South Scottsdale's grocery boom
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Three national grocers are planting flags in South Scottsdale.
Why it matters: The three chains — discount Aldi, health-focused Sprouts and upscale Whole Foods — occupy different grocery niches and offer more choices for different budgets.
Driving the news: Sprouts Farmers Market tells Axios it will open Oct. 30 at 1490 N. Scottsdale Road, near SkySong.
- The ribbon-cutting is at 6:45am, with grand-opening deals available through Nov. 1.
- This is the second Sprouts south of Chaparral. The other is roughly 3 miles away on Miller Road.
State of play: Whole Foods Market, which replaces a Fry's that closed in 2024, declined to share an opening date.
- But by the looks of the store — with the lights on and aisles in place — an opening in fall 2026, which it advertised on its new job postings, is within reach.
- Aldi is also hiring for a new store at 7919 E. Thomas Road, in an existing shopping center.
What they're saying: "South Scottsdale's diverse socioeconomic mix makes it well suited to support a range of grocery operators," Lisa Bednar, president of the Arizona Food Marketing Alliance, tells Axios.
By the numbers: Across the three ZIP codes that roughly cover the area, about one in four households earns less than $50,000.
- The share earning more than $200,000 ranges from one in 10 to nearly one in five, according to 2024 census estimates for ZIP codes 85250, 85251 and 85257.
Between the lines: Shoppers increasingly split their spending among retailers, buying staples and private-label products at discount or traditional stores while visiting specialty grocers for other items, Bednar says.
- That habit extends beyond South Scottsdale: Americans visit an average of 5.4 grocery chains each month, while Gen Z shoppers visit 6.7, according to a food industry association's 2026 grocery shopper research.
- Meanwhile, grocery chains are also moving away from building large-format stores in established communities, Bednar says, favoring those projects in faster-growing areas on the outskirts of Phoenix metro.
💭 My thought bubble: As a South Scottsdale resident, I can picture my ideal rotation: Sprouts for produce, Whole Foods for a prepared lunch and Aldi for cheap, fun snacks.