Sprouts Farmers Market set to open this month in Centereach

Sprouts Farmers Market is in the final stages of preparation for its highly anticipated Centereach location, with visible construction progress signaling that opening day is now around the corner.

The grocery chain has announced that the store at 1934 Middle Country Road will open Jan. 30, marking the arrival of the natural and organic-focused retailer on Long Island.

While most of the store’s windows remain covered with paper, the large Sprouts Farmers Market sign is now fully installed on the exterior.

From the higher windows, interior progress is visible, including signage, lighting and store infrastructure.

The new Sprouts Farmers Market fills most of the space previously occupied by an L.A. Fitness, which closed last January.

The store is opening in a busy Middle Country Road plaza that includes Starbucks, Buffalo Wild Wings and Subway, placing the grocer in an extremely well-trafficked retail corridor in Centereach.

Before operating as a gym for over a decade, the building was home to Waldbaum’s, which closed in 2010 following the chain’s bankruptcy. Now, it’s returning to its supermarket roots.

The location is expected to employee nearly 100 full- and part-time workers.

Founded in 2002, Sprouts is often described as a hybrid of Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. The company operates more than 430 stores across 24 states, employing more than 33,000 workers, according to its website.

Sprouts has a strong presence in places like California, Texas, Arizona, Florida and Colorado, but it has just a handful of locations in the Northeast. The Centereach store will be Sprouts’ first in New York.

_{Top: Almost ready: Sprouts opens Jan. 30 in Centereach (Brian Harmon photos).}

Prior coverage

Here’s when Long Island’s first Sprouts Farmers Market is expecting to open