Has Kroger's Downtown supermarket lived up to the hype?

This is part of The Enquirer's series on the Future of Downtown.

After a 50-year absence, Kroger opened its first new downtown Cincinnati supermarket as residents and economic development officials cheered.

Longtime residents welcomed a convenient and affordable grocery store that eliminated constant trips outside their neighborhood. Boosters said the store would attract even more residents and businesses, taking the urban core’s rebound to the next level.

But then six months later, the COVID-19 pandemic began.

At first, the crisis caused nationwide business and office shutdowns – Krogers, including the Downtown store, were spared because they were deemed “essential businesses.” However, as restrictions lifted and the pandemic eased, the continuing work-from-home culture has persisted in disrupting big cities’ traffic patterns as legions of workers kept avoiding the office. The shift has changed the math for downtown businesses nationwide, including Cincinnati’s Kroger that can no longer count as much on customers stopping by during the lunch hour.

So how has the downtown store fared? Kroger officials declined to comment for this story, noting the store has a new manager.

Upon multiple visits, the store appears to be busy. But the pandemic has left at least one lasting sign of its impact on the high-profile project: The much ballyhooed “food hall” – a second-floor food court populated by local restaurant vendors – has lost some of its original tenants and some spots have been vacant.

So will the downtown Kroger live up to the original hype? Here’s what people are saying:

‘The whole point was to get one’

Longtime residents of Downtown have been pestering local government and business officials for years for a grocery store. After decades of rumors, hopes and false starts, they say Kroger has given the neighborhood a vital resource.

“I was thrilled when Kroger put their mark in the sand,” Jackie Bryson, a retired Bristol Myers manager, told The Enquirer.

Bryson said the store is a big improvement over the previous store in Over-the-Rhine, which she thought was too basic, offering little more than “canned goods and corn flakes.” She still splits her grocery shopping between the store and Findlay Market, where she buys a lot of her vegetables.

Opened in September 2019, the 45,000-square-foot store is four times the size of an unprofitable Over-The-Rhine store that Kroger closed just before the new one opened. Looking to serve residents and workers in Downtown, Over-the-Rhine and the West End, Kroger developed the store using several elements from its urban-centric Mariano’s chain in Chicago.

The concept leans heavily on ready-to-eat or ready-to-cook meals as well as healthy and organic foods for on-the-go city customers. While more than half the store’s area is a compact traditional supermarket with staples such as bread, eggs and cereal, the store also has a second floor that features a wine and beer shop and a food hall targeting the downtown lunch and dinner crowd for dine-in and take-out. The store is also located on the southbound Connector streetcar route.

Rick Dieringer, who has lived in Downtown since 1980, said he was thrilled when Kroger opened the store just a block from his apartment. A member of the Downtown Residents' Council, he said a top priority of founding the residents group nearly 40 years ago was to attract a grocery store to the neighborhood.

“The whole point was to get one,” Dieringer said. “I’m very happy it finally opened.”

While the store is a vast improvement for the area, Dieringer said he’s still forced to visit the Kroger store in Newport for odd items a smaller format store doesn’t always carry, such as dish scrubbers with soap in the handles.

Why was it such a big deal?

Officials with economic development nonprofit Cincinnati Center Development Corp. (3CDC) say the downtown supermarket was critical for nurturing the urban core’s rebirth. Seemingly abandoned after the 2001 riots in Cincinnati, downtown and Over-the-Rhine have rebounded as old buildings were redeveloped into urban condos and residential as well as office space and trendy restaurants.

Local economic development officials say they’re not concerned and believe the Kroger will continue to boost the neighborhood after a brief pause prompted by the national crisis.

Steve Leeper, 3CDC’s president, said the supermarket provided an essential service for the area’s growing number of residents as well as workers.

“I think it's a fantastic amenity,” Leeper said. “It is really does provide an excellent resource for our residents downtown. It’s increased traffic in that part of downtown … and served as an anchor for additional development in that area.”

Downtown rebound continues

Kroger’s downtown location isn’t just supported by office workers and nearby residents: The store occupies the bottom of an 18-floor mixed-use tower at the northeast corner of Walnut and Court streets that includes 139 apartments that rent between $1,500 and $3,300 a month. Rookwood Properties, which leases the apartments, did not comment for this story, but there are waitlists for most of its studio and one-bedroom units.

While several food vendors left empty holes in the Kroger’s upper level food hall, dubbed "the On-The-Rhine Eatery," new ones have arrived or are on the way. In June, Queen City Burger opened for business; Natie-Q Barbecue is slated to open this summer.

Bob Deck, the managing partner for Four Entertainment Group's (4EG) Cincinnati bars, credits the food hall for drawing traffic to a previously sleepy area at the north edge of Downtown just south of Over-The-Rhine. That added visibility has nurtured the company's Pilar bar across the street from the Kroger.

"That second floor is beneficial to us because a lot of people walk past us and say 'Next time, I'll try them out,'" Deck said, adding other new eateries are starting to arrive nearby, including Onolicious Hawaii. "I never get upset when more food and bars move in nearby because it just adds visibility."

Deck acknowledges Pilar's first year after it opened in July 2021 was "rough" but notes sales have since doubled and continue to improve.

Kevin Ketels, a Wayne State University of logistics professor, said a supermarket is critical for continued urban growth.

“There are certain assets every community needs to keep attracting new families and residents: a supermarket is one of them,” Ketels said. “It’s one of those fundamental elements to keep growing and existing.”

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