Kroger Central Division will temporarily close its store at 1217 Rangeline Road in Carmel, Indiana for 16 weeks starting in early February. The temporary closure will allow a major renovation and expansion of the store into a flagship, upscale Kroger store unique in the state of Indiana. The total investment will exceed $10 million and the store will be expanded by 18,235 square feet to 80,677 square feet.
Kroger will operate a smaller store, with limited food and general merchandise, at an adjacent store previously occupied by Walgreens. A temporary, full-service pharmacy will be set up next to the former Walgreens building. Pharmacy operating hours will not change.
During the remodel and temporary closing, the adjacent Turkey Hill convenience store, which is managed by a different Kroger operating division, will remain open.
“I am very excited about the expansion announcement from Kroger today. The $10 million renovation investment and eventual addition of 100 new jobs will have a favorable tax impact of approximately $200,000 annually on the local economy. Renovating the Carmel location on Range Line Road into an upscale flagship store is perfectly in line with its location so close to our new downtown at City Center. It will provide the residents there, in the Arts & Design District and eventually Midtown with a convenient high quality grocery and a place to grab a quick healthy meal. The fact that many of these residents are now in walking distance from the store is an added bonus to a healthy lifestyle,” said Mayor Jim Brainard.
All associates at the Carmel location will continue working at nearby Kroger locations during the store closing, at their usual compensation and benefit levels.
Kroger Central Division President Jeff Burt said: “As a leader in the intensely competitive retail food industry, The Kroger Co. not only continues to accelerate the pace and scale of our investments in new and remodeled stores, we very effectively tailor the design and merchandising mix of each store to the unique expectations of that store’s customers. After we close the Carmel store for a period of sixteen weeks, operate temporarily from the Walgreens and then push through an ambitious 16 week construction phase, we will reopen with a unique-in-Indiana, upscale marketplace that our Carmel customers will find truly amazing.”
Key features of the expanded store will include:
- New food bistro, including sushi and made-to-order chef stations
- Expanded butcher shop and fresh seafood market, including a grilling station
- Expanded organic and natural food selection
- Expanded specialty foods selection
- New and enhanced floral shop
- New and enhanced produce department
- An expanded wine and liquor shop
- Community kitchen on the mezzanine, to be used for customer and community education events
- Murray’s Cheese shop
- Starbucks
- An expanded pharmacy and a new Little Clinic
- Upstairs and outdoor cafés with WiFi
As the store’s reopening date approaches, Kroger will use the second floor of the Turkey Hill store as a hiring center. In addition to keeping all current Carmel associates, the company will hire up to 100 new associates.
“My team and I are very excited to showcase this store and we are equally enthused by the investment in our exceptional Carmel associates. As the store reopens and associates return from nearby stores, they will be one of our best-trained teams in Indiana and will be joined by new associates as we create job opportunities in Carmel,” Burt said. “We’ll be asking for patience and understanding from our Carmel customers during the temporary closing and will work extremely hard from a smaller, temporary store in the former Walgreen’s location, a full-service pharmacy and the Turkey Hill convenience store. In the end, I have no doubt this showcase store will be worth the wait.”
