The second largest of the 50 Kroger stores in West Virginia is right on U.S. 60 in Barboursville.
After a multi-million dollar expansion last year, the store went from 55,000 square feet to 85,000 square feet, increased the size of every department and added new ones. As a result, Tri-Staters now have a shopping experience similar to that in a larger city — right here in the Huntington area, said general manager Ray Walker.
"We have new tile, new shelving. Nothing has gone untouched," Walker said.
From more organics and gourmet meats to a new focus on going green, this Kroger operation is progressive on many fronts.
First, comes the concept of the store, which is a one-stop shop combined with an enjoyable experience, Walker said. The most noticeable sign of that is an addition of a Starbucks in the store, surrounded by some small tables and conveniently stationed next to the store's bookstore, or "reading center."
"If you want to make your shopping experience more enjoyable, you can drink a latte while you shop," Walker said. "Or you can sit down and drink a latte before you shop -- whatever makes your shopping experience better. And I don't know of any Starbucks that's not doing well."
There's also an expanded, airy pharmacy area with a drive-through window, a card shop and Marshall University section and three entrances, with one situated for ultimate streamlined shopping. Go in that entrance, and it's a swift trip for bread, milk or soft drinks.
For those prepared for a more leisurely stroll, the entrance into the produce department is where you start, and since the expansion, this Kroger location has 130 varieties of organic produce and foods, as well as a Nature's Market.
"Without this space, we had very limited vegetarian, organic and health-conscious products," Walker said. "Now, we even have an organic pet section. We have organic health and body products."
As far as prepared foods, it goes beyond a salad bar to an olive bar, with not only several varieties of olives but couscous and stuffed grape leaves. Its sushi offerings are one of the leaders in the region, and it offers 300 varieties of gourmet cheese, as well as gourmet meats, including the new Boar's Head, which doesn't use preservatives. Then there are the artisan breads and pastries.
There's the new department called Kitchen Place, which offers some of the kitchen basics from plates, glasses and silverware to skillets, mixers, roasters or place mats.
"I think we have one of the largest frozen foods departments in the Kroger Mid-Atlantic region," which encompasses 136 stores, Walker said.
The frozen food section at Kroger is large enough to need 200 doors. It takes a lot of energy to keep those refrigerated, but Kroger has found a green solution.
"We recycle the energy it takes to refrigerate those cases," he said. "We use it to heat the water and to heat the store. We seldom have to use gas heat."
The store also recycles plastic and cardboard.
"We have our own machine that re-bales (all the cardboard)," he said. That amounts to thousands and thousands of pounds every week.
Kroger as a company also has been selling reusable grocery bags. There are regular bags for $1, and insulated bags for cold products for $2. It also will sell reusable bags divided into sections, to be used for those buying wine.
All the changes seem to be good ones, shoppers have said.
Lisa Shelton of Barboursville likes the way the store is organized and the selection.
"I come here for the organics -- all the vegetables -- and I have never bought a bad head of lettuce here," she said, as she left the store with a Frappuccino for her daughter.
Jeff Hanicher lives less than a mile from the store and said he's been shopping at Kroger for 30 years. He likes the variety of the expanded store, but said he'd be going there no matter what.
"I'm not a big fan of the superstore, but they didn't go overboard," he said. "And they have (carts to drive) if you can't get around."
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