Kroger grocer is exiting Raleigh market

For as long as I can remember -- certainly since I've lived in Indianapolis, where I moved in 1978 -- there has always been a Kroger grocery in the vicinity of where I lived. Next Tuesday marks my first anniversary in Raleigh, where like in Indianapolis, there was a Kroger among the grocery options ...

Until Aug. 14. That's when Kroger will shutter all 14 of its stores in the Raleigh area, citing a glut of grocery stores. A story in today's Raleigh News and Observer says the closings will result in the layoffs of 1,652 employees.

The story didn't say how long Kroger had been in the Triangle, but I know Kroger is one of the oldest grocery chains in the country, so it no doubt has had a presence here for some time.

A News and Observer story from two weeks ago opines that Kroger might not be the only grocer leaving the area, where the current grocery market seems to be shaking out with low-budget stores on the one side (e.g., Aldi, Lidl, Walmart) and "unique experience" and slightly pricier stores (e.g., Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Harris-Teeter, Lowes) on the other. Kroger, the article says, finds itself stuck in the no-win middle. Also in the mix are the popular wholesale membership stores Sam's Club and Costco.

Kroger owns the Harris-Teeter grocery chain, which is popular in this area, and Harris-Teeters will remain open here. In fact, Harris-Teeter will take over eight of the closing Kroger stores. Food Lion (which I've personally viewed as one of those Kroger-like "in the middle" store chains) has made arrangements to take over two others.

Publix also has a presence in the Triangle grocery market, but I've never visited any of those, although I have mixed up my shopping destinations quite a bit through the years. And even though I possess a Kroger shopper loyalty card, I can't say that I have been a strictly loyal Kroger shopper in that period.

With Lee Ann's daughter, son-in-law and two grandsons heading here to visit, we needed to restock the kitchen supplies today, so ... in a mini-wave of nostalgia, we stopped at the Kroger nearest to us, which is in Garner. I took these pictures during the stop. This store is 7 miles or so from home; the nearest Harris-Teeter and Food Lion are just a mile away (we prefer the former). So it's not likely we'll be back to Kroger again.

To view a larger, sharper version of a photo, just click on the image. This is particularly helpful when accessing the blog from a mobile device. All pictures in this post a few others can be found in a gallery accessible by following the link in this sentence.

Photo geek stuff: All of the photos were taken with my iPhone X.

The front facade of the store in Garner (above), which is not one of the stores that Harris-Teeter will move into. Fortunately, there is a Harris-Teeter only a mile from our home. The store shots out its discount to customers who near the main doors (below). If you look at the window reflection below the 50% discount sign, you'll see the legs of the photographer.

The yellow and orange ticketed items are discounted items. Peanut butter had been on these shelves that are empty now.  

Above: The bakery isn't producing sweet treats anymore, but I did see some breads on display elsewhere.

Above: There were several aisles with gaping emptiness like this throughout the store.

Even a lot of the beers were being discounted. The craft brew Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (in the green cases) was marked down from $17.89 to $12.99, among the largest discounts in the beers. There were markdowns on some mainstream brands, but not this much.  

A confluence of shelf emptiness (above) and the empty packaged seafood refrigerators (below). 

Above: I think this aisle is where cookware items (knives, pots, pans, spoons, spatulas, etc.) had been stocked, but I'm not positive. 

Above and below: For now, at this store, Kroger is keeping its produce section fresh and fully stocked. We even found some organic cauliflower heads.