Sprouts Farmers Market is coming to Cheyenne! First Wyoming location!

Truck sits in front of Bed Bath and Beyond while construction work takes place inside - Optopolis

Cheyenne is getting a new competitor in the grocery store market! Sprouts Farmers Market is in the process of setting up shop in the former Bed Bath and Beyond. The space has already been gutted!

A glance at the Bed Bath and Beyond space

If you've been following the journey here at Optopolis, you probably already know this story, so here's a quick run-down of the history of Bed Bath and Beyond as it relates to Cheyenne.

• Building built 2007 according to property assessor, part of the then-Cheyenne Marketplace
  
• Bed Bath and Beyond would be the original tenant of its space
• In the first week of February 2023, BB&B was silently announced to close
• Final day was on Apr 23, 2023, the same day BB&B filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
• Spirit Halloween set up shop for the 2023 season, opening in August and closing shortly after Halloween

Spirit Halloween inside of Cheyenne's Bed Bath and beyond, seen 2023 - Optopolis

Bed Bath and Beyond was acquired in summer 2023 by Overstock.com and has since been relaunched as an online retailer with no current plans of opening physical storefronts.

A glance at Sprouts Farmers Market

Sprouts Farmers Market has roots dating back to the 1940s in California although the Sprouts Farmers Market brand wasn't founded until 2002 in Chandler, Arizona. They expanded to Colorado in 2008, opening two stores, Westminster and Parker respectively; they already had plans in 2007 to also expand to four additional locations in Colorado.

Sunflower Farmers Market on Arapahoe Ave in Boulder, CO, seen in 2008 before Sprouts took over - Google Maps Street View

In 2012, Sprouts Farmers Market and Sunflower Farmers Market merged, resulting in the rebrand of the Sunflower stores to Sprouts, including the store on Arapahoe Ave in Boulder, Colorado. This was the year following the merger between Sprouts Farmers Market and Henry's Farmers Market.

According to Sprouts Farmers Market's locations page of their website, there are currently stores in twenty three states, adding up to a total of 414 locations in the United States. Thirty-three of these stores are in Colorado, and five are in Utah.

Sprouts Farmers Market in Longmont, CO - Optopolis

Work begins on the Cheyenne Sprouts Farmers Market

In November 2023, three permits were submitted to the Cheyenne City Planning website at the location of 5214 Rue Terre (the location of Cheyenne's former Bed Bath and Beyond); they are classed as, "Demo Commercial," "Building Permit," and "Plumbing."

At the end of January 2024, it was a bit of a surprise here at Optopolis to find the interior of the space completely gutted. It was already long-since rumored that something was coming to the area, but it wasn't until January 2024 that the permits for the demolition work were discovered here at Optopolis.

New permits were submitted on January 18th, 2024 for the new Sprouts, classed as "Stores/Retail New," "Building Permit," "Electrical," "Plumbing," and "Mechanical/HVAC." All of these permits submitted on January 18th are currently displayed as "In Progress" (or, basically, they haven't yet been marked as approved).

Drawings in the planning website indicate that the store will have "Click & Collect," which in layman's terms is Sprout's partnership with Instacart Pickup which makes curbside pickup at their stores possible. The store is set to also have Bakery and Meat/Deli sections, and the sales floor is planned to occupy the majority of the Bed Bath and Beyond space.

Grocery Order Pickup spots in front of Boulder's Baseline Ave Sprouts Farmers Market, seen in 2023 - Google Maps Street View

The facade of the store is expected remain mostly the same in the general design although the drawings in the Cheyenne City Planning website indicate that it will get some touch-ups including some fresh paint--and most importantly, the Sprouts Farmers Market sign.

The current entry door will remain in place, although a set of interior double sliding doors (aka automatic sliding bi-fold doors) are in the plans to be added. Instead of the bathrooms being located directly to the left of the main entry door like they were previously, the bathrooms are planned to soon be located far to the right after walking through the front door.

A view inside of Cheyenne's Bed Bath and Beyond, before Spirit Halloween got hold of the space - Optopolis

At the time of originally writing, it's not clear when the store will open; the Cheyenne store is not currently listed on Sprouts website.

Update 03-18, Sprouts is still coming.

If you've been by the soon-to-be Sprouts space lately, you likely noticed the former Bed Bath and Beyond space has been rather quiet. The reason for this appears fairly obvious; the permits for the renovation into Sprout's are still not approved. They are now displayed as "In Progress" and have been for a while now, but they aren't approved.

Torn up pavement and a pile of dirt seen behind of the former Bed Bath and Beyond space - Optopolis

The lack of visible construction work has led to some people wondering if Sprouts will still come, and at this time, Sprouts is still expected to come to Cheyenne. Since the time of initially writing this article, the concrete floor inside of the space has been removed, and part of the pavement behind the building has been ripped apart as seen in the above photo.

The most recent permit to be submitted at the location of the soon-to-be Sprouts was a Plumbing permit dated 02/20/2024, and it was approved; the permit was for the "install[ation] of [a] new grease interceptor and water meter pit, new water service and sanitary sewer line via Cheyenne BOPU permit 202400006."

The former Bed Bath and Beyond space seen on March 1st, 2024. Notice the concrete patch where pavement had been ripped up during the month prior. - Optopolis

Unofficially, the word on the street is September...although, anybody who knows anybody knows that things can happen that cause delays, just like the case with Barnes & Noble (which finally reopened nearby in the plaza late last year).

Update 04-18: Permits approved, work's continuing!

Previously, the "Stores/Retail New" permit for the new Sprouts Farmers Market was approved, which means work to renovate the former Bed Bath and Beyond space for the new Sprouts can continue!

Eleven Western Builders, Inc. sign on fencing near a cargo bin, all in the former Bed Bath and Beyond Parking lot - Optopolis

The parking lot in front of the store has been mostly blocked off, and now, several cargo bins including the check-in office sit in the lot. Currently, the Sprouts store locator doesn't yet display the Cheyenne store.

This article will likely continue be updated as things progress and new information comes available.

What are your thoughts of Cheyenne getting a new grocery store that targets a more healthy and fresh approach? Do you think Sprouts will do well here? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Originally published: 01/28/2024 at 8:18 AM MT

Updated: 03/18/2024 at 2:17 PM MT to add new information regarding the status of the soon-to-be Sprouts.

Updated: 04/18/2024 at 2:49 PM MT to add new information regarding Sprouts.