The Dayton Pinewood Plaza location on South Smithville Road and a store on Spinning Road closed at 7 p.m. Thursday, three hours before their 10 p.m. posted closings, Jenifer Moore, Kroger corporate affairs manager, said in an email.
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Moore confirmed that “all associates for both locations will transfer to the Riverside store when it opens.”
While Moore said Kroger does not share employment data, the company said earlier that about 160 jobs would be located at the 100,349-square-foot Woodman store. Williams said he’s been told the Spinning Road site houses about 75 jobs.
The new store is set to open slightly more than a year after construction began following the demolition of a long-vacant Kmart site. It demonstrates that “Kroger is going to be making such a significant investment in us as a community,” Williams said.
“I’m excited for our community, excited for our neighbors and the people who have been waiting for this, and this will become a big part of their lives,” he added.
Both current stores have been mainstays in their neighborhoods for decades. The Spinning location opened more than 60 years ago.
That store’s workers “are almost like family members because you see them so often,” Williams said.
Kroger opened a $1.6 million fuel center at the intersection of Woodman and Burkhardt in December. Before that, the property had been vacant since Kmart closed in 2017, Riverside officials have said.
Along with the fuel center, the new site will include a Starbucks, a floral shop, sushi, bakery and meat/seafood departments, Moore has said.
It also will have 465 parking spaces, 15 online pickup spaces and a pharmacy drive through, she has said.
Kroger bought the 10.8-acre Woodman property for $2.7 million in March 2021 from AFP Seventy One Corp., according to Montgomery County Auditor’s Office records.
The 7.9-acre site where the current Riverside Kroger is located was sold to Garcia and Diego by Spinning Hills Plaza LLC in June 2022 for $1.3 million, county records state.
WOODMAN ROAD KROGER OPENING
Friday
•7 a.m. opening: First 300 customers get a $10 Kroger gift card.
•8 a.m.: Ribbon cutting and St. Helen Catholic School students.
•10 a.m. to 4 p.m.: The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile on hand.
Saturday
• 7 a.m.: First 300 customers get Mikesell’s chips.
•11 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Product giveaways.
Sunday
• 7 a.m.: First 300 customers get Boar’s Head single-serve hummus.
•8 to 11 a.m.: Colossal Cookie and Private Selection seafood samples.
SOURCES: Kroger and the Kraft Heinz Co.
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