Kroger

Once upon a time I lived within a mile of an amazing grocery store that was always ‘upping it’s game’ to compete with the other amazing grocery store down the street. Within 5 miles was another even more amazing grocery store (who we actually got to do our wedding cake because their cakes were so good). The one within a mile to my residence had online ordering, a deli that couldn’t be beat, the freshest produce, and plenty of open registers. And the bagging staff knew how to use reusable bags.
That grocery store chain was bought out by Kroger and I hoped that the store who bought out my amazing store would also be amazing. When we moved up to Virginia, I had high hopes. I was disappointed.
I’ve been in several Kroger stores now. None measure up to what I left and this one in particular may be the worst, which is tragic because It’s the closest to my house.
It’s a very busy store, being in the heart of Christiansburg. I have yet to see it not crowded. They must not be able to keep up with stocking because frequently there are large holes where sale items once were. Tonight, the cheese section had been absolutely raided.
Also, the Bagging staff is hit or miss. The gentleman I had tonight was fabulous. The last time I went, the kid who started bagging my groceries filled one out of what ended up being 7 bags and then wandered back over to the little group of cashiers to finish conversation /​go look for some type of nuts that the cute girl of the group asked him to find. To her credit, my cashier was completely professional, didn’t say a cross word, apologized and helped me finish my bagging. Frequently, these kids don’t understand how reusable bags work, either.
The deli team is awesome. And the butcher keeps the meat section well stocked. The Rotisserie Chicken is excellent. The produce aisles are usually well tended. They also have a decent selection of organic products.
It’s my local store and I’ll continue to do the bulk of my shopping there, but I miss my amazing grocery store.