The former Albertsons in Topeka is still standing, as some government building.storewanderer wrote: ↑February 4th, 2021, 4:32 pm The Troy Kroger is a pretty large store and was probably remodeled around 2008. Maybe it was expanded at some point. It wasn't a bad store, and I was surprised with it (I went there after Rolla and Warrenton both of which I was thoroughly impressed with; not just the condition but the quality of the operations in general). The Rolla Kroger is a Superstore era model but it is a dump. Both of those looked to be doing some volume. The Warrenton store was very small, very old, and didn't look to be doing much volume; I am not surprised it closed.
That store Dillon's closed in Columbia didn't seem to be in great condition and Hy-Vee really rolled over them there. Dillon's also pulled out of Springfield, MO (5 stores I think) not long after Hy-Vee built one store there (Dillon's had a store across the street from the Hy-Vee). Dillon's also never replaced Joplin after it was destroyed in the tornado though they ran a freestanding pharmacy for a couple years so it appeared as if they were at least considering rebuilding, then ultimately did not. Dillon's seems to be contracting in MO in general. Conversely in Topeka, Hy-Vee built on the site of a former Albertsons (demolished it I assume) and in that market Dillon's spent a lot of money expanding and renovating its existing stores around the same time Hy-Vee showed up. In Topeka, for some reason-maybe due to a store swap with AWG where Dillon's picked up stores in Topeka around the same time, Dillon's put up a fight against Hy-Vee. Unlike in Columbia where they shut down the store across from Hy-Vee and in Springfield where they just bolted from the town entirely. Dillon's is a little confusing- I find their product freshness to be above average for Kroger and very above average for the regions they operate in. I don't understand why they pull out of any markets- they should be the strongest player in any market they are in as they have the best freshness and strong pricing. As you point out they are cheaper than Hy-Vee and have better produce and meat (probably not better bakery and deli though, and certainly not better center store mix).
Dillons also had some stores in the KC suburbs, but those are also gone too.