After years of plans, public meetings and “coming soon” announcements, Eastmark’s Sprouts Farmers Market finally has a firm date on the calendar.
Sprouts’ official Arizona store directory says the new Mesa location will open Friday, September 18, 2026, at 5131 S. Ellsworth Road, on the northeast corner of Ellsworth and Ray roads. The date is more specific than earlier announcements, which had projected a general fourth-quarter opening.
Photos taken August 3 show a project that looks much closer to opening day than groundbreaking day. The brick-and-charcoal exterior is largely finished, the Sprouts signs are up, light poles and curbs are in place, and crews are working on landscaping and other site details. The photos do not show the condition of the store’s interior, but they do make one thing clear: this is no longer a distant proposal.
The quick facts
Opening date: Friday, September 18, 2026
Address: 5131 S. Ellsworth Road, Mesa, AZ 85212
Location: Northeast corner of Ellsworth and Ray roads
Sprouts store size: Approximately 23,300 square feet
Development: EastMarket at Eastmark
Site: Approximately 6.6 acres
Hiring event: August 5–6 at the DoubleTree Phoenix-Gilbert
The opening date and address come directly from Sprouts’ Arizona store directory. Grand-opening activities, regular store hours and location-specific services had not yet been posted as of August 4.
EastMarket is bigger than one grocery store
Sprouts is the anchor, but it is only part of the EastMarket plan.
The center sits on roughly 6.6 acres at one of Eastmark’s most visible intersections. Common Bond Development Group, the project’s developer, currently describes EastMarket as a roughly 50,500-square-foot grocery-anchored shopping center. The company’s 2025 groundbreaking announcement used a smaller figure—nearly 45,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space—while Mesa’s approved development materials described 55,630 square feet of commercial space, including a bank pad.
Those numbers are not necessarily contradictory. They appear to count different portions or versions of an evolving site plan. The consistent figure across the project materials is the Sprouts itself: roughly 23,200 to 23,300 square feet.
Mesa’s plan also called for 278 parking spaces, compared with 202 required by code. At the same time, the developer has promoted a pedestrian-friendly layout intended to connect the grocery store with neighboring shops and restaurants. The current development team listed by Common Bond includes general contractor A.R. Mays, architect PHNX Design, design architect Suite 6 Architecture + Planning, civil engineer Rick Engineering and landscape architect GK Flanagan Associates.
What else is coming to EastMarket?
Early announcements referred only to a “curated mix” of neighborhood businesses. The current EastMarket property page is more revealing: its partner lineup displays the brands First Watch, QDOBA, GoodVets, Petersen’s Old-Fashioned Ice Cream, Zara Nail Bar and Lapels Cleaners, in addition to Sprouts.
That combination would give EastMarket a broader daily-use mix: breakfast and brunch, fast-casual Mexican food, veterinary care, dessert, personal care and dry cleaning alongside the grocery anchor.
There is an important caveat. The developer does not list individual opening dates or suite numbers for those businesses, and Sprouts’ September 18 date should not be treated as a center-wide grand opening. Tenant lineups and schedules can also change before doors open. For now, the safest description is that these are the brands identified on the developer’s current EastMarket page.
Why the store matters to Eastmark
This will not be the first Sprouts in southeast Mesa or nearby Queen Creek, but it will be the first inside Eastmark and the fifth current Sprouts location with a Mesa address. Existing stores include locations on Signal Butte Road, Recker Road, Baseline Road and Brown Road; another operates farther south on Ellsworth Loop Road in Queen Creek.
The difference for Eastmark residents is convenience. A full specialty grocery store at Ray and Ellsworth turns a regional errand into a neighborhood trip for many households. It also gives the long-planned commercial corner an anchor capable of drawing regular traffic to the smaller businesses around it.
City leaders treated that broader role as a central reason to support the project. During an August 2025 study session, Mesa staff called the site a prime commercial location serving Eastmark and the surrounding region. The City Council later approved the development agreement through Resolution No. 12403. The agreement did not include a tax incentive; city staff said its purpose was to establish land-use restrictions and quality standards for the property.
The center is the first phase of a much larger EastMarket area. In other words, Sprouts and its neighboring shops are not the final build-out of the northeast corner—they are the opening move in a broader commercial district that has been discussed for years.
From site plan to September opening
The recent timeline moved quickly once the first phase reached approval:
May 28, 2025: Mesa’s Planning and Zoning Board recommended approval of the 6.6-acre EastMarket Phase 1 site plan, subject to conditions.
August 18, 2025: The Mesa City Council unanimously approved a development agreement with CBDG Mesa, LLC.
October 2025: Common Bond announced the official groundbreaking, targeting construction completion in August 2026 and a Sprouts opening in the fourth quarter.
August 3, 2026: New photos showed the main exterior, signs, parking areas and much of the landscaping in place, with site work continuing.
September 18, 2026: Sprouts’ current official opening date.
The Eastmark groundbreaking announcement described the store as a long-awaited specialty grocer and positioned the center as the first phase of more commercial development. The specific September date now posted by Sprouts moves the opening slightly earlier within that original fourth-quarter window.
A separate road project is reshaping the same corridor
Shoppers should also keep an eye on road construction near the site. The City of Mesa is separately extending Ray Road east from Ellsworth to Hawes Road. The project includes three lanes in each direction, raised medians, sidewalks, storm drainage, streetlights and traffic-signal improvements at Ellsworth and Skyline.
Mesa’s current project page says the top layer of asphalt is complete, but utility work is still affecting later phases. The city lists fall 2026 as the expected completion period. That means the new grocery store and the new road connection are arriving in roughly the same season—and drivers may still encounter construction activity around opening day.
For another look at major construction changing southeast Mesa, see our report on what’s being built at Crismon and Williams Field.
What shoppers can expect inside
Sprouts has not yet published a service list specifically for the Eastmark store. Companywide, however, the chain builds its stores around large produce displays and a mix of natural, organic and specialty products. Its standard departments include meat and seafood, deli, dairy, frozen foods, bulk foods, vitamins and supplements, and bakery items, according to Sprouts’ store overview.
Whether the Eastmark location will offer features such as online pickup, delivery, catering, fresh sushi, a sandwich bar or beer and wine should be confirmed when the store’s individual page goes live. Nearby Sprouts locations offer several of those services, but they are not identical from store to store.
Sprouts is hiring now
The company is holding an in-person hiring event for the Eastmark store on Wednesday, August 5, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Thursday, August 6, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event is at the DoubleTree Phoenix-Gilbert, 1800 S. San Tan Village Parkway in Gilbert. Walk-ins are welcome, although Sprouts says no interviews will be held between noon and 1 p.m.
Current postings cover both management and store-team roles. Applicants can check Sprouts’ official hiring-event page and careers site for the latest openings.
The bottom line
The most important update is simple: Eastmark’s Sprouts is scheduled to open September 18.
But the larger story is the commercial center forming around it. EastMarket is bringing a grocery anchor and a diverse group of restaurants and services to a corner where Eastmark residents have long expected more neighborhood retail. With storefront signs in place, hiring underway and road improvements advancing nearby, the project is entering its final stretch.
The remaining details to watch are the grand-opening schedule, store-specific hours and services, and opening dates for the other EastMarket businesses. Until Sprouts or the developer publishes those details, September 18 is the one date local shoppers can confidently circle.
