San Francisco is set to get its first Sprouts Farmers Market (opens in new tab), according to sources familiar with the pending lease.
The grocery chain, known for natural food options and organic produce, has carved out a niche among the wellness crowd.
Documents filed last week with the San Francisco Planning Department state that an applicant is requesting a change to a curb cut to service a “trash compactor for new grocery store” at 555 Ninth St.
The SoMa property at that location is a block-long, two-level shopping center with a parking garage, currently home to Trader Joe’s, the Container Store, and several empty suites. A source said the Sprouts would likely occupy the space of a former Nordstrom Rack store (opens in new tab). The leasing brokers for the shopping center did not respond to requests for comment.
Employees at Trader Joe’s, which has a devoted fan base of its own, said Tuesday they had not heard about Sprouts or any other grocery store opening mere feet away.
A manager at Sprouts in Daly City who declined to give his name confirmed that the company will open a San Francisco store in 2028 but was unable to specify the location.
Sprout stores are known for their open layout, with an extensive organic produce section at the center. The chain arranges many products by diet, allowing shoppers who are vegetarian or have a gluten intolerance to browse conveniently.
While the company traces its origins to a clutch of 1940s-era family-owned farmstands in San Diego, the modern Sprouts is a Phoenix-based corporation with almost 500 locations, including more than two dozen in the Bay Area.
The news comes at a tumultuous time for supermarkets in San Francisco. The closure of Lucky in the fall left the Bayview without a full-service grocery store, while four Safeways citywide may shutter temporarily to allow for construction of housing.
This will not be the first time the two grocers have competed side by side. In 2023, a Sprouts store opened on Coleman Avenue (opens in new tab), steps from one of San Jose’s longest-standing Trader Joe’s.