Grocery shoppers in Indianapolis are seeing big changes at supermarkets that have been around since the 1990s.
Southside stores celebrated updates on July 31 when a remodeled Walmart Neighborhood Market reopened at 3805 S. Keystone Avenue after a month-long closure, while the Kroger at 4202 S. East St. showed off $1.7 million in upgrades.
New at remodeled Walmart Neighborhood Market, 3805 S. Keystone Avenue
The 52,000-square-foot supermarket, opened in 1994, was reintroduced to customers with expanded aisles, and new paint, lighting and white tile walls for a brighter look.
More staffed checkout lanes
The front end of the store added more manned checkout lanes.
There are now six cashier-assisted register lanes, compared to four before the remodel.
“That was a big thing we added because we have a lot of customers that prefer to be checked out by an associate,” said store manager Erika Smith. “Our customers prefer them over self-checkout.”
On the self-checkout side, two long-belted self -checkout stations were added to better accommodate customers doing heavier shopping.
Expanded Hispanic foods selection
The aisles carry more Hispanic groceries, to match shifting demographics in the neighborhood.
“We’re making changes to fit more of the community,” Smith. “We’ve just expanded on different categories, and we deleted stuff that didn’t fit the customer base here.”
Overall, the store has added about 1,000 new items.
Larger pharmacy and patient service room
The pharmacy was expanded, while a room was added for patient consulting and immunizations.
Online ordering fulfillment
A new room was built to accommodate increased demand for online ordering, delivery and pickup.
“We’ve expanded our digital business, online grocery to pick up,” Smith said of the fulfillment room, where orders are packaged and waiting to be picked up by customers and delivery drivers. “Before, we didn’t have this space to accommodate the growth of the business.”
The store also maintains a van for Walmart InHome Delivery, which delivers orders inside customers’ homes, even putting groceries in the fridge.
Hot foods highlights
A new digital menu board highlights the ropa vieja, yuca fries and sweet plantains available at the hot food bar, along with whole rotisserie and fried chicken.
New tech at display cases
The locked display cases feature digital locks that associate access via smartphone. Meanwhile, new digital tags that display instantly updated prices are on the shelves.
Changes at the remodeled Kroger, 4202 S. East
The Southern Plaza Kroger, opened in 1990, boasts new decor, shelving and displays; an updated layout in the produce department.
The remodel includes:
More space
Widened aisles at the center of the store created more space for customers.
Pharmacy room
Customers here also got a new consultation room with the remodel.
A balloon kiosk
Guests can now grab pre-inflated latex or foil balloons in the new area.
Hot snacks
Customers can still order chicken tenders, mashed potatoes and mac and cheese in the hot food section, but new snacks have been added, including onion rings, mozzarella sticks and jalapeno poppers.
Contact reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at cjackson@usatodayco.com or 317-444-6264. Follow her on X.com: @cherylvjackson or Bluesky: @cherylvjackson.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis shoppers see big changes at local Walmart, Kroger stores
Reporting by Cheryl V. Jackson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Cheryl V. Jackson, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
