Sprouts, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's expand in Philadelphia

Specialty grocery chains are piling into Philadelphia. Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe’s and Sprouts Farmers Market have all disclosed plans for new stores in the city and its suburbs, according to local reports.

One retail broker called the push “an arms race for real estate” in the Philadelphia Business Journal. The expansion follows a surge in apartment construction in the city and new-home development in the suburbs, the report said.

Whole Foods has three sites in the works: two under its smaller Daily Shop format, one in Fitler Square and another in Fishtown, plus a traditional store in Upper Providence Township. Trader Joe’s recently unveiled plans for a South Philadelphia location. Sprouts, which opened its first Philadelphia-area store in 2018, has accelerated its growth. It plans a store in Havertown, taking over a former Amazon Fresh space, and another in Sewell, N.J., about 20 minutes outside the city.

The push comes after several store closures in the greater Philadelphia market. Six Amazon Fresh locations and six Grocery Outlet stores shut down. Di Bruno Bros., a gourmet chain acquired by Wakefern member Brown’s Super Stores in 2024, closed three of its five locations earlier this year.

Walmart held the No. 1 grocery share in the metro area at 16.4% as of 2024, according to an Axios report. Albertsons, operating the Acme banner, was close behind at 15%, followed by Ahold Delhaize’s Giant Food Stores at 12.8%. Wegmans, one of the fastest-growing traditional banners, captured 5.7%.

The expansion also includes traditional grocers. Met Fresh Supermarket opened its first Philadelphia store this month. Zallie Family Markets, a Wakefern member, opened an 85,000-square-foot ShopRite in Clementon, N.J., last December. Wakefern earlier this year acquired three ShopRite stores in and around Philadelphia from other co-op members.

For public-market investors, the clearest read-through is Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM). The chain carries an Alpha Score of 42 out of 100, labeled Mixed, reflecting its position in the competitive specialty grocery space. The Philadelphia expansion adds to a growth plan that already included a push into the Northeast. Sprouts’ stock page shows the company’s sector is Consumer Defensive.

The Philadelphia Business Journal reported that the broker described conditions as highly competitive for retail space. Apartment construction has added thousands of new residents, creating demand for grocery options within walking distance or a short drive. The specialty chains are betting that the city’s population growth will support more stores, even as some competitors exit.