Photo Tour: New Short Pump Kroger Nears Completion, Opening July 29th

Kroger entered the Richmond grocery market ten years ago in 2000 with the purchase of twenty Hannaford stores. Since opening the store in Short Pump at Brookhollow Center, a variety of new grocers have come into the West End. Kroger plans to step up their game with a new 91,000 square foot store to replace […]

July 14, 2010; 8:45 AM • by Trevor Dickerson

Kroger entered the Richmond grocery market ten years ago in 2000 with the purchase of twenty Hannaford stores. Since opening the store in Short Pump at Brookhollow Center, a variety of new grocers have come into the West End. Kroger plans to step up their game with a new 91,000 square foot store to replace the original, to open on July 29 across from Short Pump Town Center.

The new store, almost double the size of the current 52,000 foot location, will feature a Seattle’s Best Coffee, cafe/bistro area with seating for customers to enjoy prepared foods a la the Ukrop’s Cafe at Martin’s, plus a drive-through pharmacy. Customers can also enjoy wine by the glass at the store’s wine bar, where wine and cheese pairing events will take place regularly.

“This is truly a result of the feedback we’ve received from our customers about what they want out of the shopping experience,” said store manager Alice Jones, who also runs the current Brookhollow store that will close July 28.

Absent from the new store is a fueling station, which have been added to many locations recently. Zoning didn’t allow for the construction of station.

“If you go through our Richmond locations, you can see our evolution over even just ten years,” said regional manager Joe Antolini, noting the significant changes in the new Short Pump store. ”Richmond is also a test market for a lot of things [within the company],” he continued. “The decor package you see in the store was tested in only two locations nationwide, one of which was our Swift Creek store here in Richmond.” The new store features a rich earth tone palate that Jones describes as “calming.”

Antolini says the new store is one of the company’s greenest. The ceiling is filled with skylights that allow an abundance of natural light into the store. “If you come in on a bright, sunny afternoon, you’ll notice that about half the store lights are off, but it has this nice, natural light.” Sensors will automatically turn off up to half of the store’s lights when enough candle power comes through the skylights during the day. The frozen food aisles will also have sensors that only turn the casing lights on when customers are in the aisles. The store’s concrete floors can be cleaned with water only, eliminating the need for caustic chemicals that tile or linoleum surfaces require.

Photos of the store’s progress can be seen below.

July 14, 2010 8:45 AM 0