6) Kroger's not inclined to throw good money after bad - store remodels generally go to stores that turn a profit.  The OTR Kroger was remodeled in the early 00s, which cost over 1.4 million, if memory serves.  they won't get another remodel until they're turning a profit.

 

Excellent post, northsider. Thank you!

 

Do you know how much the OTR Kroger is running in the red on a monthly basis? The manager of the Walnut Hills Kroger said $10,000 a month would put the Walnut Hills Kroger in the black.

 

If you'd like, you can email me at [email protected]

 

I'm working with a group of people to do something like this with the OTR Kroger.

I work in one of the merchandising departments, so I don't really have visibility to store level financials.  OTR, I'd recommend that your group contact the store management at the Vine Street Kroger.  What I've heard from pals and UrbanCincy commenters is that the store management at VSK is very receptive to feedback, so my guess is that they'd be really interested in partnering with your group on making VSK a success and letting you know how much they need to improve to reach profitability.

 

as for the Walnut Hills Kroger - since I'm not in Store Planning, I don't know of any future planned changes for the Walnut Hills Kroger as far as remodels or a potential closure goes.  What I do know is that Kroger has not been talking about closing the store - the Buy 25 campaign is a proactive campaign to make sure that Kroger corporate doesn't even think about closing the WH Kroger.

 

 

I wish Pichler and 3CDC would create an urban grocery strategy for the urban core.

You don't think they plan to? There's just not enough demand yet.  Give it 5 years, we'll have a great urban grocery store.

Wouldn't be the least bit suprised if Trader Joe's/Whole Foods/Fresh Market/etc beats Kroger to the punch with a proper OTR/DT store. Wouldn't be suprised in the least.

You don't think they plan to? There's just not enough demand yet.  Give it 5 years, we'll have a great urban grocery store.

 

I think if they were interested in adding to neighborhoods they would not object to connecting Vine with Short Vine and they would make that store more urban-friendly.

I wouldnt be suprised at all either that Kroger would be beat to DT/OTR with an urban model.  Ironic considering their HQ overlooks both neighborhoods. 

 

I feel its only a matter of time before the market is filled.  expecially after some more residential in the next 5 years or so comes online with the addition of banks phase 2 as well as mercer commons etc.  (I am excited to look for an apartment in the city when my lease is up next spring.)

Wouldn't be the least bit suprised if Trader Joe's/Whole Foods/Fresh Market/etc beats Kroger to the punch with a proper OTR/DT store. Wouldn't be suprised in the least.

 

They likely will, but mostly due to demographics.  As has been pointed out in this thread, Kroger tailors the items it sells in every store to what moves most.  This is why the beer selection at the Kroger in OTR consists mostly of 40oz bottles of malt liquor, for instance.  OTR is historically a low-income neighborhood, so Kroger’s offerings reflect the demand of low-income residents.  A Whole Foods, Fresh Market, and Trader Joe’s sell the same stuff in every store, and it’s exactly the stuff that newer, young professional residents of OTR and downtown want to consume. 

 

I get why Kroger sells what it does from a business standpoint, but it is a reactionary model.  It’d be a proactive step for a Whole Foods to open shop; there’s probably enough demand already, and a yuppie grocer like that might even encourage new residents to move in.

 

You don't think they plan to? There's just not enough demand yet.  Give it 5 years, we'll have a great urban grocery store.

 

I think if they were interested in adding to neighborhoods they would not object to connecting Vine with Short Vine and they would make that store more urban-friendly.

 

Kroger doesn't own university plaza or the buildings. Anchor properties does.

You don't think they plan to? There's just not enough demand yet.  Give it 5 years, we'll have a great urban grocery store.

 

I think if they were interested in adding to neighborhoods they would not object to connecting Vine with Short Vine and they would make that store more urban-friendly.

 

Kroger doesn't own university plaza or the buildings. Anchor properties does.

 

IIRC it is Kroger which doesn't want Vine to connect. It doesn't matter if they don't own the property/buildings, they are an important enough tenant to call shots.

^ do you have any written evidence or anything where Kroger says it's against connecting the road?  The land is owned by Anchor Properties.  They would have to sell the land to the City and then the City would have to make it a road (there's no way they would keep it as a private road).  Kroger is not about to tell Anchor properties, you have to sell land you have to the City.  It's not like its Kroger's job to tell a private company it needs to sell its land to the City to connect a road that was removed (I think) about 40 years ago.  That's a bit idealistic.

If Kroger can't sell groceries in two areas devoid of options (OTR, Walnut Hills), whose fault is that?  Kroger needs to do better business if they want people to spend more money in their stores.

 

I've heard plenty about revitalization on McMillan, but what about Gilbert?  It has massive potential for LRT and linking the Eastside together, as well as urban living.  Gilbert could be quite an impressive corridor.

It's not that Kroger can't do well, it's that all the YP's and empty nesters who have moved to OTR & Walnut Hills drive to the Newport Kroger or the Hyde Park Kroger so they have little incentive to update the smaller ones since those with mobility and $$ still spend money at a Kroger

The Walnut Hills Kroger actually is nicer and has more selection than the one on Vine in OTR. I was shocked because I expected a run down store. I think a lot of people have that perception. If they continue to work to clean up the scene around the store and improve it, perhaps it would be a draw for the Eden Park and East Walnut Hills folks who now go to either Hyde Park or Newport.

And that can be as simple as repaving the lot, making sure the lot attendants are gathering carts and picking up trash efficiently, and improving/updating exterior signage, especially on the McMillan Street side. That facade is intimidating.

It's not that Kroger can't do well, it's that all the YP's and empty nesters who have moved to OTR & Walnut Hills drive to the Newport Kroger or the Hyde Park Kroger so they have little incentive to update the smaller ones since those with mobility and $$ still spend money at a Kroger

 

You make great points and I agree with all of that.  I still feel that stocking those awful, awful stores with better products with a better set-up could solve those problems.  Kroger has the benefit of being in the heart of OTR which is turning into Hipster Village, and is certainly in the geographic heart of Walnut Hills right there at the crux of two corridors with untold potential.  Sooner than later, Walnut Hills is going to be the next landing strip for yups and others interested in Cincinnati's gritty urban core.  There's really no place better for Kroger to be in the City of Cincinnati if those stores theoretically would be closed and reopened elsewhere.  Investing in that property by building well-lit stores with better stock and a street facade makes sense for the direction that Cincinnati's inner core (DT, Uptown excl. Avondale, Walnut Hills) is going.

It seems we are being pretty demanding of Kroger as a whole. We want them to renovate three Kroger stores within ~2 miles of each other. Two are almost on the same street less than a mile apart... I'm not opposed to them renovating WH, Corryville, and OTR Kroger, but it just doesn't seem to make economic sense for them. The ideal situation for me is to have Kroger close OTR and WH locations. Consolidate these stores into a larger store in Corryville, and then a Whole Foods or Trader Joes type grocery opens in the old Kroger locations (or close to them).

 

The problem is that everyone wants everything. Kroger is not going to have a Hyde Park Kroger in all three of these neighborhoods. There isn't the parking capacity or the demand. They would potentially have the capacity for this type of store in a redeveloped Corryville store (which I would love to be a mixed use building with condos/apartments above to anchor short vine and Phase 1b of the streetcar running through it/by it). It doesn't make economic sense for them to have these. If Phase 2 of the streetcar goes down McMillan (which I think should come before Phase 1b to the zoo) and it goes up Vine to the Corryville Kroger from OTR, the residents dependent on the cheapest foods could take the streetcar (or buses) to the large Kroger. Meanwhile, the smaller Whole Foods stores could sell to the choice customers in the two neighborhoods Kroger leaves. The problem I see with his is that WH is not a "desireable" location yet, and Kroger will not want to forfeit those two locations to another grocery.

 

Another positive thing would be if Kroger would open a store in the West End as well if they closed OTR Kroger for consolidation. This could provide easier access for residents in OTR/West End to get to a Kroger as their are a lot of people who depend on the OTR Kroger location.

 

These two larger Krogers in Corryville/West End would fit their current business model, probably result in cheaper operations, while allowing other companies to fit the niche of the Urban young professionals that they can't seem to cater to.

 

Perhaps Kroger (or Cincinnati Grocery Stores) should have its own thread... All of these projects are so intertwined.

It seems we are being pretty demanding of Kroger as a whole. We want them to renovate three Kroger stores within ~2 miles of each other. Two are almost on the same street less than a mile apart... I'm not opposed to them renovating WH, Corryville, and OTR Kroger, but it just doesn't seem to make economic sense for them. The ideal situation for me is to have Kroger close OTR and WH locations. Consolidate these stores into a larger store in Corryville, and then a Whole Foods or Trader Joes type grocery opens in the old Kroger locations (or close to them).

 

The problem is that everyone wants everything. Kroger is not going to have a Hyde Park Kroger in all three of these neighborhoods. There isn't the parking capacity or the demand. They would potentially have the capacity for this type of store in a redeveloped Corryville store (which I would love to be a mixed use building with condos/apartments above to anchor short vine and Phase 1b of the streetcar running through it/by it). It doesn't make economic sense for them to have these. If Phase 2 of the streetcar goes down McMillan (which I think should come before Phase 1b to the zoo) and it goes up Vine to the Corryville Kroger from OTR, the residents dependent on the cheapest foods could take the streetcar (or buses) to the large Kroger. Meanwhile, the smaller Whole Foods stores could sell to the choice customers in the two neighborhoods Kroger leaves. The problem I see with his is that WH is not a "desireable" location yet, and Kroger will not want to forfeit those two locations to another grocery.

 

Another positive thing would be if Kroger would open a store in the West End as well if they closed OTR Kroger for consolidation. This could provide easier access for residents in OTR/West End to get to a Kroger as their are a lot of people who depend on the OTR Kroger location.

 

These two larger Krogers in Corryville/West End would fit their current business model, probably result in cheaper operations, while allowing other companies to fit the niche of the Urban young professionals that they can't seem to cater to.

 

Perhaps Kroger (or Cincinnati Grocery Stores) should have its own thread... All of these projects are so intertwined.

 

Neighborhood grocery stores are essential in promoting walkable neighborhoods in the urban core. As population trends have show desirable neighborhoods are walkable and either have or attract services including grocery stores. I agree that the Kroger in WH or OTR doesn't have to be like the Hyde Park ones but they should follow the model other large department/grocery stores are pursuing such as Walmart (I can't believe I am actually using them in a positive example), Target and even Walgreens. A small footprint, multi-level grocery store is the ideal solution for neighborhoods such as OTR and WH.

 

As for the new thread. I'm working on it, hang tight!

This new thread is meant to address Kroger, and other grocery stores including Whole Foods and Trader Joe's in Cincinnati and efforts to preserve, close, open, construct grocery stores in the city's central neighborhoods.

the model other large department/grocery stores are pursuing such as Walmart (I can't believe I am actually using them in a positive example), Target and even Walgreens.

 

I can't believe that Walmart is pursuing that strategy too.  In the Loop in Chicago they even have a shuttle bus that takes people straight to the store which is awesomely pro urban but kind of insane considering the company's history.

 

When will Cincinnati finally wake up in this area?  Its almost like an outside developer and grocery needs to make it happen so that there aren't any preconceived biases that would prevent someone from making a calculated risk - something that culturally Cincy folks have a hard time doing (at least right, Mayberry foodstuffs was not a real grocery and by branding itself as a grocery it may have helped poisoned the marketplace for a grocery in the core even more...)

 

Not to say there hasn't been an unusual amount of risk taking these days, I hope that the recent wave of civic pride that appears to be building helps people take bolder stands in the private sector.  As discussed millions of times one of Cincy's biggest problems is it's severe lack of self esteem.

I agree mostly with Ryan, but see no benefit in a west end Kroger.

 

Why should Kroger keep 3 recently renovated stores in 5 square miles? They aren't losing many potential customers by not renovating these, as the white and afluent people are willing to drive to better Krogers and Whole Foods probably only takes a Small portion of their customers away.

 

I think a longer term plan for them will be to open a larger downtown Kroger once downtown gets ~3,000 more people at which time they'll close the OTR Kroger.

 

Also, a strategy for the neighborhood is always to get more typical grocer options at Findlay Market.

 

The streetcar line will eventually have Findlay market, a Cvs, & two krogers along the route. sounds good to me!

The downtown Kroger should be the prize if there was to be a renovation, but Walnut Hills still needs an upgrade.  The way the store interacts with its own plot as well as the environs is atrocious.  I don't know how that's addressed outside of demolition.  A slightly smaller store with a street presence and more goods that people want should solve any long-term solvency for a Kroger in that part of town.  Otherwise there will just be a gaping hole, and certainly 100% of that business Walnut Hills' store was doing won't make to another Kroger.  A healthy chunk will go to Wal-Mart.

It seems we are being pretty demanding of Kroger as a whole. We want them to renovate three Kroger stores within ~2 miles of each other. Two are almost on the same street less than a mile apart... I'm not opposed to them renovating WH, Corryville, and OTR Kroger, but it just doesn't seem to make economic sense for them. The ideal situation for me is to have Kroger close OTR and WH locations. Consolidate these stores into a larger store in Corryville, and then a Whole Foods or Trader Joes type grocery opens in the old Kroger locations (or close to them).

 

I think you're missing what some of us are saying, which is that Kroger should adopt more of a Whole Foods/Trader Joe's-scale concept at these locations. The idea that this level of density of upgraded/renovated Kroger stores is not economical is based on the assumption of suburban-scale stores, which is precisely what I and others were complaining about. Kroger needs a paradigm shift in its thinking about catchment area, commensurate with the design of the neighborhoods where its stores are located.

 

Why do we need a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's to replace Kroger, when Kroger should be capable of providing stores to properly accommodate urban areas (and not act as a suburbanizing influence)?

^I'm not missing what everyone is saying. I would love to have an urban-designed Kroger with more organic foods and better selection. Up to this point, Kroger has proven incapable of providing such a store, and really hasn't shown much interest in it. How long should we wait around for Kroger to get their act together before inviting others to compete? From all of the accounts I have heard (including those in this thread), the higher-ups at Kroger seem unable to grasp the concept (though I'm sure they are very smart people) because their lifestyle is nothing like the one an urban store demands. If they cannot get away from the "suburban" model, let them consolidate a couple of stores and allow a new urban grocery fill the demand. I would choose a new urban Kroger over Whole Foods or Trader Joes to support the local grocer giant, but if they aren't willing to provide these services, they need to let others fill in those voids.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if Kroger does what Delta has done in the past with CVG: take control of the market and don't let others come in even if you lose profit for a bit while a new competitor tries to come in the scene.

^ Agreed. The very fact that Kroger thinks it has a lock on the Cincinnati market is the reason why we have not seen other stores like Publix in the region as well.

What Kroger thinks has nothing to do with what other grocery stores do in Cincinnati.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if Kroger does what Delta has done in the past with CVG: take control of the market and don't let others come in even if you lose profit for a bit while a new competitor tries to come in the scene.

 

Yeah, well, Kroger has market dominance in Cincinnati. That doesn't mean they "don't let others come in" - it's just the reality of the grocery business in the city.

 

I think a longer term plan for them will be to open a larger downtown Kroger once downtown gets ~3,000 more people at which time they'll close the OTR Kroger.

 

This is what will happen (probably at Walnut and Central).

Sorry I did not phrase that correctly. It should have read, "The very fact that Kroger thinks it has a lock on the Cincinnati market."

 

 

If anyone has been to DC in the past year and seen the Foggy Bottom Whole Foods, that is the type of development I would love to see for the Corryville Kroger (not necessarily the same scale as I think 4-5 stories would be fine). Apartments above, two-story grocery, perimeter retail, and very engaging with the street (high glass content no endless brick walls). This is right next to an urban university (though admittedly less urban than DC's GWU in Foggy Bottom) and has the chance to be proactive in this development. They could be catalyst for a huge reinvestment in Short Vine and Corryville, but choose to go for what is "safe" for their business model.

 

I honestly think that the Corryville Kroger could sustain apartments above the store. They could still have a parking lot on site for residents and customers with a smaller building footprint and an entrance that faces the street (right at the SE corner of Corry and Short Vine would be perfect). Most of the development can remain the same for all I care, but allow SOME urban design...

 

The more I think about it the more I hope a new grocery comes in ASAP with this sort of design for OTR/DT or Walnut Hills before Kroger botches more prime real estate with these atrocious developments. If Kroger isn't willing to make THIS project an urban design why are we all holding our breath hoping the next couple of renovations are going to be their new urban design? I actually think it would be pretty funny if a new grocery store opened up next door to Kroger HQ at Walnut and Central Parkway with an urban design. Maybe that would get them thinking about it a little more since they could see it out their window every day.

 

Here are some images of the Foggy Bottom Whole Foods:

 

Instead we get this from Kroger (Notice the huge swaths of brick walls along 3 1/2 of the 4 sides):

 

End rant.

^I'm not missing what everyone is saying. I would love to have an urban-designed Kroger with more organic foods and better selection. Up to this point, Kroger has proven incapable of providing such a store, and really hasn't shown much interest in it. How long should we wait around for Kroger to get their act together before inviting others to compete? From all of the accounts I have heard (including those in this thread), the higher-ups at Kroger seem unable to grasp the concept (though I'm sure they are very smart people) because their lifestyle is nothing like the one an urban store demands. If they cannot get away from the "suburban" model, let them consolidate a couple of stores and allow a new urban grocery fill the demand. I would choose a new urban Kroger over Whole Foods or Trader Joes to support the local grocer giant, but if they aren't willing to provide these services, they need to let others fill in those voids.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if Kroger does what Delta has done in the past with CVG: take control of the market and don't let others come in even if you lose profit for a bit while a new competitor tries to come in the scene.

 

Sorry, I guess when you said we were being "pretty demanding of Kroger", I thought you were saying the demands were unreasonable, rather than unrealistic or just not worthwhile because of Kroger's long-standing attitude. I agree that competition is likely the best way to force their hand, or render their auto-orienting influence impotent.

^ Agreed. The very fact that Kroger thinks it has a lock on the Cincinnati market is the reason why we have not seen other stores like Publix in the region as well.

 

cool - that's what i thought you meant but from the tone of some of the discussion it seemed like people were getting the impression that kroger pulls more strings in the local market than it actually does.

I can't believe they're actually doing a slip road entrance to the parking lot from Taft.  That's about the most dangerous thing you can do when there are a lot of pedestrians around. 

To play devil's advocate regarding the Corryvile renderings above: Note that there is a significant amount of glass compared to a typical big-box grocery store, and that the one facade without significant glazing (Taft Road) will be obscured by future development as indicated on the site plan. I just hope the windows are real, and not the fake spandrel glass "windows" as seen on the back of the CVS store across the street.

 

Yes, there's plenty of room for improvement (underground or rooftop parking in lieu of the surface lot would be ideal, but that costs tons of money), but it will be a vast improvement over what's there now, and a much-needed sign that Kroger is willing to invest in urban neighborhoods.

 

When it comes to a downtown/OTR grocery store, I agree that it will probably take a Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, or (ideally, IMO) Fresh Market to force Kroger's hand.

That Foggy Bottom Whole Foods is a great example.  I prefer the one in Milwaukee.  It's dense, well connected to the neighborhood, on transit, and fits the neighborhood perfectly.  Cincinnati NEEDS to demand more.

 

Part of the problem with upgrading from a Kroger or even a Meijer in a downtown locale will be pricing.  Whole Foods and its clones don't fit the demographic of OTR, and most of Cincinnati for that matter.

The demographics of downtown and OTR are rapidly moving in the direction of the Whole Foods / Trader Joe's market sector. Meijer, to my knowledge, only builds giant hypermarket warehouses in the suburbs and would be even less likely to build a new location downtown than Kroger.

The demographics of downtown and OTR are rapidly moving in the direction of the Whole Foods / Trader Joe's market sector. Meijer, to my knowledge, only builds giant hypermarket warehouses in the suburbs and would be even less likely to build a new location downtown than Kroger.

 

I agree about Meijer, I only threw them in there because their hypermarket format (along with Wal-Mart's), along with Kroger upgrading many of their high volume locations, is what pushed Thriftway and IGA out of the Cincinnati market.  The Kroger name is very strong in Cincinnati.  People feel allegiance to it even if it is an enormous corporation that is more likely to place its hand in your pocket than to give you a pat on the back.  I think that intrinsically influenced the decline in interest Cincinnatians showed toward Thriftway and IGA in their waning days.  They weren't keeping up with today's grocery format, which is to offer as much non-grocery as grocery.  Neither was Kroger, but they have the loyalty of the locals, as well as a store every two miles.

 

Even with the CBD and OTR seeing new, single residents with annual incomes above $40,000, the average resident of OTR is living in extreme poverty.  Having a mid-level grocer like Whole Foods in a scaled-down space as part of an urban shopping center, complete with a housing component, would be ideal to maintain their presence as well as having a Kroger for the community at large.  I wonder if Whole Foods could work in Tower Place.

The demographics of downtown and OTR are rapidly moving in the direction of the Whole Foods / Trader Joe's market sector. Meijer, to my knowledge, only builds giant hypermarket warehouses in the suburbs and would be even less likely to build a new location downtown than Kroger.

 

I agree about Meijer, I only threw them in there because their hypermarket format (along with Wal-Mart's), along with Kroger upgrading many of their high volume locations, is what pushed Thriftway and IGA out of the Cincinnati market.  The Kroger name is very strong in Cincinnati.  People feel allegiance to it even if it is an enormous corporation that is more likely to place its hand in your pocket than to give you a pat on the back.  I think that intrinsically influenced the decline in interest Cincinnatians showed toward Thriftway and IGA in their waning days.  They weren't keeping up with today's grocery format, which is to offer as much non-grocery as grocery.  Neither was Kroger, but they have the loyalty of the locals, as well as a store every two miles.

 

Even with the CBD and OTR seeing new, single residents with annual incomes above $40,000, the average resident of OTR is living in extreme poverty.  Having a mid-level grocer like Whole Foods in a scaled-down space as part of an urban shopping center, complete with a housing component, would be ideal to maintain their presence as well as having a Kroger for the community at large.  I wonder if Whole Foods could work in Tower Place.

 

I liked everything you were saying until you described Whole Foods as mid-level. I can't imagine what high-level would be!

Kroger can help by fixing eyesore

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120809/EDIT02/308090127/Kroger-can-help-by-fixing-eyesore

 

The streetscape of Vine Street from Central Parkway to 15th Street has become an exceptionally aesthetic, vibrant rehabilitation of 19th century buildings, combined with sensitively designed contemporary structures. The old Kroger store , while improved inside, is an anomaly –an eyesore that does not fit within this historic street of storefronts. It sits back from the street behind a deteriorating and unsavory parking lot, obstructive truck access, and shabby outdated storefront, in a location where there could be an inviting, street-front, forward-thinking urban grocery. What an amazing laboratory in which to design a model for the next-generation urban store!

does anyone know the timetable for the Kroger completion off the top???

having jus moved in fairly close tryin 2 get some grocery options...

Yo, we all need to send in more progressive LTE's all the time. We are way too reactionary on that ish.

Yo, we all need to send in more progressive LTE's all the time. We are way too reactionary on that ish.

 

word

Agreed.

 

Welcome new neighbor, your best bets are Findlay Market and the OTR kroger for local, then the Newport or Hyde park kroger and in about 2 years you can choose the new Corryville Kroger.

Yes, welcome! This blog post from last year lays out some of the downtown options: http://cincyvoices.com/2011/08/15/grocery-shopping-downtown/

 

Unfortunately Mayberry Foodstuffs is gone but the rest are still going strong.

 

OTR - you mentioned something about working on a "buy 25" type campaign for the Vine St. Kroger - keep us posted!

I searched through the forums, and the only mentions of an urban grocery were in the Tower Place Mall discussion. With the construction of the Streetcar underway, I'd say some chatter should take place, as some developments really have gotten a push through buzz and chatter.

 

I say we should leverage an opportunity for a City Target location, say, around Walnut/Court/Bowen/Central Pkwy. It would be situated on the edge of both Downtown and Over-the-Rhine. It could really benefit from bus routes serving Central Parkway, Walnut Street and Main Street. Then, hopefully, Kroger would be more inclined to either sell more speciality items, considering the limited grocery options of a City Target. Or Kroger, more likely not backing down to a competitor, could up the ante in west OTR. The City Target would be on the Streetcar line, as would Kroger.

 

The newly opened City Target in Downtown Seattle has a store level scale that fits with what's on Central Parkway right now, as well as what's across the street on East Court. However, it has what appears to be over 24 stories of condos, which well preceded the Target concept as office space and apartments. That junction seems to be an ideal location for such a store and development, creating TOD at one of the most active intersections north of Government Square. It would certainly benefit from the Horsehoe Casino and nearby hotels as a walking destination.

 

Thoughts?

 

Heck, a conversation I had with OTR Matters about the prospect of a bowling alley/restaurant/art house in the Woodward (Greg's Antiques) seemed to start some healthy visioning for what it could be, after it became a blog post.

 

(Source: CHS Capitol Hill Seattle Blog)

I'm curious as to why the currently existing OTR Kroger doesn't count as an urban grocery store.  Or is "urban grocery store" here code for "grocery store in the city filled with affluent white people"?  :-P

 

if there's a particular thing you're looking for at the OTR Kroger and they don't carry it, talk to the manager.  I've heard that the management at that store is very responsive and recognizes that the demographics of the neighborhood are changing - but you have to show up to make your voice heard.

^I too have been unable to understand why the changing demographic you referenced hasn't shown more initiative in taking ownership of that downtown Kroger.  Not that another supermarket isn't needed in the basin, but one does exist.

I can't even tell you how many people that live downtown or in OTR still consider the area to be without a proper grocery store. People have literally just written off Kroger's OTR location because it's just *that* bad. Newport Kroger is where I regularly run into urban-dwellers in Cincinnati.

 

I think the most frustrating thing re OTR Kroger is that many of the issues that make this store (in Kroger's eyes anyways) 'low priority' could be easily corrected with some small changes and minimal investment. IMO, the store is actually pretty clean and well organized. It's easy to find things and I always find the staff to be some of the nicest people, always saying hello and having casual conversation at check out.

 

Just off the top of my head:

-stop selling single serve alcohol

-fix the parking lot flow

-actually enforce no loitering in the parking lot

-pay attention to the changing demographics of the neighborhood because you now have a very easy opportunity to start selling higher-margin items within your existing footprint. A decent selection of things like wine, for example, might bring people into the store more often.

 

Now, as much as I love having the Newport Kroger and Target a 5 minute drive from downtown, it's a big problem from a downtown development standpoint. If residents have shown that they are willing to travel to get to those stores, what motivation do obsessively cost-conscious big-box retailers have to come 3 miles over the river and build another store? And don't even get me started on parking, which in Cincinnati would definitely need to be part of the conversation.

 

The conversation amongst UO-types and downtown/OTR residents needs to be first on taking action with the OTR Kroger. Until that store meets our needs better, we shouldn't be dreaming for a City Target or anything else because frankly it's not going to happen anytime soon.

 

I'd love to get with some of Kroger's management team and do a focus group of sorts with downtown/OTR residents. Has anything like this been done before...does anyone know? I don't think anyone on here has unreal demands, but it's seriously painful to watch Kroger totally miss the ball.

I've long thought that the ideal situation would be to build an underground parking garage where the Findlay Market lot is now and build a grocery on top of it.  But I don't know if the market vendors would agree to staying open 7 days a week and until 9pm. 

Given the space for stores to provide all the products of a supermarket, what's the point? Isn't a supermarket pretty much anathema to an urban community?