Kroger will expand one Germantown store

Next month Kroger will begin a $14 million renovation of its store at 7735 Farmington Road in Germantown, with plans to close the nearby store on Exeter Road sometime in 2015 once the renovation is complete. The grocery chain has operated two stores located within a block of one another since it acquired Schnucks (in the Farmington location) a few years ago.
 
The Farmington renovation is the latest in a series of large projects for Kroger in the Memphis area over the past few years, and the company's Memphis-based Delta division plans to invest nearly $50 million in renovations and expansions in the Mid-South this year and an additional $50 million over the next three to five years.
 
"We're touching a lot of our stores in the market right now, and that will continue for the next couple of years," says Joe Bell, Manager of Marketing and Public Affairs for Kroger's Delta division. He cites projects including the opening of a new Kroger store at Poplar and Highland last year, the renovation of more than a dozen stores in the Mid-South in the past year, the present completion of a $4 million remodel of the Poplar and Cleveland location, and the construction of a brand-new store on Union Avenue in Midtown.
 
The Farmington store will close on September 13 for the seven- to eight-month renovation that will increase the store's size from 60,000 to 100,000 square feet.
 
"In addition to the facade on the front, we are also putting in a drive-through pharmacy," says Bell, who points out that the Farmington store will also feature a clinic for medical care. "We're also completely redesigning all of our deli and bakery areas and putting in bistros and sushi areas. Nutrition shops are being doubled in size."
 
The new store will have a unique specialty cheese shop, an expanded variety of local products, freshly made pizzas for sit-down or take-out, chef-prepared entrees and complete meals, in-store wi-fi, and increased organic and natural foods departments.
 
The 119 current Farmington store employees will be transferred to other Kroger stores in the area during the remodel. Bell believes the employee count will be close to 200 when the new Farmington location opens.
 
Kroger's Delta division operates 113 stores and 76 fuel centers in five states under the Kroger banner in Memphis and West Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Southern Missouri and Southwest Kentucky.
 
By Michael Waddell