"Before we even opened the doors, as we were putting the store together, cars would stop by constantly, roll down their windows and ask, 'Hey, are you guys open yet?'"
That's Julian Levine, assistant manager of the new Sprouts Farmers Market on Crenshaw Boulevard, talking to the Los Angeles Times about the weeks before the store opened in August. People who kept pulling over to ask had a reason. Five months earlier, Inglewood lost its only Food 4 Less, on Century Boulevard. In the months between, Century added a lot of new places to eat but nowhere new to buy groceries.
Inglewood's weekly shop changed shape this year. On Century Boulevard, the city's gateway to SoFi Stadium and Intuit Dome, the new openings are built around event days. The new grocery options are on Crenshaw, open every day, and at a farmers' market at Hollywood Park on Saturday mornings.
Century Boulevard Lost Its Grocery Aisle and Gained Event-Day Restaurants
The Food 4 Less at 3200 W. Century Blvd. closed this spring. Reports of the last day vary between the end of March and early April. The LA Local reported that the closure was part of a plan by Kroger, which owns Food 4 Less, to close 60 stores over 18 months, and that the nearest remaining Food 4 Less is about 2 miles away, at Western Avenue and Imperial Highway. The Daily Breeze reported that the company gave "business and economic reasons" and that the store's 64 associates would move to other locations.
Over the next three months, the same corridor got two high-profile openings. Neither one sells groceries.
| Date in 2026 | What happened | Address |
|---|---|---|
| Late March to early April | Food 4 Less closes | 3200 W. Century Blvd. |
| June 9 | Applebee's IHOP opens | 4410 W. Century Blvd. |
| June 12 | Raising Cane's California flagship opens | 3895 W. Century Blvd. |
| August 21 | Sprouts Farmers Market opens | 8451 Crenshaw Blvd. |
The timing behind the June openings is clear. The LA Local reported that Raising Cane's opened on the same Friday SoFi hosted the US men's first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with a line already outside that morning. The building is two stories tall over a basement kitchen, topped with a stadium-style halo of metal and LED screens, and it's a few minutes' walk from Intuit Dome and SoFi. A few blocks west, the Applebee's IHOP is the first dual-branded location in the LA area. The franchise owner's June 4 press release, quoted by The LA Local, said it would be open 24/7.
Both are useful to have on Century. A late-night pancake stop is handy for anyone heading home from LAX, about 3 miles away. Still, the corridor's newest businesses serve meals, and the store where people filled a cart every week is gone.
The Grocery Replacement Is on Crenshaw, at a Site That Waited Decades
The new full-service grocery store is on Crenshaw Boulevard. Sprouts store #753 at 8451 Crenshaw Blvd. is open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. It opened on August 21, according to the company's announcement. It's the first Sprouts in Inglewood.
The building is older news than the store. The Los Angeles Times reported that the site hadn't held a major supermarket since Safeway closed there in the 1970s. It later became a church school and then a 99 Cents Only store. Chris Jackson, Inglewood's assistant city manager, told the paper the city had been "working on this for about a decade … trying to get a grocer to come in."
Opening weekend showed how much demand there was. According to the Times, the line wrapped around the building before the 7 a.m. start, hundreds of people came on the first day, and the store was still full when the party ended at 5 p.m. The celebration then ran through Saturday and Sunday. The Times also reported that some shoppers had been driving to the Sprouts in Culver City before this one opened.
The opening hours and the location say a lot. A store open 7 to 10 every day, on Crenshaw instead of the stadium corridor, is set up for weekday trips before and after work. None of Century's 2026 openings is aimed at that kind of trip.
Saturday Mornings Center on Hollywood Park
The Hollywood Park development around the stadiums has a weekly grocery stop that runs whether or not there's an event. The farmers' market at The Shops at Hollywood Park, 1213 S. District Drive, runs every Saturday in partnership with Farm Habit. Hollywood Park's events page lists hours of 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and describes produce sold directly by local farmers, plus treats from local artisans. Farm Habit's own listing gives 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., so check the morning of before planning around the last hour.
Two details are worth knowing before you go:
- Parking. The first 60 minutes are free. After that, rates go up in $5 increments, and you can get validation at the Farm Habit booth.
- The workout first. Hollywood Park Moves, presented by Cedars-Sinai, offers a free HIIT class on Saturdays from 9 to 10 a.m. at the Court at Hollywood Park. Inglewood resident Claudine Cooper leads it.
Put together, a full Saturday is easy to plan: a class at 9, a lap of the market afterward, and a stop at Sprouts on Crenshaw later for whatever the farm stands didn't have.
The Other Stores Still on the List
Losing Food 4 Less didn't leave the city without supermarkets. When the closure was announced, The LA Local listed these alternatives in Inglewood:
- Grocery Outlet
- Vons
- ALDI
- Smart & Final
- Superior Grocers
- Northgate Market
- El Super
The closest replacement for anyone who walked to the old store is ALDI. The Daily Breeze described the ALDI at The Village at Century as a short walk from the Food 4 Less site. That means the west end of Century still has a grocery store close by. It's just in a different shopping center.
One Century Boulevard Spot Is Planning for Nights Without Events
Not every new Century business is aimed only at event crowds. Lounge 1888 opened at the end of summer at 3930 W. Century Blvd., Building C, Space 5-101, right next to Intuit Dome. Eater LA called it one of the few sit-down dining options near the arena. Eater reported that the name comes from the year Inglewood was established and that general manager Phil Holmes hopes the restaurant will bring people to the area for more than games and concerts.
The plan for non-event nights is specific. Eater reported sommelier-led wine tastings "when the Intuit Dome sits empty," live music on Saturday nights and resident DJs in the lounge. Weekend brunch includes chicken and waffles, shrimp and grits, and challah French toast. It opens at 4 p.m. on Mondays and 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. On Saturdays and Sundays it opens at 11 a.m., with brunch until 2 p.m. The main room seats 144 and the patio seats 45. If you're at the Hollywood Park market on a Saturday, brunch here is nearby.
Two Pending Pieces Will Shape the Corridor Next
The biggest open question is the old Food 4 Less site. In March, Inglewood development services director Bernard McCrumby Jr. told The LA Local that the city hadn't been in contact with the property owner. He said the site would stay part of the commercial corridor unless zoning changes, and that it's a site "we're looking at very closely" during the general plan update. No new tenant or redevelopment plan has been announced since then.
The second piece is another restaurant, this time on Manchester. On May 6, the Inglewood Planning Commission unanimously approved a Chick-fil-A drive-through at 3003 W. Manchester Blvd. The 5,031-square-foot restaurant would replace a vacant Big Lots. According to The LA Local's report on the approval, the company hoped to start construction as early as 2027.
What goes into 3200 W. Century will show whether the stadium corridor gets back an everyday store or keeps adding places built for event crowds. That's the decision to watch at the city's general plan hearings.
If you own a home near Century or Crenshaw, these corridor changes are part of what your property is worth. Keyholder Estates follows those changes block by block and can give you a home value that reflects them. Ask us when you're ready.
