Henry's Farmers Market to Sprout New Name in 2011

La Mesans will soon see a new name on the local Henry's Farmers Market as the company merges with Sprouts Farmers Market under the ownership of private equity firm Apollo Management.

The grocery stores, which were both founded by the Boney Family, will work under the Sprouts name in the second quarter of 2011, it was announced Wednesday. La Mesa's store is at 4630 Palm Ave., off Spring Street near The Village.

The combined company is expected to have annual revenues of over $1 billion and open 10 more stores in 2011, in addition to the the 98 it already has including the store on Palm Avenue.

Andrew S. Jhawar, a senior partner at Apollo and co-head of Apollo's Consumer and Retail Industry Group, said he was excited about the merge of the two companies that originally began by San Diegan Henry Boney.

"We are very excited about partnering with Stan Boney, Shon Boney, Doug Sanders and the thousands of employees at Sprouts and Henry's to help re-unite these two great companies under the Boney family's leadership," he said.

"After the combination, Sprouts will be one of the largest, growth-oriented specialty retailers in the U.S. with a focus on natural and organic products. Apollo looks forward to supporting the management team's vision for significant future new store growth across the country."

Chairman of the Board at Sprouts Stan Boney, the son of the late Henry, also expressed excitement.

"The combination of Sprouts and Henry's is an exciting chapter in our family's lives, and we look forward to continuing to deliver on our mission of helping America eat healthier, live longer and spend less," he said. "Apollo is one of the most experienced and successful private equity firms in the nation and we are excited about their support for our business model and look forward to working together with Andy and his team."

As closely held companies, neither Sprouts nor Henry's discloses financial information.

Henry, who also served on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, opened his first business in the city of San Diego in 1943. In 1969, sons Stan and Steve opened grocery stores and later named the chain Henry's Marketplace in 1997. In 1999, Henry's was sold to Wild Oats Markets, and in 2002 the family opened Sprouts Farmers Market in Arizona.