DFW Kroger News/Observations

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DFW Kroger News/Observations

Post by architect »

As a follow-up to the DFW Tom Thumb/Albertsons/Market Street thread, I wanted to create a similar thread for Kroger news/observations. I have several updates to report.

Last Saturday, I stumbled into the Kroger at Main/Harwood in Euless. This store is a 1985-built Greenhouse which is in the process of being expanded. As a part of the expansion, the existing store and front facade will be completely renovated (sadly losing the Greenhouse in the process). So far, structural steel and CMU wall erection is taking place, so the expansion has a long way to go before being complete. During my visit, the store seemed well-trafficked. Photos below:

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Next, I visited the Kroger at Harwood/Central in Bedford. This store was recently discussed on here as a potential former Tom Thumb due to it's design (both interior and exterior). After visiting this store in person, I can guarantee 99.9% that this store originally opened as a Tom Thumb. The front of the store features brickwork typical of a late 1980's-early 1990's Tom Thumb, and the interior features a layout almost identical to several other Tom Thumb stores from this era, including Park/Preston in Plano (divested to Minyard Sun Fresh, now Kroger), Mockingbird/Abrams in Dallas, Belt Line/Northgate in Irving, and 114/Southlake Blvd in Grapevine. In addition, this Kroger features the same angled ceilings and lighting layout seen in all of the previously listed Tom Thumbs except for Grapevine (photo provided of the Irving store's ceiling for comparison). Interestingly, if this store operated as a Tom Thumb, it would have operated in close proximity to another location at Harwood/121 (divested to Minyard Sun Fresh and recently closed). Maybe the proximity of these 2 locations caused them to cannibalize each other, leading to this store's closure? As a Kroger, the store seemed to be well-stocked and well-trafficked. Also, I grabbed a few photos of the former Greenhouse across the street (likely this store's predecessor, now a Big Lots).

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Re: DFW Kroger News/Observations

Post by SamSpade »

The poor "Taste of Spain" plates being cleared out at 2 for $1! The remodel strategy looks like how Kroger expanded the 'Stadium' Fred Meyer store - going straight out one side to build all the new fresh departments, then tackle the rest of the store to reset grocery and update pharmacy / coolers / freezers.
For the later photos, I'm surprised the Big Lots did this type of makeover, but the only ones I've been in are former 1980s closed Safeway or independent grocery stores, where the decor was fully removed so the store was as plain as plain could be (but clean).
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Re: DFW Kroger News/Observations

Post by SamSpade »

I was in the Kroger "Signature" store near SMU. Very beautiful store, with hours marked for all service departments. Kroger "Marketplace" decor with quite the contrast between it and the Kroger "Signature" store in Longview, Texas. Even bakery is supposed to be open until 9 pm.

Kroger "Fresh Fare" store near the Southwest Medical District hospital cluster was nice, but the decor was the usual Kroger / Smith's / etc. decor with a large seasonal section. I couldn't figure why it was signed Fresh Fare because it didn't look anything like the Ralph's, QFC, King Soopers, etc decor set for that. I think I did catch a few 'bookshelf' style endcaps, but that was all.
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Re: DFW Kroger News/Observations

Post by pseudo3d »

SamSpade wrote:I was in the Kroger "Signature" store near SMU. Very beautiful store, with hours marked for all service departments. Kroger "Marketplace" decor with quite the contrast between it and the Kroger "Signature" store in Longview, Texas. Even bakery is supposed to be open until 9 pm.

Kroger "Fresh Fare" store near the Southwest Medical District hospital cluster was nice, but the decor was the usual Kroger / Smith's / etc. decor with a large seasonal section. I couldn't figure why it was signed Fresh Fare because it didn't look anything like the Ralph's, QFC, King Soopers, etc decor set for that. I think I did catch a few 'bookshelf' style endcaps, but that was all.
I think I had mentioned that Fresh Fare in the Southwest division was more or less meaningless sometime within the last six months on this forum. Fun fact: the Kroger you speak of has a bit of an odd layout (not very wide but very deep) was because it's an extensively remodeled building that used to house a local hardware store.
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Re: DFW Kroger News/Observations

Post by architect »

pseudo3d wrote:
SamSpade wrote:I was in the Kroger "Signature" store near SMU. Very beautiful store, with hours marked for all service departments. Kroger "Marketplace" decor with quite the contrast between it and the Kroger "Signature" store in Longview, Texas. Even bakery is supposed to be open until 9 pm.

Kroger "Fresh Fare" store near the Southwest Medical District hospital cluster was nice, but the decor was the usual Kroger / Smith's / etc. decor with a large seasonal section. I couldn't figure why it was signed Fresh Fare because it didn't look anything like the Ralph's, QFC, King Soopers, etc decor set for that. I think I did catch a few 'bookshelf' style endcaps, but that was all.
I think I had mentioned that Fresh Fare in the Southwest division was more or less meaningless sometime within the last six months on this forum. Fun fact: the Kroger you speak of has a bit of an odd layout (not very wide but very deep) was because it's an extensively remodeled building that used to house a local hardware store.
Like Pseudo3D said, the "Fresh Fare" designation is essentially a formality in the Southwest Division. Since the mid-1990's when Kroger began to build Signature stores in Texas, almost all new-build stores in the state were built under the Signature format, which shares many similarities to the Fresh Fare stores in other regions. However, Kroger's undoing was poorly "upgrading" many existing stores to the Signature format (especially Superstores and older Greenhouses), which watered down the format as a whole. The Longview Family Center is a perfect example of this, although it has since been upgraded to be quite nice considering its age.

The Medical District Kroger you mentioned is an interesting store, due to its large size and location. Due to its proximity to the Park Cities, this store is one of only a few Kroger stores serving the Park Cities (the others being in Oak Lawn and on Mockingbird close to SMU). Due to Tom Thumb's Dallas legacy and high land costs, TT has been able to hold most competitors to the fringes of this area. As a result, this Kroger gets a significant amount of traffic, despite being in a slightly run-down (though gentrifying) area.
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Re: DFW Kroger News/Observations

Post by wnetmacman »

SamSpade wrote:I was in the Kroger "Signature" store near SMU. Very beautiful store, with hours marked for all service departments. Kroger "Marketplace" decor with quite the contrast between it and the Kroger "Signature" store in Longview, Texas. Even bakery is supposed to be open until 9 pm.
architect wrote:The Longview Family Center is a perfect example of this, although it has since been upgraded to be quite nice considering its age.
You have to keep in mind that the Longview store has managed to hang on for more than 45 years (I believe it was built in 1970). The store has been remodeled or renovated four times in its life. It was built as a true Family Center. It was remodeled during 1982-1983 for Kroger's 100th anniversary in the greenhouse style, which removed some, but not nearly all of its general merchandise. Much was lost in that store during its Greenhouse remodel (minus the greenhouse, of course) because that store is so huge compared to what they were building at that time (the store is around 75,000-80,000 square feet, compared to 45,000 max for the true greenhouses). In 1987-88 or so, much of that was removed (though the decor package was left alone) to install Barney's Discount Drug, a really short lived format that took almost half the store. During the late 90's/early 2000's, the Signature remodel happened, which moved several departments around the store and generally freshened the place up. The Signature remodel was a massive upgrade. About a year ago, another remodel was done, but I have not seen the results of this.

Be nice to her, she's an old bird. She's also a survivor. Longview had another Kroger on South Mobberly next to Gibson's. It closed around the time this store was remodeled in 1982-83. There were also a couple of stores in Tyler that do not survive today. That this store is still selling groceries under her original flag is a pretty good statement on what it does well.
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Re: DFW Kroger News/Observations

Post by pseudo3d »

wnetmacman wrote:
SamSpade wrote:I was in the Kroger "Signature" store near SMU. Very beautiful store, with hours marked for all service departments. Kroger "Marketplace" decor with quite the contrast between it and the Kroger "Signature" store in Longview, Texas. Even bakery is supposed to be open until 9 pm.
architect wrote:The Longview Family Center is a perfect example of this, although it has since been upgraded to be quite nice considering its age.
You have to keep in mind that the Longview store has managed to hang on for more than 45 years (I believe it was built in 1970). The store has been remodeled or renovated four times in its life. It was built as a true Family Center. It was remodeled during 1982-1983 for Kroger's 100th anniversary in the greenhouse style, which removed some, but not nearly all of its general merchandise. Much was lost in that store during its Greenhouse remodel (minus the greenhouse, of course) because that store is so huge compared to what they were building at that time (the store is around 75,000-80,000 square feet, compared to 45,000 max for the true greenhouses). In 1987-88 or so, much of that was removed (though the decor package was left alone) to install Barney's Discount Drug, a really short lived format that took almost half the store. During the late 90's/early 2000's, the Signature remodel happened, which moved several departments around the store and generally freshened the place up. The Signature remodel was a massive upgrade. About a year ago, another remodel was done, but I have not seen the results of this.

Be nice to her, she's an old bird. She's also a survivor. Longview had another Kroger on South Mobberly next to Gibson's. It closed around the time this store was remodeled in 1982-83. There were also a couple of stores in Tyler that do not survive today. That this store is still selling groceries under her original flag is a pretty good statement on what it does well.
Was it a real Greenhouse or an obvious fake Greenhouse, like the post-remodel Family Center in Bryan, TX? That store shut in 2006 (the photo is from 2004) but kept a full GM mix (including clothing and firearms) through October 1985.
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Re: DFW Kroger News/Observations

Post by architect »

wnetmacman wrote:
SamSpade wrote:I was in the Kroger "Signature" store near SMU. Very beautiful store, with hours marked for all service departments. Kroger "Marketplace" decor with quite the contrast between it and the Kroger "Signature" store in Longview, Texas. Even bakery is supposed to be open until 9 pm.
architect wrote:The Longview Family Center is a perfect example of this, although it has since been upgraded to be quite nice considering its age.
You have to keep in mind that the Longview store has managed to hang on for more than 45 years (I believe it was built in 1970). The store has been remodeled or renovated four times in its life. It was built as a true Family Center. It was remodeled during 1982-1983 for Kroger's 100th anniversary in the greenhouse style, which removed some, but not nearly all of its general merchandise. Much was lost in that store during its Greenhouse remodel (minus the greenhouse, of course) because that store is so huge compared to what they were building at that time (the store is around 75,000-80,000 square feet, compared to 45,000 max for the true greenhouses). In 1987-88 or so, much of that was removed (though the decor package was left alone) to install Barney's Discount Drug, a really short lived format that took almost half the store. During the late 90's/early 2000's, the Signature remodel happened, which moved several departments around the store and generally freshened the place up. The Signature remodel was a massive upgrade. About a year ago, another remodel was done, but I have not seen the results of this.

Be nice to her, she's an old bird. She's also a survivor. Longview had another Kroger on South Mobberly next to Gibson's. It closed around the time this store was remodeled in 1982-83. There were also a couple of stores in Tyler that do not survive today. That this store is still selling groceries under her original flag is a pretty good statement on what it does well.
Don't worry, I'm definitely not dissing the Longview store! I was actually working occasionally in Longview about a year ago and made a point to stop there every time I was in town (I was living in Tyler at the time). It's really a nice store after the recent renovation, and is impressive just based on the history alone and the fact that it still draws excellent traffic despite its age and location (considering Longview is primarily growing to the north). I hope that the upcoming Marketplace doesn't impact the former Family Center too badly. Honestly, I feel that the store that will be most left out in this situation will be the remaining Albertsons in Longview, considering that the store is old, has terrible pricing, and is the closest store to the future Marketplace. Also, I'm still hoping that Kroger decides to try for round 2 in Tyler with a Marketplace store, though I do not expect that to happen in my lifetime. Brookshires, although an excellent company, desperately needs some competition around here.
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Re: DFW Kroger News/Observations

Post by wnetmacman »

pseudo3d wrote:Was it a real Greenhouse or an obvious fake Greenhouse, like the post-remodel Family Center in Bryan, TX? That store shut in 2006 (the photo is from 2004) but kept a full GM mix (including clothing and firearms) through October 1985.
It didn't have the Greenhouse facade. The interior was almost perfect, save for the location of the meat department (on the right side instead of the back). They couldn't remove the tilt wall section of the front to open it up. It got a large box instead.
architect wrote:Also, I'm still hoping that Kroger decides to try for round 2 in Tyler with a Marketplace store, though I do not expect that to happen in my lifetime. Brookshires, although an excellent company, desperately needs some competition around here.
Several operators have tried to beat Brookshire's in their hometown. Most of their stores became Brookshire's or Super 1 Foods. (One Albertsons, both Krogers (at one time), and the only Skaggs) I wouldn't rule out a Kroger return with a Marketplace in Tyler, however. Stranger things have happened.
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Re: DFW Kroger News/Observations

Post by SamSpade »

architect wrote:Don't worry, I'm definitely not dissing the Longview store! I was actually working occasionally in Longview about a year ago and made a point to stop there every time I was in town (I was living in Tyler at the time). It's really a nice store after the recent renovation, and is impressive just based on the history alone and the fact that it still draws excellent traffic despite its age and location (considering Longview is primarily growing to the north). I hope that the upcoming Marketplace doesn't impact the former Family Center too badly. Honestly, I feel that the store that will be most left out in this situation will be the remaining Albertsons in Longview, considering that the store is old, has terrible pricing, and is the closest store to the future Marketplace. Also, I'm still hoping that Kroger decides to try for round 2 in Tyler with a Marketplace store, though I do not expect that to happen in my lifetime. Brookshires, although an excellent company, desperately needs some competition around here.
All seconded.

I was in Tyler for work reasons and honestly, I tried Brookshires (a few locations), FRESH, and Super 1 (which was hotel adjacent). Other than the Super 1, I was just kind of "eh" about Brook-shur's ;-). I really disliked that the deli and meat counter were adjacent in the store, I don't like to think about raw and prepared foods being so close - but the staff level was good and the employees all more than willing to help. FRESH was a nice enough store but it's freaking out in the boondocks. The food I got for the "protein + 2 sides" that seems to be the new supermarket staple was high quality but cost a few dollars more than most grocers.

The Longview Kroger made me feel back at home except for the low-quality looking deli counter. I bought a few seasonal sugar cookies for Memorial Day before heading back to Tyler. This store also has a fuel center crammed into the lot.
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