PHOTOS: Sprouts Opened in Mountain View Wednesday

Mountain View, Los Altos and Palo Alto residents now have a new grocer near the corner of San Antonio Road and El Camino Real.

Sprouts, 630 San Antonio Rd., opened Wednesday and the first 500 customers, who made a purchase, received coupons for five free sandwiches. But if you miss the coupons, there are other in-store sales that should keep customers happy, according to marketing manager Lacey Kasey.

Try a pound of strawberries for 88 cents or Gala apples for 99 cents.

"It you want fresh produce this is the place to come to," said Kasey. The market also has a deli section, sells meat and seafood, vitamins, beauty products, beer and wine.

Kasey added that the Sprouts customer "is someone who is health-conscious, but want to save money at the same time."

The Mountain View location will be the company's twelth store in the Bay Area and the one closest to San Francisco—a noteworthy fact, said store manager Ron Smith, since the Sunnyvale store attracted customers from the city.

Originally the location for Rasputin Music and DB Shoes, to make way for a Sunflower supermarket. However, the Boulder-based supermarket chain merged with Phoenix-based Sprouts in May 2012. All supermarkets will now carry the Sprouts name.

"Being part of a large supermarket chain adds to our buying power," said Kasey. "It made us bigger, which allows us to offer lower prices."

This supermarket now becomes one of four--including Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Safeway--in the area.

The store employs 80 people. It will open at 7 a.m. and close at 10 p.m. every day.

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