Shopper Richard Merritt is retired. He hopes to interview soon for a job at Kroger.
Merrit sees the promised changes as a way for Kroger to start rebuilding trust with the west Louisville community after shutting down its 2nd Street location in 2017.
“Make us think longevity, you know. Make me want to come to work every day. Make me want to come and shop every day. Ask me for words of advice. Ask me things I think that help the community out. We need to be listened to,” he said.
West Louisville is a food desert, which means it has fewer options for fresh food than other parts of the city that have sufficient grocery sources.
For years, residents have called for more and better grocery and fresh food options so they can rely less on the food marts, convenience stores and dollar stores littered across the nine neighborhoods.
Last week, Kroger announced its commitment to invest $1.25 million in remodeling the west Broadway store.
The remodel would bring a wider range of fresh food, updated decor and an “increase in product and shelving for pantry staples.”
Separate from the $1.25 million investment, the corporation also announced a $500,000 investment to increase wages.
Starting wages for baggers will be $14.70 and $25.85 for department leaders. That increase went into effect July 21, Kroger spokesperson Jessica Sharp said. The remodel will be completed in 2025.
Some shoppers say they want better service from the store. The west Broadway location faced temporary early closures in late June with no warning. Shoppers also raised concerns about cleanliness, a lack of produce options and a shortage of employees.
Taylor Ryan, executive director of local nonprofit Change Today, Change Tomorrow, said it’s going to take time to make sure people trust the corporation to follow through on its promises. The nonprofit offers free grocery kiosks, runs a farmers’ market and works to improve food access in Louisville’s Black communities.
“Even though you have good intentions and you create what you think is a great structure and a great beginning to start building trust, you've already been in the community, you know, causing harm to the community for years,” she said.
Kroger has two locations in the West End, and is set to open its 25th store in Louisville next month. It’ll be in the East End, near a new Publix. Grocery store development is booming in that area.
Asked if the move to revamp the West Broadway location meant that Kroger would commit to future investments in west Louisville, Kroger spokesperson Sharp said, “This is the current plan on investment for West Broadway.”
Sharp said Kroger chooses locations for improvements based on “the store’s volume and sales made within the four walls to invest capital back into the store.”
In 2022, a $6 million proposal by Mayor Craig Greenberg meant to subsidize companies that want to open grocery stores in downtown and west Louisville, two food deserts, did not make it to the final city budget.
Jecorey Arthur, a District 4 Independent, said Monday “it’s about time” for the investment.
Arthur, who is set to retire as council member after this year, said Louisville Metro Government should consider new approaches and models to deal with food availability.
“We don't need to look at it just to make some money, or let a corporation make some money off of it. We need to do it to take care of a basic need that people have,” he said.
Phil Lempert, a California-based grocery industry expert who has decades of experience analyzing food trends for media outlets and consulting firms, said he thinks the Kroger investment is a good move as grocery corporations appeal to diverse markets.
“As America’s demographics change, they're learning how to deal with [Black and other marginalized] communities, how to serve those communities, how to stock the store with the groceries, the foods and the decor that those communities want,’ he said.
Kroger is planning to merge with grocery chain Albertsons in a $25 billion deal, but the Federal Trade Commission's is challenging the merger, and the companies are facing multiple antitrust lawsuits.
According to the FTC, mergers of this scale impact the cost of groceries and could drive up prices, lead to lower-quality food options, and could reduce competition from other stores, which Lempert and other industry experts have concerns about.
Kroger has denied it would increase prices, and has promised to lower grocery prices by $1 billion if the merger goes through.
But Lempert said he doesn’t think Kroger’s recent moves in Louisville have to do with the merger.
“I think it's just a checkbox that Kroger, as a good corporate citizen, is doing, and they see an opportunity to make money there. That's part of it as well,” he said.
