Frys Signature Marketplace-Tatum/Shea- Remodel

[storewanderer]

Kroger is wrapping up a remodel on this store. This WAS the special flagship Frys. I was pretty disgusted after walking through this store. Yes it is still a very nice big store with a lot to offer. Sure it still has a giant Starbucks and has a giant Wine Bar and seating area up front and a bigger space for garden than most locations. But not much going on here anymore to differentiate it from a Frys Marketplace new build out in the perimeter anymore.

I did like the decor in the remodel. Since it has "a passion for all that's good" I guess it is the new Fresh Fare interior. But this store is not labeled as a Fresh Fare - it is labeled as Frys Signature Marketplace. There are signs on the walls with a gray Frys logo in a gray Ralphs oval like shape that say Frys Marketplace.

The below article highlights some of the features it had when it opened from a major remodel in 2010.

https://www.arizonafoothillsmagazine.co ... cery-store

From the article- the features: Then in red the current status of said features.
-Fry’s Fresh Attractions Cooking School staffed by Chef Travis Vierthaler and Chef Bob Winslow where guests can join in on hands-on classes from cake decorating, full-course elegant meals, floral arrangements and Saturday kids’ classes. REMOVED
-Wine cellar and bar featuring and serving the finest wines available still there
-Nature’s Market featuring a large organic selection REMOVED- integrated onto aisles
-Tortillaria offering warm, fresh flour tortillas to take home and enjoy (these tortillas were incredible!) REMOVED
-Foods from around the world and a sushi bar. still there
-A large Kosher Department that will feature a selection of appetizing and high-quality foods. REMOVED
-Signature Bistro providing a gourmet experience that makes you want to return the very next day. Executive Chef Bob Winslow offers a delicious assortment of fresh prepared meals. Take it home or relax and enjoy with a glass of wine in our expanded outdoor seating area. REMOVED- but has a Chompies counter
-Aged beef, American Kobe beef, grilling stations (meat and seafood). REMOVED
-Fresh, quality seafood selection. Our selections are flown in fresh daily. Looked like any other Frys seafood counter
-Ethel M Chocolates. REMOVED
-Dessert Shop offers more than 300 mouth-watering pastries, cookies, pies and cakes. (The cakes were truly something to behold. Gorgeous!) REMOVED- looked like any other Frys bakery- in fact, some of the Marketplace units on the perimeter had larger/better assorted bakeries
-Organic produce. still there

Maybe after considering the status of the above the signs on the wall that just say "Frys Marketplace" are accurate.

[veteran+]

It sure looked BEAUTIFUL!

[retailfanmitchell019]

Kroger is wrapping up a remodel on this store. This WAS the special flagship Frys. I was pretty disgusted after walking through this store. Yes it is still a very nice big store with a lot to offer. Sure it still has a giant Starbucks and has a giant Wine Bar and seating area up front and a bigger space for garden than most locations. But not much going on here anymore to differentiate it from a Frys Marketplace new build out in the perimeter anymore.

I did like the decor in the remodel. Since it has "a passion for all that's good" I guess it is the new Fresh Fare interior. But this store is not labeled as a Fresh Fare - it is labeled as Frys Signature Marketplace. There are signs on the walls with a gray Frys logo in a gray Ralphs oval like shape that say Frys Marketplace.

The below article highlights some of the features it had when it opened from a major remodel in 2010.

https://www.arizonafoothillsmagazine.co ... cery-store

From the article- the features: Then in red the current status of said features.
-Fry’s Fresh Attractions Cooking School staffed by Chef Travis Vierthaler and Chef Bob Winslow where guests can join in on hands-on classes from cake decorating, full-course elegant meals, floral arrangements and Saturday kids’ classes. REMOVED
-Wine cellar and bar featuring and serving the finest wines available still there
-Nature’s Market featuring a large organic selection REMOVED- integrated onto aisles
-Tortillaria offering warm, fresh flour tortillas to take home and enjoy (these tortillas were incredible!) REMOVED
-Foods from around the world and a sushi bar. still there
-A large Kosher Department that will feature a selection of appetizing and high-quality foods. REMOVED
-Signature Bistro providing a gourmet experience that makes you want to return the very next day. Executive Chef Bob Winslow offers a delicious assortment of fresh prepared meals. Take it home or relax and enjoy with a glass of wine in our expanded outdoor seating area. REMOVED- but has a Chompies counter
-Aged beef, American Kobe beef, grilling stations (meat and seafood). REMOVED
-Fresh, quality seafood selection. Our selections are flown in fresh daily. Looked like any other Frys seafood counter
-Ethel M Chocolates. REMOVED
-Dessert Shop offers more than 300 mouth-watering pastries, cookies, pies and cakes. (The cakes were truly something to behold. Gorgeous!) REMOVED- looked like any other Frys bakery- in fact, some of the Marketplace units on the perimeter had larger/better assorted bakeries
-Organic produce. still there

Maybe after considering the status of the above the signs on the wall that just say "Frys Marketplace" are accurate.

Sad how this beautiful store has turned into any other Fry’s Marketplace. This was the Wegmans of AZ.
Looking at the 2010 pics, I can’t tell that this was a Kroger.

[storewanderer]

It sure looked BEAUTIFUL!

It still looks very nice... just isn't something so special anymore.

They could have let this store do its perimeter/programs like Mariano's. I guess that would have been too difficult.

Maybe I missed something and someone else can correct me as to the status of the various "features" above? Were these removed over time? It was ~3-4 years since I last visited this store.

[ClownLoach]

Last time I visited was shortly after that 2010 article was written. It was truly the best store I've ever seen from Kroger.

Looks like typical Kroger declining by degrees. I could only find a handful of pictures of the remodel but it does not look good and certainly I doubt this is what customers are asking for.

The removal of specialized departments, cooking school etc. are all aligned with the behavior I have described where these stores so aggressively pursue unproductive and low profit online orders at the expense of everything else. They probably had to remove all of these specialty areas because they couldn't afford the labor. This sounds like the type of store that would likely get several hundred online pickup orders each day, requiring significant labor.

We have to recognize the fact that we can either have nice stores, or we can have online ordering. Can't have both. The labor cost is too high.

Did they get rid of the rest of the things that made it great? Did they cut down the trees growing inside the store in produce under the blue ceiling and skylights? There is a Ralphs in the Palos Verdes Peninsula area of LA that had the same blue sky setup (I think it was converted from the flagship Hughes). I hope they didn't dumb down the interior too much.

Very disappointed to see the severe decline of this store, but ultimately not very surprised.

[rwsandiego]

Last time I visited was shortly after that 2010 article was written. It was truly the best store I've ever seen from Kroger.

Looks like typical Kroger declining by degrees. I could only find a handful of pictures of the remodel but it does not look good and certainly I doubt this is what customers are asking for.

The removal of specialized departments, cooking school etc. are all aligned with the behavior I have described where these stores so aggressively pursue unproductive and low profit online orders at the expense of everything else. They probably had to remove all of these specialty areas because they couldn't afford the labor. This sounds like the type of store that would likely get several hundred online pickup orders each day, requiring significant labor.

We have to recognize the fact that we can either have nice stores, or we can have online ordering. Can't have both. The labor cost is too high.

Did they get rid of the rest of the things that made it great? Did they cut down the trees growing inside the store in produce under the blue ceiling and skylights? There is a Ralphs in the Palos Verdes Peninsula area of LA that had the same blue sky setup (I think it was converted from the flagship Hughes). I hope they didn't dumb down the interior too much.

Very disappointed to see the severe decline of this store, but ultimately not very surprised.

As long as I've lived here (seven years) there haven't been trees in the produce department. The store was remodeled sometime between 2010 and 2016 I was wrong about the remodel date. As I was driving there this evening. I remembered the store had the 2010 decor package as recently as 2017, maybe 2018. I am guessing they removed the trees and hanging plants sometime prior to 2016 when I first visited the store. at that time.

The cooking school closed during COVID and never re-opened. They had a strange schedule. Many classes started at 5:00, which is when people are getting off from work. 6:00 would have been a much better start time.

@storewanderer , I'm heading up there today and will check on the status of the departments you mentioned. As recently as October they still had an extensive Kosher section. It wasn't as extensive as the Jewel in Evanston or the Acme in (I think) New Jersey though.

[buckguy]

Kroger seems to have a fairly standard Kosher food program that includes deli and bakery items. They probably have enough stores in different places to make this work, although they still can't bake a decent rye bread.

[rwsandiego]

Stopped into the Fry's Signature Marketplace this evening. The decor is OK, but better than anything else I've seen Kroger roll out at Fry's. It is different than the standard Marketplace decor that is being installed at standard Fry's Marketplace stores.

The kosher department is still in the center-rear of the store and has a giant "Kosher" sign above it. Still not as extensive as the ones I mentioned in my earlier post.

Wine bar has been moved to the left front of the store, along with Starbucks. It had been behind the Murray's cheese counter, which has been expanded. The wine bar now serves beer. Sushi wasn't moved.

The departments and selection haven't changed with this remodel. Some departments have been moved, but that's about it. The store is still nicer than the other Phoenix-area Marketplace stores and sells a broader array of merchandise.

[storewanderer]

Was the Kosher only center store or did I entirely miss service counters? Maybe it never had service counters for Kosher (like Ralphs or Smiths)?

Also did I miss the Signature Bistro, Ethel M Chocolates, Dry Aged Beef. Grilling Stations (they were at service meat before), Dessert Shop (with various not standard Kroger bakery items), and Tortillas made in store? Or were these things already removed before the remodel?

[SamSpade]

Was the Kosher only center store or did I entirely miss service counters? Maybe it never had service counters for Kosher (like Ralphs or Smiths)?

Also did I miss the Signature Bistro, Ethel M Chocolates, Dry Aged Beef. Grilling Stations (they were at service meat before), Dessert Shop (with various not standard Kroger bakery items), and Tortillas made in store? Or were these things already removed before the remodel?

@storewanderer Not sure if you have color blindness issues with red, but it is all noted above in the thread that these were "REMOVED" in caps.