Former Friendly’s in Kettering to be demolished for Kroger parking

A demolition permit has been submitted for the vacant former Friendly's restaurant in the Eichelberger Shopping Center land in Kettering. The site was leased to Kroger last year. The shopping center's owner plans to use the space for more parking, according to the city. JEREMY KELLEY/STAFF

Credit: JEREMY KELLEY/STAFF

Credit: JEREMY KELLEY/STAFF

A demolition permit has been submitted for the vacant former Friendly's restaurant in the Eichelberger Shopping Center land in Kettering. The site was leased to Kroger last year. The shopping center's owner plans to use the space for more parking, according to the city. JEREMY KELLEY/STAFF
Local News
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Updated April 11, 2023
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A long-vacant former restaurant at a Kettering shopping center is one of two sites planned for demolition in a move to expand parking for Kroger.

Demolition permits have been filed for the former Friendly’s restaurant at 500 E. Stroop and the former Liberty Savings Bank at 550 E. Stroop in the Eichelberger Shopping Center, city records show.

The Cincinnati-based national retailer is named on both properties. It agreed to lease land at the center, attorney Gary Froelich, trustee for shopping center property, told the Dayton Daily News in July 2022.

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The owner’s intent is to have the buildings demolished and replaced with additional parking and landscaping, a Kettering official said.

Kroger declined to comment on the issue. This news organization has also reached out to Froelich.

Friendly’s closed in late 2014 as part of a shutdown of several restaurants for the national chain.

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The shopping center, which is across from Town & Country Shopping Center near the heart of Kettering, is owned by Jack W. Eichelberger Trust with Froelich the trustee, Montgomery County land records state.

The Kroger store was remodeled into a Fresh Fare in 2009, while the city widened sidewalks and installed decorative street lights and retaining walls on Stroop in 2014. A CVS Pharmacy in the shopping center closed last year.

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Nick Blizzard is a staff writer for the Dayton Daily News. He is a graduate of Stebbins High School who earned a bachelor’s degree from Ohio University and its E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. Nick is a Riverside native who has lived in Huber Heights and Kettering. He has been a journalist in the Dayton area for more than 25 years.