Health Store ‘Sprouting’ at 101st & Memorial
By EMILY RAMSEY
Assistant Editor
BREAKING GROUND: Bixby’s newest grocery store will be Sprouts, a health food store located at 101st Street and Memorial Drive. It is the first Sprouts in the metro area and will add 120 jobs. Among those pictured are city councilors Brian Guthrie and Steve Todoroff, Mayor Ray Bowen, Trish Richey, economic development director, and Krystal Crockett, Bixby Chamber of Commerce president.
Natural grocery stores are “sprouting” up all over the Tulsa area, including Bixby.
Next year, Sprouts Farmers Market will open its third Oklahoma location at 101st and Memorial Drive.
Headquartered in Phoenix, Ariz., Sprouts specializes in natural and organic foods and dietary supplements with a strong emphasis on fresh, high-quality produce all within a budget. Sprouts products include fresh produce, bulk items, meat and seafood, health and beauty products, vitamins and dietary supplements, and national brand and private label products all at competitive prices with the focus of offering healthier eating choices.
“We have received a very positive response from the community regarding Sprouts,” says Trish Richey, economic development director. “It’s a niche market and will be a nice complement to the grocery stores that are already established in Bixby.”
Founded by members of the Boney family in 2001, Sprouts opened its first store in early 2002 and, since then, has expanded to almost 150 stores in eight southwestern states, including Oklahoma and Texas, with more than 11,000 employees. In August 2012, Sprouts Farmers Market was ranked number one as the fastest growing retailer in the U.S., according to a publication of the National Retail Federation. Through its rapid expansion over the last ten years, Sprouts prides itself on the genuine feel of a neighborhood farmers’ market and is actively involved in the community, supporting many local non-profit and educational institutions.
While Sprouts only began in 2001, its owners, the Boney family, had its beginnings in the grocery business much earlier than that, starting in 1943 when Henry Boney, the company founder, opened his first fruit stand in California. The food marketplace, Boney’s, was later changed to Henry’s Marketplace and eventually sold to Wild Oats Markets, Inc. in 1999.
In 2002, the family opened Sprouts Farmers Market in Chandler, Ariz. The family eventually purchased the original rights to Henry’s Marketplace back in 2011 and merged the two stores.
According to Sprouts’ website, both Henry’s and Sprouts are farmers-market-style grocery stores, with an informal, wide-open store design and a strong emphasis on fresh, high-quality produce at a great value. Averaging about 28,000 square feet in size, the stores are easy to shop in and navigate yet still have extensive offerings in virtually every major category (produce, grocery, dairy, frozen, meat, seafood, bakery, deli, bulk, vitamins, body care, household products, beer and wine) – largely natural and organic. All of these elements have been hallmarks of the Boney family’s retail establishments since the beginning.
To fill Jenks’ need for health food, Green Acres Market opened its doors in August.
The company has its roots in Kansas, opening its first store in 1994 in Wichita. The company focuses on community education regarding healthy living. “Our mission is to make our community healthier and be a health resource,” says Communications Coordinator Angie Ramsey.
The market holds weekly seminars and classes on health topics, including the differences between conventional and organic products, gluten-free diets, and losing weight effectively.
Updated 11-07-2012
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