A Sprouts Farmers Market grocery store will open in San Rafael on April 15. The store, described itself as a “healthy grocery store offering fresh, natural and organic foods at great prices” on its website, will be opening at 655 Irwin Street, right off Highway 101 and next to Best Buy.

The 24,230 square-foot space used to be home to Pacific Sales, a household appliance store, before it was vacated last year. According to a Marin IJ article, “Sprouts representatives said the store will likely employ about 100 people.”

Sprouts Farmers Market is based in Chandler, Arizona, and now has 190 stores in select states.
Currently, the closest Sprouts Farmers Market is in Daly City. Sprouts did have plans to open a store in nearby Tam Valley early last spring, in the former location of Delano’s IGA Market at 209 Flamingo Road that closed in December 2010.

However according to a Facebook post by the Tamalpais Community Services District on February 22, 2014, those plans have were canceled.

The Facebook post said, “We finally heard this morning from the land owner of the former grocery site that the new Sprouts Grocery store is being dropped. The Tam Valley site instead will become home to a Good Earth grocery store.”

“It’s great to have a new healthy grocery store opening in San Rafael,” said Meredith McCarty, local community member and nutrition educator. “We can all use more sources for good foods, drinks and snacks. The more the merrier!”