[caption id="attachment_171498" align="aligncenter" width="4200"] Sprouts Farmers Market will open its Wilmington store on March 11. PHOTO COURTESY OF SPROUTS[/caption]

WILMINGTON "“ Sprouts Farmers Market, a natural and organic food grocer, will open its first Delaware store off Concord Pike on March 11, but first it is seeking its first employees.

Sprouts will be taking over the space at 4801 Concord Pike next to the Concord Mall left vacant by the exodus of the longtime Barnes and Noble location there to a smaller space in the Concord Square Shopping Center to the south.

The Wilmington Sprouts location will employ about 150 in either full- and part-time positions. The company, aided by hiring company Snagajob, is hosting two hiring fairs on Jan. 23 and 24, both from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Doubletree Wilmington located at 4727 Concord Pike in north Wilmington. Applicants are encouraged to bring a copy of their resume and will have the opportunity to speak directly with the Sprouts hiring team about available positions.

The open positions include department managers, assistant department managers and clerks, cashiers, courtesy clerks, backup receiver, administrative coordinator and scan coordinator.

Details about the grand opening celebration for the more than 30,000-square-foot store will be announced at a later date, officials said.

The Phoenix-based company has about 340 locations nationwide, although they are primarily located on the West Coast and in the Southwest. The nearest stores currently open are in Philadelphia; Marlton, New Jersey; and Bel Air, Maryland. Along with Delaware, it is opening new stores in Pennsylvania and Maryland in coming months.

By Jacob Owens

jowens@delawarebusinesstimes.com