Kroger Deli Hot Food Programs

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storewanderer
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Kroger Deli Hot Food Programs

Post by storewanderer »

Smiths just added some new Deli Hot Foods programs. They cut down the Boar's Head and the prepared salad case by about 40% in order to add in a giant sized hot food counter.

One new offer is a hot mexican "burrito or bowls" counter. Price is $7.00.

The other new offer is a BBQ counter. The BBQ they have to cook on looks about the size of a kitchen stove. They offer pulled pork, brisket, pork ribs, and hot links. They sell side items also including beans, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables, and a couple other things. The BBQ price is $6.99 for a sandwich and one side or $7.99 for a plate with 1 meat and 2 sides, or $12.99 for a plate with 2 meats and 2 sides. The ribs are I want to say 5.99 for a half rack and 10.99 for full; the ribs look similar but maybe a little larger than the ribs they had before that were roasted/prepackaged/warmed up.

Then there is still the regular fried/roasted chicken program as well. The store also has a sushi counter, small soup bar, and small salad bar.

It will be interesting to see how these programs do. I have not seen these programs before and wonder if they are popping up elsewhere? I have seen Whole Foods with BBQ offerings, but their program is much better than this. I have also seen Whole Foods with burrito offerings at a lower price point but can't speak for the quality of those.

The prices represent a poor value in my view and the quality of the offering is fine, but not outstanding enough to justify the pricing.
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Re: Kroger Deli Hot Food Programs

Post by klkla »

The Ralphs at 3rd & Vermont in LA just remodeled into this exact program a month ago.
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Re: Kroger Deli Hot Food Programs

Post by storewanderer »

Interesting location choice for that program in a Ralphs. I wonder how it is doing there?

Is the pricing the same? $7 for mexican burrito/bowl, $7.99 BBQ Platter, $6.99 BBQ Sandwich, $10.99 rack ribs? These prices seem too high for Smiths, but might be the right prices in Los Angeles. Then again the $7 price point on the burrito/bowl may be too high in Los Angeles based on how many independent restaurants/take away places there offer similar food.
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Re: Kroger Deli Hot Food Programs

Post by rwsandiego »

storewanderer wrote: January 19th, 2018, 11:17 pm Interesting location choice for that program in a Ralphs. I wonder how it is doing there?

Is the pricing the same? $7 for mexican burrito/bowl, $7.99 BBQ Platter, $6.99 BBQ Sandwich, $10.99 rack ribs? These prices seem too high for Smiths, but might be the right prices in Los Angeles. Then again the $7 price point on the burrito/bowl may be too high in Los Angeles based on how many independent restaurants/take away places there offer similar food.
That was my first reaction until thinking that friends who work in downtown LA and live on the Westside drive up Third to get home. Very convenient to stop, pick something up, and continue home.
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Re: Kroger Deli Hot Food Programs

Post by klkla »

storewanderer wrote: January 19th, 2018, 11:17 pm Interesting location choice for that program in a Ralphs. I wonder how it is doing there?

Is the pricing the same? $7 for mexican burrito/bowl, $7.99 BBQ Platter, $6.99 BBQ Sandwich, $10.99 rack ribs?
I'll check it out when I get back to LA next week. It was busy but I didn't look at the specifics. It looks very similar to the hot food arrangement and the now closed Main & Vine in the Pacific Northwest. Maybe this is one of the lessons they learned from that venture.
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Re: Kroger Deli Hot Food Programs

Post by storewanderer »

This BBQ and Mexican Food hot food counter has been removed from the Reno Smiths that had it, sometime in the past week or two. They took the small salad bar they had installed out earlier this year and reset in Murray's Cheese into that space. In light of COVID, the timing for removing the salad bar was just right.

As part of removing the BBQ and Mexican Food, they replaced the previous service counters with a self serve case for hot roast chickens (removed the larger and nicer looking island-type case where these were previously placed) and a second self serve case for prepacked store packed deli sliced lunchmeat (removed a temporary looking case that was plugged into a support beam where this was previously placed- this is an improvement).

Two years ago when they added this BBQ and Mexican Hot Food, Kroger screwed up this store's deli by cutting the size of the service deli case to add in these hot food counters back. And now rather than re-expand the service counter back to what it was before, they kept the cut down service counter and just moved self service offerings that were previously out in open space, into the previous service counter space. It also makes little functionally for employees because the remaining service chicken case is at the very end of the line, and the self serve hot food and the self serve sliced meat cases, are between the service chicken case and the other service deli counters.

Too bad- the BBQ and Mexican Food programs could have worked had Kroger designed the menu and offerings better and in a more flexible manner. I tried to buy just BBQ meat and they had no way to sell meat only- by the pound or something- you had to buy a "plate" with sides (the sides were awful). This failure is all on Kroger, Kroger's centralization efforts trying to treat every division the same, and its failure to listen to the divisions when something wasn't working and tweak the programs so it would work.

Oh well, the new Safeway that is opening nearby next year will have a very large deli and extensive hot foods available, including Chicken and Asian, and a service sandwich counter, based on the floor plans I saw over at the local building permit website. Would think Kroger would not be cutting offerings before a competitor opens nearby. This modern day centralized Kroger, sure runs differently than the old customer focused Kroger from 5-10 years ago.
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Re: Kroger Deli Hot Food Programs

Post by Bagels »

Grocery stores have struggled with their prepared food options for years; it seems to come & go in waves. I've long been a huge fan -- when I started paying for my own meals in high school, my primary go to meals were from Farmer Jack (chicken tenders plate) and a local grocery store; their offerings were amazing and better many restaurants -- you could get a steak sandwich made from real steak for less than what Subway wanted for its steak-umm product. Everybody thought I was crazy! Most recently, a new build Stater Bros. opened near me with a variety of hot offerings. Their pulled pork platter was amazing! But less than a year after the store opened, most of these offerings were withdrawn.

IMO, part of the problem is cost / perception. At my local Ralphs, a sandwich, bag of chips and bottle of (Ralphs-branded) water will set you back $10. Ralphs's sandwiches are very good, but so are the offerings from oodles of area shops, which offer similar price points but much better atmospheres. Another good example: Albertsons recently introduced a new chicken sandwich. If it's made right (and it usually isn't, typically it's just a pair of tenders in a bun), it's a pretty good sandwich. But at $5, it cost more than the premium offerings at Chick-Fil-A, etc. People are only going to purchase the Albertsons sandwich out of convenience.

Ultimately, I think these programs will forever be limited to a niche market (e.g. Whole Foods).
storewanderer wrote: December 6th, 2020, 12:23 am This BBQ and Mexican Food hot food counter has been removed from the Reno Smiths that had it, sometime in the past week or two. They took the small salad bar they had installed out earlier this year and reset in Murray's Cheese into that space. In light of COVID, the timing for removing the salad bar was just right.

As part of removing the BBQ and Mexican Food, they replaced the previous service counters with a self serve case for hot roast chickens (removed the larger and nicer looking island-type case where these were previously placed) and a second self serve case for prepacked store packed deli sliced lunchmeat (removed a temporary looking case that was plugged into a support beam where this was previously placed- this is an improvement).

Two years ago when they added this BBQ and Mexican Hot Food, Kroger screwed up this store's deli by cutting the size of the service deli case to add in these hot food counters back. And now rather than re-expand the service counter back to what it was before, they kept the cut down service counter and just moved self service offerings that were previously out in open space, into the previous service counter space. It also makes little functionally for employees because the remaining service chicken case is at the very end of the line, and the self serve hot food and the self serve sliced meat cases, are between the service chicken case and the other service deli counters.

Too bad- the BBQ and Mexican Food programs could have worked had Kroger designed the menu and offerings better and in a more flexible manner. I tried to buy just BBQ meat and they had no way to sell meat only- by the pound or something- you had to buy a "plate" with sides (the sides were awful). This failure is all on Kroger, Kroger's centralization efforts trying to treat every division the same, and its failure to listen to the divisions when something wasn't working and tweak the programs so it would work.

Oh well, the new Safeway that is opening nearby next year will have a very large deli and extensive hot foods available, including Chicken and Asian, and a service sandwich counter, based on the floor plans I saw over at the local building permit website. Would think Kroger would not be cutting offerings before a competitor opens nearby. This modern day centralized Kroger, sure runs differently than the old customer focused Kroger from 5-10 years ago.
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Re: Kroger Deli Hot Food Programs

Post by veteran+ »

"Grocery stores have struggled with their prepared food options for years; it seems to come & go in waves. I've long been a huge fan -- when I started paying for my own meals in high school, my primary go to meals were from Farmer Jack (chicken tenders plate) and a local grocery store; their offerings were amazing and better many restaurants...."

So true and longer than you indicate.

Food Fair had hot prepared foods (part of their Delicatessen department) in their stores in Florida (the first to offer that)and one of the first in the northeast (if not the first).

It has gone in and out of fashion for a long time, but I believe is here to stay this time (except with those trying to downsize their offerings, again).

lol
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Re: Kroger Deli Hot Food Programs

Post by klkla »

The problem with Deli & Hot Food Programs in general is that they are just departments within the store and don't have specially trained employees or managers to execute the strategy.

These departments should be autonomous within the store and run as defacto fast food restaurants with defined menus and kitchen organization.

Years ago when I was at Pavilions they were just starting to lease space out to Panda Express. Their execution was really good back then. They shamed the delis and were much busier as a result.
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Re: Kroger Deli Hot Food Programs

Post by storewanderer »

Bagels wrote: December 6th, 2020, 12:27 pm Grocery stores have struggled with their prepared food options for years; it seems to come & go in waves. I've long been a huge fan -- when I started paying for my own meals in high school, my primary go to meals were from Farmer Jack (chicken tenders plate) and a local grocery store; their offerings were amazing and better many restaurants -- you could get a steak sandwich made from real steak for less than what Subway wanted for its steak-umm product. Everybody thought I was crazy! Most recently, a new build Stater Bros. opened near me with a variety of hot offerings. Their pulled pork platter was amazing! But less than a year after the store opened, most of these offerings were withdrawn.

IMO, part of the problem is cost / perception. At my local Ralphs, a sandwich, bag of chips and bottle of (Ralphs-branded) water will set you back $10. Ralphs's sandwiches are very good, but so are the offerings from oodles of area shops, which offer similar price points but much better atmospheres. Another good example: Albertsons recently introduced a new chicken sandwich. If it's made right (and it usually isn't, typically it's just a pair of tenders in a bun), it's a pretty good sandwich. But at $5, it cost more than the premium offerings at Chick-Fil-A, etc. People are only going to purchase the Albertsons sandwich out of convenience.

Ultimately, I think these programs will forever be limited to a niche market (e.g. Whole Foods).

Albertsons new $5.99 Firecracker Chicken Sandwich is pretty good- about $2.50 overpriced, but pretty good; they did a giveaway one Saturday in NorCal. The store I bought it from, which doesn't do much sandwich business, it was completely fresh made. They had the chicken patties in the warmer with fried chicken and assembled the rest of the sandwich to my order. The vegetable slaw was cool and crunchy, bun fresh, and overall it was far better than I expected it to be. I was going to buy one a couple days later in another Safeway which also doesn't do much sandwich business, at the $4.99 sale price. In that store, they had pre-assembled sandwiches already sitting wrapped in paper wrapping and tagged with a scale price label in the warmer. I asked about the sandwiches, specifically if they had the vegetable slaw and mayo/sauce already on them, and was told yes they were ready to go. I did not purchase.

Ralphs used to have a great sandwich program where the sandwich, chips, and drink were under $6 through at least 2010. I recall when the Boar's Head showed up, the cost went to 6.99 for just the sandwich. Smiths doesn't even have a custom sandwich program, unless the right employee is around who will do it (in which case it is 5.99, and loaded heavy with whatever meat you want on a low quality roll with fresh but rather limited options of toppings).

How is Ralphs in-seafood department fried fish service doing?

Smiths used to (in the past 5 years) have a $1.99 Chicken Sandwich sold prepackaged, self serve, in a foil-bag like Chickfila, and with a pickle like Chickfila. It wasn't bad, but wasn't great either. They also had pre-wrapped Nathan's Hot Dogs at I think 1.50 each. I think they tried a fish sandwich at one time as well. The problem with all of these offerings was the bun used moreso than the meat- they used the cheapest buns from the shelf, which here are a generic offering baked through Sara Lee/Bimbo (not baked at a Kroger plant) and they are absolutely awful quality.

Save Mart has the best idea- their new hot food offering in some stores, is at the meat department. Not every remodel gets this feature (in my area 3 stores have it). There is a BBQ grill and flat grill. They will cook whatever meat or seafood you want and season it, you pay the pre-cooked price. The results are quite excellent. The problem? In the location I go to, this feature closes for the night by 5:45 PM. They do cook off some stuff and sell it prepackaged hot until past 9 PM, but the real deal with this program is getting the stuff cooked fresh to order. Not real sure how profitable this idea is, but the meat freshness in this store has improved drastically since they installed this feature, and it has made me pay more attention to Save Mart, and I have bought a lot of other items there since this program started, as a result of it bringing me into their store more. I also learned their deli chicken tenders are very good, bakery muffins are very good, and have found some center store items there that are difficult to find elsewhere.
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