A vacant Kroger building on Nine Mile Road near Greater Mack is getting new life, and it's bringing a grocery chain that has never operated in Michigan before. The City of St. Clair Shores announced that Sprouts Farmers Market is coming to the community, with the health-focused retailer set to occupy part of the 55,000-square-foot former supermarket at 22332 Nine Mile Road.
Liz Koto, the city's director of planning, development and grant administration, confirmed the news to the Detroit Free Press. Planet Fitness is renovating the other half of the building, splitting the old grocery box between a specialty grocer and a gym. Renovations for the Sprouts space are expected to begin, though the company has not given an opening timeline.
The move marks Sprouts' long-awaited entry into Michigan. Phoenix-based Sprouts had 464 stores across 24 states after its third-quarter 2025 openings and has no listed stores in Michigan, according to the company's own location list cited by the Free Press. Sprouts did not return messages sent by the newspaper seeking additional comment.
Why Sprouts Is Looking North and East
St. Clair Shores isn't an isolated bet. In a third-quarter 2025 call and an October investor deck, Sprouts executives identified the Midwest and Northeast as primary target expansion territories, specifically calling out Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin, according to The Shelby Report. The company has historically concentrated its footprint in Sunbelt markets like California, Texas and Arizona, so a Michigan debut represents a real geographic pivot.
A Smaller Footprint Built for Shared Buildings The retailer's scale gives it room to experiment. Sprouts had 443 stores across 24 states as of March 30, 2025.
A Smaller Footprint Built for Shared Buildings
Part of what makes a site like the old Kroger box workable is Sprouts' smaller format, which averages 25,000 square feet, per Grocery Dive. That smaller footprint could make it possible for Sprouts to carve out space in a 55,000-square-foot building alongside a co-tenant like Planet Fitness.
That co-tenant is moving fast. Planet Fitness franchise operator EPIC Fitness Group announced it is taking over the other half of the sub-divided Nine Mile Road property, with pre-sale memberships starting next month ahead of a winter launch, according to DBusiness. EPIC Fitness Group operates 70 Planet Fitness locations across Michigan, Ohio and Illinois.
Site History and City Involvement
The Nine Mile Road property has sat in limbo since Kroger's exit, with the 3.76-acre site approved for redevelopment by the St. Clair Shores City Council back in April 2022, per the Macomb Daily.
The city described Sprouts as offering fresh food at lower prices than competing grocers while also stocking non-perishables. Sprouts markets itself around helping people live and eat better, per its own news releases, and its stores are built around an open layout with fresh produce at the center, featuring what the company calls a curated assortment of better-for-you products.
A Crowded Grocery Market
Sprouts will be entering a region where grocery competition is already fierce. St. Clair Shores is also home to Nino Salvaggio International Marketplace, a specialty grocer that planned to expand its Metro Detroit footprint with a 48,100-square-foot market in Livonia scheduled to open March 11, 2026.
Behind the scenes, Sprouts' supply chain may shape how quickly it can scale up in Michigan. Nearly 80% of the company's stores are within 250 miles of a distribution center, according to Grocery Dive. Sprouts has outlined a Chicago expansion window of 2027–2028 and discussed a future Midwest distribution center.
