Is Wichita on the verge of losing another grocery store? It’s not what it looks like

Is Wichita on the verge of losing another grocery store?

That’s what one person feared when she saw that Natural Grocers is having a 25%-off sale this weekend.

“We are not closing,” said one employee, who was not authorized to speak.

“It’s a marketing thing we’re doing with Sprouts closing,” the employee said. “We’ve been doing all kinds of coupons and marketing to help capture those customers.”

Sprouts Farmers Market at Central and Rock Road closed at the beginning of April. The chain had moved into a new 30,000-square-foot building where Piccadilly Market & Grill used to be in 2017.

Natural Grocers opened at 1715 N. Rock Road in 2011, and a spate of other grocery stores followed, which made some wonder if Natural Grocers would be able to handle all the competition.

A second Natural Grocers opened near the northwest corner of 13th and Maize Road in 2015.

Fresh Market opened at Bradley Fair in 2012 and then closed in 2016 and Trader Joe’s took its place in 2019. Whole Foods Market opened at the Waterfront at 13th and Webb Road in 2015.

The east-side Natural Grocers is up Rock Road from where Sprouts closed, but both Wichita Natural Grocers stores will have the sale. It starts Friday and runs through Monday.