Shoppers, employees will find new routines in Kroger construction

The closing of Kroger’s City of Grosse Pointe store in the Village next year will displace both shoppers and employees. The company’s challenge is to keep as many as possible in the fold while a new, two-story Kroger is built on the old store’s footprint at Notre Dame and Kercheval.
 
No employees will lose their jobs, said Dale Hollandsworth, director of consumer communications for the grocery chain. They'll be moved to surrounding stores to help with anticipated business spikes at those stores, and will receive additional training in anticipation for the re-opening.
 
Shoppers will be encouraged to take their business to one of the chain’s other nearby stores. (There are two on Mack Avenue, one at Moross in the Farms and the other close to Vernier in the Woods.) But while most Grosse Pointe shoppers have transportation to take them to other area Kroger stores, what happens to those who rely on bus transportation from east Detroit to get their groceries?
 
Since the closure of Farmer Jack, Detroit residents have been without a large supermarket chain. Many east-side Detroiters take public transportation to the Village Kroger for grocery shopping.
 
Hollandsworth said the company will be “promoting” other area stores to shoppers looking for an alternative. He did not address what would happen to shoppers who rely on public transportation.
 
“At best all I could say is that store is still in the due diligence stage,” he said.
 
The only store currently served by bus would be the Farms location at Mack and Moross, said Pamela King, customer service supervisor for the Detroit Department of Transportation.
 
King said that residents could request route alterations for a specific period of time. She suggested those interested attend a Customer Comment meeting held every Thursday at 5 p.m. at DDOT headquarters, 1301 E. Warren. Residents can make requests and King said the department would do what it can to help accommodate them.
 
Once completed, the new Village Kroger will grow 35 feet vertically, said Paul Weitzel, City director of public works. The current structure will be demolished.
 
City Manager Peter Dame said that while no staging area for construction has been formally announced, he assumes it will be located in the Kroger-owned parking lot behind the store. Dame added that Kroger also plans the construction of a multi-level parking deck to accommodate 150 vehicles for the new facility.

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