Eric Halvorson has learned to anticipate one question whenever he meets someone from Zionsville: when is the Kroger at 5 Boone Village going to open?
Halvorson, a Kroger spokesman, is happy to now be able to give them a date of Jan. 4, 2018, as the projected opening.
Topvalco, a Kroger subsidiary, purchased 11 of the Marsh leases, including the one in Boone Village, in June after Marsh filed for bankruptcy in May.
“We understand the challenge of not having a neighborhood grocery store, so we are moving as quickly as we can to upgrade the building,” Halvorson said. “Our engineers are addressing some deferred maintenance issues they discovered. They are also adding new technology and other systems that are essential to our operation. We would love to be able to open tomorrow, but these are complex projects. Doing the work now, when the store is empty, is easier for the construction team. It is also easier for customers if all the work is done before we open the doors.”
Count Zionsville resident Amie Peele Carter as someone who can’t wait for Kroger to open.
“I think there’s a song that says ‘you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone,’’’ Peele Carter said. “I’ve certainly felt that way since we lost the grocery store at Boone Village and eagerly am anticipating the opening of Kroger‘s Boone Village store in January. I’m especially excited that they will be offering online ordering. With a busy family, it’s been much less convenient to have to drive to other, larger stores that are further away when I’ve needed only one or two items. January can’t arrive soon enough.”
The Kroger will ofter ClickList, its online grocery ordering service.
The Kroger store at 106th Street and Michigan Road, another former Marsh store, is tentatively scheduled to open in late March or early April, Halvorson said.
Boone Village will be a 26,486-square-foot store. Halvorson said the investment in the building for repairs and upgrades will be $3.7 million.
The Michigan Road store has 45,247 square feet of sales floor. The renovation investment will be $4.8 million.
Kroger has job fairs set from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 1 and Nov 17 at the former Brunchies site, 47 Boone Village. Halvorson said other interviews will be conducted there as needed during the months of November and December.
“The associates will start work two or three weeks before the store opens,” Halvorson said. “That would be to make sure the building is clean and then to stock the shelves in preparation for opening day. Associates hired this month may be assigned to Carmel and Westfield stores for training.”
