Over the next two years, Kroger will invest more than $97 million into central and northwest Ohio through two new storefronts and at least 18 renovations.
A $36 million, 123,000 square-foot Powell store — located at the intersection of Sawmill Parkway and Home Road — will open later this year, according to a Kroger press release. The company also plans roughly $28 million in renovations of existing stores in Columbus, Upper Arlington, Hilliard and beyond throughout the year.
In 2026, the company is scheduled to open another new storefront, this one near the intersection of Glenn and Sunbury roads in Delaware, which will be similar in size to the Powell store and cost $33 million. Mark Bruce, corporate affairs manager for Kroger’s Columbus Division, said the company does not yet know exactly how much it will spend on renovations next year, but it has committed to investing $64 million for the 2025 calendar year.
“Central Ohio is rapidly growing,” Bruce said. “Everyone knows that, and so it’s appropriate for the grocery store of choice in the community to grow alongside central Ohio, and that’s what we’re doing, especially with the development of our new stores.”
Bruce said each of the new stores should create between 250 and 300 job positions, with the Kroger Columbus Division, which spans 114 stores across Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia, according to the press release, employing around 18,000 associates.
The 18 store renovations will vary from storefront to storefront based on customer demand, but will generally include updates to produce tables, meat and dairy cases, the store’s decorations — including paint, graphics and signage — and potentially upgrades to the deli and floral department, Bruce said.
These expansions come in light of the Kroger Columbus Division investing more than $220 million across all its storefronts in the last five years. Those efforts included a new storefront in Jerome Township and roughly $35 million of renovations, Bruce said.
“We want to make sure our customers have the store that matches the experience they expect, which is fresh, which is refreshed, which is a nice, welcoming space, a friendly space,” Bruce said. “That’s what we look to provide by doing investments like this.”
Reporter Emma Wozniak can be reached at ewozniak@dispatch.com, or @emma_wozniak_ on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: New Powell, Delaware Kroger stores part of hefty investment from grocery giant
Reporting by Emma Wozniak, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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