ToNeTo Atlanta has learned that Sprouts Farmers Market plans to open a new store in the soon-to-close Cost Plus World Market space in Smyrna. The freestanding junior anchor space, which ToNeTo Atlanta reported December 16 will be vacated by Cost Plus as of December 31, will reopen as the fifteenth metro Atlanta location of the Phoenix-based grocer. Sources tell ToNeTo Atlanta that a lease is not yet signed but that a deal is "imminent." The approximately 19,000 square foot space sits in an outparcel of Heritage Pavilion shopping center along Cobb Parkway in Cobb County.
In addition to the Smyrna store, which should open in late 2021 or early 2022, another new Sprouts is slated to open later this summer in Buford at Fuqua Development's new The Exchange @ Gwinnett. The Buford store, which will measure about 23,000 square feet, is in line with what real estate sources tell ToNeTo Atlanta is the grocer's new store model. The Smyrna store will be smaller than this, but reportedly was a market the grocer was intent on penetrating despite the slightly smaller size. Existing Sprouts in metro Atlanta are 25,000-35,000 square feet.
The new Sprouts will be the second in the Smyrna area and the fourth overall in Cobb County joining existing locations on East-West Connector (Olde Ivy Village), East Cobb (Providence Square) and West Cobb (Parkside West Cobb).
Sprouts brings to Cobb Parkway a new grocery option which in the immediate area can be hard to find save for Costco (membership) and Target (limited grocery options). ALDI operates a newly renovated store at the corner of Cumberland Boulevard and Spring Road, but the German discount grocer with its cart rental, limited brand names and small format is not for everyone. In advance of the opening of The Battery Atlanta, there was talk of Sprouts, among others, having expressed interest in being part of the mixed-use development, but nothing ever came to be.