Just walked down there at lunch and the place was still a zoo. It looks great though and the food hall should do really well. I felt bad for the few people actually trying to grocery shop because it was a Kroger and city field trip. Cranley and Kroger execs walking around, it was quite a scene. I haven't seen this much fan fare for a retail project since the Ikea opened and saved us from the recession...

9 minutes ago, ucgrady said:

Just walked down there at lunch and the place was still a zoo. It looks great though and the food hall should do really well. I felt bad for the few people actually trying to grocery shop because it was a Kroger and city field trip. Cranley and Kroger execs walking around, it was quite a scene. I haven't seen this much fan fare for a retail project since the Ikea opened and saved us from the recession...

 

Also, walked down. Didn't buy anything, the lines were ridiculous. But it looks great. Reminds me of the urban grocery stores you find in NYC, Philly, Chicago, etc. Very similar to the Whole Foods on the Ben Franklin Parkway in Philly, which is a mad house at all hours of the day. I'm sure the crowds will die down a bit though. Food hall is awesome. Has a mini Chelsea Market vibe. Overall, I give the store an A++ from this first look.

Ditto on the lunchtime tour.

 

Overall, the store itself is very nice. They do have a bar. However it is upstairs in the food court and you can't bring beverages downstairs as you have to leave the store to use the stairs/elevators. All the carts are the smaller type and they have cupholders. Unlike in Oakley which has a bar and no carts with cupholders.

Not surprised about the smaller carts, the aisles look fairly narrow.  Better use of the limited space.  In the last month or two they added another shelf to the top of all the racks at the Hyde Park Kroger ("please ask for assistance with items on this shelf") and it makes the whole store feel a lot more claustrophobic, which is quite an achievement since it's a big store.

I think it was smart for them to completely separate the first floor grocery store and the second floor food hall/bar/liquor store. There are no internal connections between the two. Hopefully once the newness dies off, the lunchtime crowd will mostly be constrained to the second floor while the first floor will be a useable space for people trying to grocery shop.

4 minutes ago, taestell said:

I think it was smart for them to completely separate the first floor grocery store and the second floor food hall/bar/liquor store. There are no internal connections between the two. Hopefully once the newness dies off, the lunchtime crowd will mostly be constrained to the second floor while the first floor will be a useable space for people trying to grocery shop.

 

I may have missed it but I only noticed beer, wine, and mixers. No liquor. 

Why are people so negative? I have ready so many comments online about how this  Kroger will go out of business because of the location, people will rob the store relentlessly, others calling this lipstick on a pig Kroger

 

I know many of these people undoubtedly probably live in the suburbs, and probably visit downtown to park nearby and watch the reds/Bengals...But what happened to them and Downtown Cincinnati that have left them so bitter and negative?

 

Psychology says this is due to "trauma" but what the hell happened to them that was so traumatic? I'm thinking this is a serious case of implicit bias personally. They see black residents downtown and consume news articles about shootings, muggings, violence that mainly pertains to the black race and thus creates a bias that Black Skin = Bad Man , which equates to Area with Many Black Bad Man = Bad Area.

 

Damn shame that we live amongst so many damn racists. 

 

Edited September 25, 20195 yr by troeros

27 minutes ago, troeros said:

I know many of these people undoubtedly probably live in the suburbs, and probably visit downtown to park nearby and watch the reds/Bengals...But what happened to them and Downtown Cincinnati that have left them so bitter and negative?

 

It's important to keep in mind that this forum is a bubble. Even now, over a decade into the revitalization of Downtown Cincinnati, a shockingly high percentage of people who live in the suburbs surrounding Cincinnati still think that downtown is a cesspool of crime. I think a lot of it has to do with WLW constantly repeating this narrative and most TV stations being solidly anti-downtown up until the last few years, when things seemed to take a turn for a better. But most of these people haven't been downtown in decades, other than a Reds or Bengals game, and don't have any interest in giving it a chance. My suggestion is to just ignore these people. We don't need them. Downtown is doing great and will continue to grow as more open-minded people discover it.

 

On the other hand, most of the negativity that I have seen has been from the OTR "anti-gentrification" NIMBY crowd, claiming that this store is only for white yuppies and it's not fair that residents of northern OTR will have to travel a few more blocks further south to visit the new downtown store. I have tried to point out to some of these people that the OTR Kroger had a terrible selection, especially when it came to things like fresh produce, meat, and fish, and that the new store will be much better in that regard, but they don't care. Some people are also claiming that prices will be higher at the new store, which I don't think is true; I believe Kroger has common prices at all of the Cincinnati-Dayton area stores, they don't charge higher prices for the same items at higher-end stores.

2 hours ago, DEPACincy said:

I may have missed it but I only noticed beer, wine, and mixers. No liquor. 

 

You are probably right, substitute "beer and wine store" for "liquor store" in my previous post.

I stopped by today. Very well done. It's so nice having a store with tall ceilings and windows on three walls. It's unusual to have so many windows at any grocery store (suburban or urban). The one space that I hadn't heard about previously was the outdoor patio on the second floor, overlooking Central Parkway. It's a lovely space to eat/drink. 

 

11 minutes ago, taestell said:

 

It's important to keep in mind that this forum is a bubble. Even now, over a decade into the revitalization of Downtown Cincinnati, a shockingly high percentage of people who live in the suburbs surrounding Cincinnati still think that downtown is a cesspool of crime. I think a lot of it has to do with WLW constantly repeating this narrative and most TV stations being solidly anti-downtown up until the last few years, when things seemed to take a turn for a better. But most of these people haven't been downtown in decades, other than a Reds or Bengals game, and don't have any interest in giving it a chance. My suggestion is to just ignore these people. We don't need them. Downtown is doing great and will continue to grow as more open-minded people discover it.

 

On the other hand, most of the negativity that I have seen has been from the OTR "anti-gentrification" NIMBY crowd, claiming that this store is only for white yuppies and it's not fair that residents of northern OTR will have to travel a few more blocks further south to visit the new downtown store. I have tried to point out to some of these people that the OTR Kroger had a terrible selection, especially when it came to things like fresh produce, meat, and fish, and that the new store will be much better in that regard, but they don't care. Some people are also claiming that prices will be higher at the new store, which I don't think is true; I believe Kroger has common prices at all of the Cincinnati-Dayton area stores, they don't charge higher prices for the same items at higher-end stores.

 

 

I agree with you on all this. Only one nit to pick, the stores in poorer areas tend to have more "sale" items that are priced to sell because they went unsold. The store at Spring Grove and Mitchell has a horrible selection, but of the healthier things it does carry, you can usually get them cheaper than the Newport or Oakley Krogers because they don't sell well and they mark them down to get rid of them before they go bad. 

one hears a lot about food desserts/deserts. Here is one location that welcomes all caravans (Plymouth or Mercedes). No matter your status you are paying the same price for the same food. I see that as a plus. And, there is always Findlay market for additional shopping. Maybe friendships will happen and people will find that other people have needs much like their needs. And, that will cause the "haves" to understand the "have nots" a little better. And, the "have nots" to understand the "haves". Maybe the young will assist the old, maybe the greys will learn from the rainbow afros.  And, maybe just maybe there will be a street side window that allows the haves to donate part of their grocery tally to aid the poor. Sort of like Duke Energy offers me the chance to pay for my fellow citizens gas and electric. Of course, this window should not be run by Kroger, rather and independent group (all volunteers).  I know this is "apple pie in the sky". But, maybe the sign on the new window will be DMR (De-militarized Rhine). can  I get a rimshot. 

 

59 minutes ago, troeros said:

Why are people so negative? I have ready so many comments online about how this  Kroger will go out of business because of the location, people will rob the store relentlessly, others calling this lipstick on a pig Kroger

I have heard both sides today, both when I was visiting the store and in talking with people in my office. One extreme says it's gentrification and will squeeze poor people and minorities out of the store and therefore the neighborhood, while the other extreme says it will be a place for the homeless to hang out and panhandle after they get off the homeless train (streetcar). You can't please the two extremes, so just be part of the silent (or at least quieter) majority that sees this Kroger as a huge win for downtown. 

Edited September 25, 20195 yr by ucgrady

30 minutes ago, taestell said:

 

It's important to keep in mind that this forum is a bubble. Even now, over a decade into the revitalization of Downtown Cincinnati, a shockingly high percentage of people who live in the suburbs surrounding Cincinnati still think that downtown is a cesspool of crime. I think a lot of it has to do with WLW constantly repeating this narrative and most TV stations being solidly anti-downtown up until the last few years, when things seemed to take a turn for a better. But most of these people haven't been downtown in decades, other than a Reds or Bengals game, and don't have any interest in giving it a chance. My suggestion is to just ignore these people. We don't need them. Downtown is doing great and will continue to grow as more open-minded people discover it.

 

 

 

These people are hella pissed that people are sinking all that money into the city instead of pushing the value of their 3500 square-foot McMansion that is 2 miles from the nearest business though the stratosphere. That sort of rejection of their values system is a major insult to them.

Where's the negativity?  I haven't really seen it. 

14 minutes ago, DEPACincy said:

I agree with you on all this. Only one nit to pick, the stores in poorer areas tend to have more "sale" items that are priced to sell because they went unsold. The store at Spring Grove and Mitchell has a horrible selection, but of the healthier things it does carry, you can usually get them cheaper than the Newport or Oakley Krogers because they don't sell well and they mark them down to get rid of them before they go bad. 

 

Good point. I bet most items will move through the new store quicker than the old store, so there will be less opportunity to buy marked-down items close to their expiration dates.

 

But people are acting a Kroger shut down and was replaced by a Whole Foods, and only high end items will be for sale. The new Kroger is fancier but you will still be able to buy the same things that you can buy at the old Kroger and every other Kroger. Frito Lay multipacks, $6.99? Check. Oscar Meyer Lunchables, 10/$10? Check.

1 minute ago, jjakucyk said:

Where's the negativity?  I haven't really seen it. 

 

I'm guessing @troeros saw the comments from suburbanites on news sites or Facebook, neither of which I visit. On Twitter, there was a ton of negativity when the store was first announced and then another round of it today when it opened -- you can see a few examples in response to my Twitter posts here and here. I also saw on Instagram that someone replied to 3CDC's post and demanded to know why Steve Leeper wasn't at the ribbon cutting today; I guess they wanted to yell mean things at him or something.

maybe Kroger will learn from this and add an additional area called "Don't just eat the rind/rhine", for people who want marked down items. Shillito's basement floor use to be all marked down items (clothing)

11 minutes ago, ucgrady said:

 

I have heard both sides today, both when I was visiting the store and in talking with people in my office. One extreme says it's gentrification and will squeeze poor people and minorities out of the store and therefore the neighborhood, while the other extreme says it will be a place for the homeless to hang out and panhandle after they get off the homeless train (streetcar). You can't please the two extremes, so just be part of the silent (or at least quieter) majority that sees this Kroger as a huge win for downtown. 

 

Yeah, it's similar to the two different lines opponents of the streetcar itself would repeat. One side said it would be a rolling homeless train, and the other side said it would only be ridden by rich white hipsters and yuppies. Neither one of these statements is anywhere close to reality.

1 hour ago, troeros said:

Why are people so negative? I have ready so many comments online about how this  Kroger will go out of business because of the location, people will rob the store relentlessly, others calling this lipstick on a pig Kroger

 

I know many of these people undoubtedly probably live in the suburbs, and probably visit downtown to park nearby and watch the reds/Bengals...But what happened to them and Downtown Cincinnati that have left them so bitter and negative?

 

Psychology says this is due to "trauma" but what the hell happened to them that was so traumatic? I'm thinking this is a serious case of implicit bias personally. They see black residents downtown and consume news articles about shootings, muggings, violence that mainly pertains to the black race and thus creates a bias that Black Skin = Bad Man , which equates to Area with Many Black Bad Man = Bad Area.

 

Damn shame that we live amongst so many damn racists. 

 

Troeros,  some people have the absurd view that the entirety of Downtown/Over the Rhine/Westend  are on the verge of attaining Chicago level crime rates.  The way that you view the Grant Park area, they view these areas as being on the same level crime wise.  There is nothing that will ever change their closed mind about this.

26 minutes ago, jjakucyk said:

Where's the negativity?  I haven't really seen it. 

Facebook, probably... 

3 hours ago, cincity said:

Troeros,  some people have the absurd view that the entirety of Downtown/Over the Rhine/Westend  are on the verge of attaining Chicago level crime rates.  The way that you view the Grant Park area, they view these areas as being on the same level crime wise.  There is nothing that will ever change their closed mind about this.

 

And all that Chicago talk from the right-wing sources is really a thinly-veiled attack on Obama.

Speaking of Chicago - we are a bit miffed at the quality loss since Kroger took over Marino's - the main issue being a perceived decline in customer service, though other issues have been brought up:

 

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/opinion/kroger-ruining-marianos-absolutely

 

More details:

 

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/consumer-products/kroger-ruining-marianos

 

This is the closest Chicago equivalent to the OTR Kroger - its the flagship Mariano's in the West Loop note how a lot of recent reviews are much lower than the average:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mariano's/@41.8811292,-87.6496833,17z/data=!4m10!1m2!2m1!1smarianos+near+me!3m6!1s0x0:0xa091a815340a92d5!8m2!3d41.8811289!4d-87.6474948!9m1!1b1

 

I hadn't been in this one in a while, but I was kind of wondering if they got rid of the guy who would play piano live everyday - I just don't see Kroger doing that kind of perk...

 

 

All and all I'm happy for you guys getting a proper urban grocery store, let me give you a toast to its success :).

 

 

Edited September 26, 20195 yr by neilworms

On 9/25/2019 at 1:19 PM, Cygnus said:

All the carts are the smaller type and they have cupholders. Unlike in Oakley which has a bar and no carts with cupholders.

 

They do have some of the larger, traditional carts (shown on right in attached photo). If you have small kids (as I do), it’s nice to be able to use the larger carts since there is a place for the kid to sit while you shop.

Went to the new Kroger over the weekend and man is it nice.  As a downtown resident for 6+ years now this has been a long time coming.  Literally the only negative thing I can think of is that there might not be enough seating in the food hall with how popular I think it's going to be.  They did a great job on this and it is a huge addition to downtown. 

28 minutes ago, Cincy513 said:

Went to the new Kroger over the weekend and man is it nice.  As a downtown resident for 6+ years now this has been a long time coming.  Literally the only negative thing I can think of is that there might not be enough seating in the food hall with how popular I think it's going to be.  They did a great job on this and it is a huge addition to downtown. 

 

I loved seeing the new foot traffic around court St... Outside of fountain/convention center on certain days, I've never seen a portion of the CBD so activated. 

20 hours ago, jwulsin said:

 

They do have some of the larger, traditional carts (shown on right in attached photo). If you have small kids (as I do), it’s nice to be able to use the larger carts since there is a place for the kid to sit while you shop.

 

Looks like an ADA violation to me.

1 hour ago, Cincy513 said:

Went to the new Kroger over the weekend and man is it nice.  As a downtown resident for 6+ years now this has been a long time coming.  Literally the only negative thing I can think of is that there might not be enough seating in the food hall with how popular I think it's going to be.  They did a great job on this and it is a huge addition to downtown. 

 

 

This may be on purpose and why they want to make Court St a pedestrian zone? If they put up some coverings and public tables like in Washington Park it would handle overflow on busy warm days. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

1 hour ago, GCrites80s said:

 

Looks like an ADA violation to me.

From what I remember of the setup of the store that isn't an elevator for shippers.  They have two of those located at the entrance that goes up to the second floor food hall and into the garage.  They're pretty big which is nice for getting multiple shopping carts in.  Maybe that elevator is just for workers to move around empty carts?  

They're going to need to do something with the streetcar transformer if they want to improve Court St.  There is no reason why the thing couldn't have been moved into the parking garage of the new Kroger building during construction.  Maybe it'll happen if they build something in the parking lot to the south.  

 

15 minutes ago, SleepyLeroy said:

 

 

This may be on purpose and why they want to make Court St a pedestrian zone? If they put up some coverings and public tables like in Washington Park it would handle overflow on busy warm days. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

Dont have the article, but I remember hearing a few weeks back that pedestrianizing court was no longer a plan, sadly

Also, there is a Velvet Underground floor:

 

On 9/24/2019 at 10:39 AM, JYP said:

Name the weakest performing coffee shop within a 5 minute walk from here and say goodbye to it.

 

I tried to meet a friend for lunch at the food hall yesterday, but the lines at every single restaurant were so long we decided to go elsewhere. We walked to Coffee Emporium and probably 75% of the seating inside was empty. It was the emptiest that I've ever seen it on a weekday at lunch.

31 minutes ago, taestell said:

 

I tried to meet a friend for lunch at the food hall yesterday, but the lines at every single restaurant were so long we decided to go elsewhere. We walked to Coffee Emporium and probably 75% of the seating inside was empty. It was the emptiest that I've ever seen it on a weekday at lunch.

 

I mean it's new and exciting. Give it 6 months, the lines will surely die down. 

FYI: A new thread has been created to discuss ongoing Court Street development. Please keep this thread focused on the Downtown Kroger / Court & Walnut garage / 1010 On The Rhine project specifically.

The completed project:

 

nice addition to the block. Better than the parking lot that was there for so many years.

My only big complaint is that the northeast corner of that block is butt ugly. At the very least, they need ArtWorks to come in and cover all of those beige surfaces with something more interesting.

29 minutes ago, taestell said:

My only big complaint is that the northeast corner of that block is butt ugly. At the very least, they need ArtWorks to come in and cover all of those beige surfaces with something more interesting.

Couldnt agree more,  going west on Central you look up and it just looks unfinished, lots of areas where parking garage panels could have gone but instead CMU block walls live, alot of bad design at that corner of the building. 

Wasn't there supposed to be a green wall of some sort on the south parking garage facade? Value engineered out?

 

EDIT: Found it, yes there was supposed to be a 100' long by 15' high wall of bamboo. 

 

https://spark.adobe.com/page/xBK0BLCy3A8TI/

Edited April 20, 20205 yr by mcmicken
added information

It's like they shrouded the whole thing in U.S. Army digital camouflage.  It's like they don't want us to be able to understand the actual shape of the building.  

It is really dumb that they kept that little one story building at that corner.  Such a waste of prime real estate. 

41 minutes ago, Cincy513 said:

It is really dumb that they kept that little one story building at that corner.  Such a waste of prime real estate. 

 

And literally surrounded it with loading docks.  I've yet to see any use of the open concrete pad (with the clogged trench drain) on Main Street, so why is it even there?  This is a completely dead corner across from one of the most active corners downtown.  

1 hour ago, Cincy513 said:

It is really dumb that they kept that little one story building at that corner.  Such a waste of prime real estate. 

I thought there was an article on that building a while back. It either has some historical significance or the owner refused to sell. but that is why it remained. I could be wrong. Does anyone remember reading something on that building?

22 hours ago, taestell said:

My only big complaint is that the northeast corner of that block is butt ugly. At the very least, they need ArtWorks to come in and cover all of those beige surfaces with something more interesting.

 

Took this photo the other day since Street View doesn't show the completed building:

 

2 hours ago, Brutus_buckeye said:

I thought there was an article on that building a while back. It either has some historical significance or the owner refused to sell. but that is why it remained. I could be wrong. Does anyone remember reading something on that building?

 

I'm not sure about the 1-story building at the corner, but I know the owners of that 4-story building were approached by 3CDC and did not want to sell.

19 hours ago, taestell said:

 

I'm not sure about the 1-story building at the corner, but I know the owners of that 4-story building were approached by 3CDC and did not want to sell.

That was probably what I read about then. It was more than likely the 4 story building.

Given the new addition to with the condos it does give some potential for the 1 story building. I think before the Kroger building it was pretty worthless as there was really no chance business of any type would do anything on that corner with the Courthouse serving as a block to walkable traffic and Central Parkway as a block. I dont know what type of business could go in that building but i see more potential for it now.