Concord lands new grocery store as supermarket continues Charlotte expansion
Sprouts Farmers Market is expanding again in the Charlotte area, and taking over a former Earth Fare store in Concord.
The Phoenix-based specialty grocer submitted a plan for review to Cabarrus County last month at Christenbury Corners, 8885 Christenbury Parkway, in Concord, county permit filings show. The project description is for “grocery to grocery” in the previous Earth Fare location.
This is the first store Sprouts is opening in a Charlotte suburb.
Christenbury Corners, near Concord Mills mall, is a 129,319-square-foot shopping center anchored by Kohl’s and Pet Supplies Plus, according to property real estate manager Thompson Thrift. The center is also home to Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar, Jasmine Nails, Chicken Salad Chick, Blaze Pizza, Great Clips, Hand & Stone, Talkin Tacos and Nothing Bundt Cakes.
Sprouts and Thompson Thrift officials did not respond to requests for comment by Tuesday. Charlotte Business Journal earlier reported about the plan.
In August, Earth Fare closed the 24,110-square-foot store, which had opened in 2017. It’s the Asheville-based specialty grocers fourth store closing in the Charlotte region after Earth Fare began reopening stores following bankruptcy nearly six years ago.
The closest Earth Fare stores to Charlotte are just over the border in South Carolina in Fort Mill and Rock Hill.
About Sprouts grocery store
In August, Sprouts opened its third Charlotte-area store in NoDa. A line wrapped around the building before the store opened at the mixed-use development by Avery Hall Southeast on the corner of 36th and Tryon streets.
In 2023, Sprouts opened its second store at 14124 Steele Creek Road in a former Earth Fare location in Steele Creek. Sprouts made its Charlotte debut in 2018 at 15121 Ballancroft Parkway.
Sprouts has more than 450 stores in 24 states and about 35,000 employees.
More grocery stores opening around Charlotte
Sprouts joins a heated competition from nearly 730 grocery stores to capture a piece of the $10.4 billion market in the Charlotte region.
Discount giant Walmart has dominated the field for six years, followed by Matthews-based grocer Harris Teeter and Salisbury-based Food Lion.
Recent store expansions in the Charlotte region include:
- On Jan. 15, Lowes Foods opened at 3412 S. Providence in Waxhaw on the heels of opening an Indian Land, S.C., store in October.
- Whole Foods Market will open in south Charlotte, taking over the space previously occupied by Earth Fare, which closed due to intense grocery competition in the area. Whole Foods has not released an opening timeline. The Austin, Texas-based grocer will move into the former Earth Fare location in Ballantyne at Toringdon Market shopping center at 12235 North Community House Road, according to property manager Kite Realty’s website. Whole Foods has been owned by online retail giant Amazon since 2017.
- In September, Aldi store in University City at 9609 N. Tryon St.
- In September, Publix at Arboretum debuted at 7933 Providence Road in Charlotte. It’s the Florida-based chain’s 26th Charlotte-area store and third one opening here this year. In May, Publix opened a 47,000-square-foot store at 12925 Albemarle Road in east Charlotte. And in April, Publix opened a nearly 56,000-square-foot grocery store at 11525 Carmel Commons Blvd.
- In late 2026, Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans is expected to make its Charlotte debut with a 110,000-square-foot grocery store on the east side of Ballantyne in south Charlotte. Construction is underway.
- In 2027, Harris Teeter will open two 60,000-square-foot stores in York County, South Carolina — a Fort Mill store on Fort Mill Parkway and one in Lake Wylie at 5366 Hwy. 55 E., according to The Herald.
- Trader Joe’s will open its fourth Charlotte-area store in Matthews.
- Historic West End Partners is planning a 15,000-square-foot cooperative grocery store in partnership with Weaver Street Market, which has four stores in the Raleigh region.
- The West Boulevard Coalition is opening Charlotte’s first cooperative grocery store, Three Sisters Market. The full-service grocery store will debut in an area that has been without a traditional supermarket for over 30 years. The opening was expected this year but has stalled due to lack of funding.
- And California-based grocer Spangler’s will build an 8,000-square-foot store at Kohler and Statesville avenues, north of uptown.
This story was originally published January 13, 2026 at 11:28 AM.
