Specialty food retailers including Sprouts Farmers Market and Whole Foods Market are stepping up expansion in the Philadelphia market, with several new locations announced or in development.
The latest plans follow several years of growth. Sprouts opened its first Philadelphia-area store in 2018 and accelerated its development plans in 2023. The retailer is now planning stores in Havertown, Pennsylvania, and Sewell, New Jersey Whole Foods Market previously announced plans to expand its smaller Daily Shop format into Philadelphia. Two locations are now in development: a 13,860-square-foot store planned for the Fitler Square area and a 9,400-square-foot location planned for a 40-unit apartment development in Fishtown. The retailer also has a traditional-format store planned in Upper Providence Township.
The expansion comes despite a number of recent closures in the greater Philadelphia market. Six Amazon Fresh and six Grocery Outlet stores have closed, while Di Bruno Bros., acquired by Wakefern member Brown’s Super Stores in 2024, closed three of its five locations earlier this year.
Other grocers have continued expanding. Met Fresh Supermarket, an Associated Supermarket Group banner, opened its first Philadelphia store earlier this month. Wakefern member Zallie Family Markets opened an 85,000-square-foot ShopRite in Clementon, New Jersey, in December 2025, and Wakefern acquired three additional ShopRite stores in and around Philadelphia earlier this year.
The competing expansion is occurring as new housing development creates additional demand. One local retail broker described the competition for grocery sites as “an arms race for real estate” in the Philadelphia Business Journal, citing apartment construction in Philadelphia and new residential development in the suburbs. Walmart led the greater Philadelphia grocery market in 2024 with a 16.4% share, followed by Albertsons’ Acme banner at 15% and Ahold Delhaize’s Giant Food Stores at 12.8%, according to Axios. Wegmans held 5.7% of sales and has been among the market’s fastest-growing traditional grocers.
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