Super Kroger restaurants?

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NewsLynne
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Super Kroger restaurants?

Post by NewsLynne »

The very first "super" grocery store I ever remember seeing was the big Kroger in Hopkinsville, KY. This would have been new in about 82-83-84.

It had a full-service restaurant inside that looked a lot like the old Kmart cafeteria.

Am I dreaming or was this common during this era for the chain?
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Groceteria
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Post by Groceteria »

The restaurant actually was a feature of some of the "greenhouse" prototype stores of the late 1970s and early 1980s. You can still see them in some of these stores, although the former restaurant is now pretty much just some tables adjacent to the deli counter.
rich
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Post by rich »

They often were called "Barney's Cafe" and tended to be small annexes to the Deli. A very few stores had a separate entrance. These seemed to be a feature of the first generation of greenhouse stores.
TenPoundHammer
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Post by TenPoundHammer »

The Kroger on Euclid Avenue in Bay City, MI used to have a pizza place in it, separated from the main store, complete with its own seating. This space is now used as a meeting room. I know that this store was originally Giantway (a Michigan chain, went under ca. 1992), and later Kessel (a short lived Michigan chain). I don't know what Giantway used the space as - maybe some Giantway locations had eateries in them.
NewsLynne
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Post by NewsLynne »

THis was actually a pretty big place, like the original Kmart cafes. There were booths...
Edric Floyd
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Post by Edric Floyd »

The Kroger stores in the Macon Georgia area had restaurants at one time, even having a "restaurant" sign along with the "deli-bakery" "open 24 hours" or "pharmacy" sinage.

I know of two that had separate entrances in the restaurant area.

When I moved here in 1994, these stores all were little more than tables next to the deli counter. Depending on the neighborhood the stores offered hot foods for lunch and dinner hours. One store offered breakfast food.

When two new stores were built in 1995 in North and South Macon, they included Chick-Fil-A restaurants. A year later, remodeled Kroger restaurants in the North-East Macon and East Macon stores became a Popeyes. The "new" stores built in 1995 also became Popeyes restaurants. ALL of the Popeyes inside Kroger stores were gone by 1998.

The Krogers then offered their "Meals on the go" fresh prepared and gourmet foods in all of the stores. There were tables in each store and every store had a microwave oven in the table area. Funny thing is that the prepared foods sold were in Aluminmum containers...which are NOT microwaveable! The "meals on the go" offerings declined over the years and only a couple stores near upscale areas offer them.

Most of the stores have found other uses for the former restaurant space. My closest Kroger has a health foods section. Another has a wine section and others expanded their pharmacies into the spaces formerly used by the Restaurant and bank.

The largest Kroger in Macon built in 1997 once had a coffee shop, juice bar, "meals to go", Sandwich shop and even a book store with a living room atmosphere. They now use that space for large displays.
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