Kroger closes Buckhead store early, pushes up dates for other store closures
Kroger has shuttered one of its metro Atlanta stores a day earlier than expected and is pushing up the closing dates for three other locations.
The Kroger at 2452 Morosgo Way in Buckhead closed on Friday, a spokesperson said. It had been planned to shut down Saturday.
The grocer has also adjusted the dates for other planned closures in DeKalb and Fulton counties, each a day earlier:
- 11877 Douglas Road in Alpharetta, which will close Aug. 15
- 3479 Memorial Drive in Decatur, which will close Sept. 12
- 3855 Buford Highway in Brookhaven, which will close Oct. 17
Friday afternoon, workers were boarding up the windows and doors of the Kroger in Buckhead, located near the Lindbergh MARTA station. The Kroger sign was taken down at the entrance, leaving a visible outline of where it had been.
Chris Cisneros, who frequented the grocery store, drove up hoping for discounts on remaining inventory, not realizing it shut down early. He said he’s disappointed about the closure because it limits access to produce in the Lindbergh area.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a food desert, but you have to go a ways now to get anything that’s fresh,” he said.
Kroger announced in late June it would close 60 “underperforming” U.S. stores over 18 months, including the four in metro Atlanta. The company says impacted workers can relocate to other locations.
“We don’t take these decisions lightly, but this will make the company more efficient,” Ronald Sargent, interim CEO of Kroger, said in a June earnings call.
“We see this as an opportunity to move these closed store sales to other stores, and we think that should improve profitability,” he told analysts later in the call.
In terms of sales, the four metro Atlanta stores are “all low performers for various reasons, such as competition and real estate position,” said Greg Eisenman, regional managing director of Franklin Street’s Atlanta office, who specializes in retail real estate.
He noted that while there have been high-profile bankruptcies and store closures such as Big Lots, Party City and Joann Fabrics, it’s not the same story for Kroger.
“Kroger is actually in growth mode, so these appear to be a healthy company shedding nonperforming assets,” Eisenman said.
Kroger’s Sargent on the June earnings call said the company expects to accelerate store openings in coming years “in high-growth geographies, growing our overall square footage and adding new jobs.”
It’s not clear yet what tenants might fill four closing Kroger locations in metro Atlanta.
Eisenman said companies now looking to expand include fitness concepts and children’s activities such as swim schools, indoor playgrounds and learning centers.
“It will be interesting to see how quickly these boxes get snatched up by other users,” he said.
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