Upon entering the main foyer of the new Kroger Marketplace in New Caney’s Valley Ranch Town Center, one of the first displays encountered were mannequins donning apparel from Kroger’s fashion department - one of a variety of store features being incorporated in an effort to evolve the store into a one-stop shopping destination.
Kroger associates were busy preparing the store for its April 5 grand opening as representatives Kristal Howard and Jay Gonzalez led a media tour around the 123,000-square-foot facility for a sneak-peek at what the new location will offer March 31.
“We’re just so excited to bring our Marketplace to New Caney,” Howard said. “It’s double the size of the traditional store. If you do a full lap of this store, it’s a quarter of a mile. We have everything under one roof here, so it’s really a one-stop shopping destination for the East Montgomery County community.”
The Kroger Marketplace incorporated several locally driven elements into their location. A mural designed by East Montgomery County artist Lowell Shapely hangs on the wall in their sit-down eatery where customers have access to free Wi-Fi.
The store will carry merchandise representing local high schools, including New Caney, Porter and Splendora.
Store manager Phillip Lucia will lead a team of more than 300 associates, many of whom live in the area.
Additionally, the Kroger Marketplace is designed to enhance sustainability by reducing waste and saving energy. According to Howard, the store in Valley Ranch Town Center is working toward achieving its Energy Star certification.
Gonzalez said one way in which this Kroger Marketplace works to reduce waste is by freezing meat nearing its expiration and donating it to local charities.
“We’re very involved with Mission Northeast, which covers a lot of the population of East Montgomery County. We support them in their mission,” Gonzalez said. “They’re actually our perishable pick-up partner for this store.
“Our focus is on freshness, but we’re also a very sustainable company. Sustainability is very important to us. That’s why we freeze the product, make sure that it stays fresh, and give it to the partners.”
Kroger Marketplace also has partnered with Mission Northeast for Red Barrel pick-up, which is where any donations collected on behalf of the food bank are given to that agency.
The new Kroger location engages in other community initiatives as well, including involvement in the Greater East Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce and the Kroger Community Rewards program.
“Kroger Community Rewards is a program available to any 501c3 organization,” Gonzalez said. “It’s a simple enrollment process. Once the organization is enrolled, any shopper, supporter or member of that organization can link their Kroger Card online to that organization, and when they shop with us, we donate a portion of the sales to that organization.
“More concretely, we’ve worked with New Caney ISD’s Education Foundation to support some of the initiatives they have to support teachers throughout New Caney ISD.”
In addition to apparel and shoes, the new Kroger Marketplace includes a home goods department with bathroom accessories, picture frames, candles and more.
A Starbucks serves hot and cold beverages daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
“Sometimes we get some of the newer drinks ahead of time because of the close relationship we have with Starbucks,” Gonzalez said.
A cheese shop operated by Murray’s Cheese of New York City offers an array of cheeses and is situated next to a wine section with more than 1,500 varieties of wine and an onsite wine consultant.
In the deli and bakery department, a bistro features a diverse selection of cuisines.
The store has more than 60 aisles that include a produce department, an open-air seafood market, a meat market with a grilling station, full-service pharmacy, health and wellness department, children’s toys and games, Kitchen Place, and technology department. Other features include more than 20 checkout lanes and 18 pumps at the Kroger Fuel Center.
The Marketplace also offers an online shopping and curbside pickup service called ClickList, which will begin at the Valley Ranch Town Center location April 12.
“We opened our first Marketplace store in 2009 in Richmond, Texas, and I can tell you, the evolution that’s taken place over the course of those years is drastic,” Howard said.
The new Kroger Marketplace in Valley Ranch Town Center will serve as a replacement for the Kroger at U.S. Highway 59 and FM 1314 in Porter, which will close April 4, a day before the grand opening event for the new Marketplace.
“We always want to ensure we’re offering the best experiences to our customers,” Howard said. “That was an older store. It was a smaller footprint store. We weren’t able to maximize the experience for our customers. We have found that the Marketplace concepts thrive really well in both new suburban communities, or even established suburban communities. It’s only a few miles away from our existing store location and we think for the time that particular community will afford to driving here, they’ll really reap the rewards of the Marketplace store.”
Kroger Marketplace in Valley Ranch Town Center will be open to the public Wednesday, April 5, at 8 a.m.
For more information about Kroger, visit www.kroger.com.
