Kroger Co.’s newest store will open this fall.
Photo slideshow by Dan Eaton HERE.
The Kroger at Jerome Village now has an opening date of Nov. 8.
The 123,000-square-foot store at 12116 Sycamore Trace just outside Plain City will be one of the Cincinnati-based grocer’s largest stores in the Midwest.
It’s a $38 million investment by Kroger and the first net new store in the Columbus market since 2009. All new stores in the past 15 years have replaced older stores.
Hiring currently is underway.
Lauren Lyles, assistant HR leader for Kroger’s Columbus Division, said the store will employ 220 – 80 of those positions will be full-time.
Management and department leads are being transferred from other stores, but the vast majority of employees will be new hires.
Clerks start at $16.75 while pharmacy techs start at $20. Benefits include as much as $21,000 in tuition reimbursement for employees after six months of employment and medical benefits after one year.
Kroger also offers free mental health services to the households of employees and a “helping hands” program to assist employee in times of need with financial support of $500 to $2,500.
Store features will include enhanced produce, deli, bakery, meat and seafood departments common with the Marketplace banner as well as a wide overall selection. There’s 60 feet of shelving for deli meat and 60 more for dairy, for example.
The store also will have sushi, a Murray’s cheese shop, a Starbucks, a drive-thru pharmacy, expanded furniture and apparel sections and a fuel center.
Given the rise in demand for curbside pickup, Kroger was able to design this store with a 3,000-square-foot space dedicated to those operations. Located at the rear of the store, the space opens directly out to 15 dedicate parking spots for pickup users.
The $38 million investment is the largest piece of $68 million in investment Kroger is putting into the Central Ohio market between the new store and several remodels.
That’s in addition to $164 million that Kroger has invested in construction, remodels and improvements in the past five years at stores in Newark, Whitehall, Grove City, Worthington, Powell, Westerville and others. (The 114-store Columbus Division also includes Toledo, Southeast Ohio and some stores in West Virginia).
Jerome Village is a 1,900-acre, multi-community development near Plain City and Glacier Ridge Metro Park in Union County. Nationwide Realty Investors is the project’s lead developer.
Read the original article by Dan Eaton HERE.
