section. This just puts Trader Joe’s to shame!

Some five months after Trader Joe’s moved to their new location near Best Buy at Bouquet & Newhall Ranch Road, I’m still hearing complaints about how difficult it is to get there. Some have told me that they no longer stop there after work (even if they live in Saugus), while others say they now visit just a few times per month whereas they used to go every week. There’s no doubt that TJ’s is enjoying big success at its new place, but people still find it hard to get to.

Sprouts’ central location will be a major asset for it, I think.  And it could be a major asset for the River Oaks shopping center, which has quite a few vacancies right now.

Thanks to Flickr user Lisa Bergeron and digitalnomad for the pics!