Transformed Kroger in Hamburg boasts cheese kiosk, wider aisles

HAMBURG TWP. — Shoppers at the Kroger in Hamburg Township will notice a transformation during their next grocery trip.

Store officials, employees and local leaders gathered Wednesday, July 31, to commemorate the completion of a nearly 30,000-square-foot expansion of the store at 9700 Chilson Commons Circle near Pinckney.

The national grocery and pharmacy retailer invested about $17.6 million to update the store, company officials said.

"We call it a combination store," Ken DeLuca, president of Kroger Co. of Michigan, told The Daily. "All of our departments are expanded as opposed to a conventional store, which would be a small, more traditional grocery store."

The store remained open during about a year's worth of construction and reconfiguration. The additional square footage makes space for a large health and beauty section near the pharmacy (which has a new drive-thru), wider aisles for more products and more check-out lanes. The produce section also grew, and the store added a cheese shop kiosk and Starbuck's counter.

"We're always evaluating (which stores to expand)," DeLuca said. "We look at sales per square foot. That's a good metric for us to say how busy a store is. This store was built in 2005, and it wasn't built to do the business it does today."

When shopper Anne Clark returned to town after spending the winter in Florida, she was floored.

"It was shocking when I came back," she said. "It just looked opened, updated."

Clark said she likes how healthier foods are "integrated" throughout the store, rather than in one section.

Store Leader Nick Price said Kroger's investment in the pharmacy "has been a big thing for us."

"We have a lot of residents in this area, and we're the only pharmacy in town," he said. That's following the closure of a CVS, and will likely be aided by the upcoming closure of Rite Aid in Pinckney.

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He said people have been commenting on "the variety you can get here now that you couldn't get before."

A local elementary school's food pantry program received a $10,000 check before Kroger officials cut a celebratory ribbon. Farley Hill Food Pantry, a volunteer-run program through Pinckney Community Schools, provides free groceries to about 40 families per week.

— Contact reporter Jennifer Eberbach at jeberbach@livingstondaily.com.

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Transformed Kroger in Hamburg boasts cheese kiosk, wider aisles