One of Arizona’s more popular supermarket chains has officially opened in one of Houston’s northeastern suburbs. Friday, Sprouts Farmers Market held its grand opening in the heart of Kingwood at 4303 Kingwood Dr.

We previously reported that Sprouts was on the way to the Kings Crossing Shopping Center back in February. The space used to house an H-E-B, which later moved across the road in 2016. Sprout’s arrival is another high-profile tenant in the area, joining the likes of Torchy’s, Cava and my personal favorite, Kingwood Bagel & Sandwich.

On social media, there already appeared to be an early morning crowd ready to shop at Sprouts. The Kingwood High School drum line was in attendance, and staff were ready to greet the first shoppers in line at the new store.

The Boney family, who already had experience with produce stands and community grocers, opened the first Sprouts Farmers Market in 2002 in Chandler, Ariz. The grocery stores share more in common with places like Whole Foods and Central Market than H-E-B or Kroger. Sprouts puts an emphasis on healthy food and organic, seasonal produce, but at lower prices. 

The model seems to have worked for Sprouts which now counts hundreds of stores across the U.S. The first Texas locations opened in the mid-2000s in Plano and Flower Mound. The first Houston-area location came in 2005 in the Cinco Ranch neighborhood. After expanding for a time, the supermarket chain shaved off a couple of stores a few years ago, but have since returned to expanding again.