Kroger

Get to the wine tasting early on Fridays!

I love the new Kroger. The Kroger app is awesome and extremely helpful with making sure you get a great deal on your shopping trip. Amazing sushi bar and the Starbucks located inside puts the cherry on your trip.

Always busy, the parking lot can be confusing but they are usually fast and have great deals.

This is a pretty decent grocery store. The produce selection is better than many. I could do without the jewelry store but I suppose some people like that sort of thing. The fresh made sushi is worth a try. All other standard grocery store accoutrement can be had for a reasonable price.

First off I’ll admit this store is not organized as you would expect from a big grocery store. It has taken me a long time to find what I’m looking for, especially if you are ever looking for natural or organic foods. While most stores have a separate section for these specialty items, this Kroger tries to mix these into the regular isles with a small section of natural/​organic squeezed in amongst the regular food. Very easy to overlook. Certain sections aren’t where you’d naturally expect either. Example… the pre-​packaged bread is halfway across the store from the fresh bakery area. So yes, this store can be confusing and downright frustrating at times. If you are looking for absolute savings, yes there are other big box stores in the area where you can find cheaper personal items and general pre-​packaged groceries. What I have found though is the employees are super helpful. If you can’t find something, there is usually someone close by that is more than willing to not only tell you where to find it but will actually walk you there and help search the shelves with you. The folks working in the butcher/​seafood area are very friendly and knowledgeable. The employees in the balloon/​floral dept, bakery and deli always welcome you with a smile. The main reason I continue to shop at this store is the quality of the fresh food. The quality of the meat, seafood, and produce are by far way higher than that of the local competition. Short of going to a dedicated butcher or farmer’s market, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better quality/​$ for fresh meat, seafood, or produce. This particular Kroger also promotes locally sourced produce. A very nice touch to support our local farmers. So while you may be able to find certain items like pre-​packaged food or consumer products cheaper at some of the other big box stores, if you value your fresh food quality, I find this Kroger well worth the additional expense. To be honest, after shopping at this Kroger as much as I have lately, I’m downright appalled by the quality of produce some of the other local stores carry. I’m all for one-​stop shopping but I have actually left other stores to go to this Kroger for my fresh food. I do despise the gimmicky store loyally programs like Kroger’s Plus card but they do pay off if you are going to shop here anyway. If you shop on Amazon or go to restaurants, take advantage of Kroger’s 4x fuel point promotions to stock up on giftcards to use later and get $ 0.40 off per gallon of gas.

The two horrible reviews of this store are what compelled me to write one of my own.
Let me start by saying that I adore the Marketplace stores. They have so much more than the average Kroger stores. The deli and cheese area are double the size of the standard stores. This also means that the stores are considerably larger. Then add in the fact that they sell household goods and décor as well as clothing and you’ve got a store slightly smaller than a Walmart.
Some people have stated that moving forward they planned to do their shopping at Walmart rather than this store. There are a few key difference between Walmart and Kroger Marketplace that makes Kroger the hands down winner:
1. The cleanliness. I’ve never felt like I needed a shower after visiting a Kroger. This store is new, making everything very nice.
2. The produce. Have you ever looked at Walmart’s produce? Horrible! Not only am I impressed with the quality of the produce at Kroger, but they also occasionally feature local farm food and I think that’s great!
3. The employees. If you’re struggling to find something, an employee is always within a few steps. They are always pleasant and helpful. They usually see the lost look on your face and offer assistance long before you decide to ask.
4. The brands. Kroger sells a great variety of brands, from their own Private Selection labels to natural organic brands. This means that the store caters to many different shoppers and not just the penny pinching shopper like at Walmart.
The downside to this store is the poor layout. For example, the bread is nowhere near the bakery section. Rather, it’s located close to the chips and snack aisle. It takes a few months to feel like you’ve got the hang of it. Another problem is the foot traffic. This store services a large geographical location which means on the weekend it gets cuh-​razy. We avoid going on Saturday and Sunday. Weekday nights are a breeze, so if you can swing that, you’re life will be so much easier.
Honestly, if I could give this store 4.5 stars, I would.

Hate this store. Outrageously high prices and little in stock per item. Grocery bags really suck.

I would assume that nobody would read a review without at least one star so I felt compelled to award one star. Otherwise I would have awarded no stars. I just completed my very last visit to this store and while I am not normally one to write a review I just felt that I had to in this case. I have been a Kroger customer for as long as I can remember, it was actually one of the criteria considered when I purchased my home, how close is the nearest Kroger.
It used to be about a mile from my house and there was another location about 7 miles from home. Recently the marketing geniuses at Kroger decided to close both of those stores and open a Kroger «Marketplace» in a location more central to the 2 old ones. This resulted in my decision to never go to Krogers again. The 2 old stores were almost always crowded and more often than not it was difficult to find parking at either store. The store on the east side of Amelia served the eastern half of Amelia and the neighboring communities like Bethel and New Richmond, while the Western store served the Western side of Amelia and it’s neighboring communities.
Now there is only one location for all of these communities resulting in the most ridiculous grocery shopping experience you can ever imagine. The new store has a very nice Deli that is totally useless unless you want to spend an hour waiting after picking the dreaded next number. They have a much wider selection of all your grocery needs but you just can’t get to them to make your selection. The place is a zoo from the parking lot through the checkout and even getting out of the parking lot.
There is a Walmart next to the location of the old store and as much as I dislike waiting in line to pay for my groceries behind a guy buying plumbing supplies to repair his toilet, I will be doing my grocery shopping there from now on.
I don’t know who the marketing genius is that came up with this plan with no consideration for the size of the market but great job guys.