Kroger has started construction on its first marketplace store in Plano, Texas, which will replace a smaller Kroger store nearby, reports local news outlet The Dallas Morning News. Kroger’s first marketplace store is the largest format at 124,000 square – 55,000 square feet bigger than the existing store. The store location is expected to be open in late 2024 and will create 100 to 150 new jobs, in addition to carrying 116 employees from the existing store, which will remain open until the new store is ready. The store is being built on a 50-acre site which is big enough to add a fuel center with 18 pumps and a kiosk for snacks and drinks.
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The Kroger Marketplace locations range from 100,000 to 130,000 square feet, which is about three-quarters of the size of a Walmart Supercenter, and they will have a wider assortment from produce to kitchen appliances to home goods to clothing to jewelry. The grocer originally announced its plans for three new Kroger Marketplace stores slated to open in 2024 “to meet area growth and rising demand in North Texas,” the company said in a release.
THE NEW STORES
The construction on the stores was set to begin this summer, and the company planned to announce exact locations and addresses in advance of groundbreaking events later. Other amenities planned for the first Marketplace store include:
- A Murray’s Cheese shop
- Starbucks
- Expanded general merchandise
- Other departments like an outdoor living section, toys, electronics, and home goods
Kroger has five stores in Plano and as part of its process to try to merge with Albertsons, the grocer has set out a plan to satisfy federal antitrust regulators evaluating the impact of the combined companies on local grocery markets. As such, Kroger and Albertsons have proposed to sell 413 of its U.S. stores (including 26 in Texas) to grocery distributor C&S Wholesale Grocers.
The Plano market could be one of the areas where Kroger would have to sell a store. In addition to five Kroger stores, Plano has five Tom Thumb stores and a Market Street. The grocer also confirmed the new Fort Worth supermarket in addition to two other Kroger Marketplace locations in Plano and Melissa.