Sprouts Farmers Market to open first Palm Springs store in former Bed Bath & Beyond

A specialty grocery store that is known for its large selection of produce and supplements will soon be sprouting in Palm Springs.

Sprouts Farmers Market's first location in Palm Springs is in the works and scheduled to open in the last quarter of this year, a spokesperson for the chain confirmed Monday.

While they did not provide additional details, it appears the store is headed for the space that formerly housed Bed Bath & Beyond inside The Springs Shopping Center near the intersection of Gene Autry Trail and Ramon Road.

A sign recently appeared in the window there providing public notice that SF Markets LLC — a business entity registered to the corporate office of Sprouts — had submitted an application to sell alcoholic beverages in a Sprouts at the site. The shopping center is home to several other large retail stores, including Marshalls, The Home Depot and the discount grocer Aldi.

The Sprouts will add another grocery store to an area already crowded with them: Just south of Ramon Road are a Smart & Final Extra and a Walmart Supercenter.

What is Sprouts Farmers Market?

In 1992, the first Sprouts was opened in Chandler, Arizona, by Shon Boney, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. Boney was the grandson of the founder of Henry’s Farmer Market, a San Diego-based chain of market stories that served as the inspiration for Sprouts.

The chain’s website states that it was founded with the goal of making “organic foods accessible to everyone and says shoppers should “think of Sprouts as all of the very best parts of a real farmers market under one roof, open every day of the week.”The chain currently has about 380 stores nationwide, including two in the Coachella Valley. The valley’s first Sprouts is in La Quinta, while a second in Indian Wells opened last year.

What happened to the Palm Springs Bed Bath & Beyond?

The Palm Springs location closed with the rest of the chain’s stores last year as the company announced it was filing for bankruptcy and planning to close its remaining 360 stores, according to The New York Times.

Paul Albani-Burgio covers growth, development and business in the Coachella Valley. Follow him on Twitter at @albaniburgiop and email him at paul.albani-burgio@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Sprouts Farmers Market to open in Palm Springs, California