COLLIERVILLE, Tenn. – Kroger announced Friday that they will reopen their Collierville store next week, six weeks after a mass shooting that killed one person and injured more than a dozen.
The remodeled store on Byhalia Road near Poplar Avenue will open Wednesday, November 10 at 9 a.m.
“It has a different look and feel so the community can rally around. We want to welcome them back and make sure it feels like home to them again,” Teresa Dickerson said.
Dickerson, who is the corporate affairs manager of the Kroger Delta Division, held a press conference Friday along with Mayor Stan Joyner outside the new Collierville Kroger Associate Resource Center on Poplar.
“This is an exciting morning for the town of Collierville because this is just another step in the recovery process for the town as we move on from the tragic events that happened on Sept. 23,” Mayor Joyner said.
Officials say a project like this nearly takes half a year, but they have managed to complete it just over one month.
“We didn’t necessary have plans to remodel the store, didn’t have any budgeting approved for a remodel, but of course after this you want to make sure the store looks different, and our leadership team made it happen,” Dickerson said.
Among the changes customers are expected to notice is security.
“The Collierville police department is gonna be out here and we were gonna do everything we can, just like we do any other day,” said Collierville Police Chief Dale Lane.
The store has remained closed since the shooting, when one woman was killed and multiple people were injured.
Police say the gunman, Uk Thang, who operated the sushi counter, was asked to leave the store that morning after getting into an argument with another employee. He later pulled up to the front of the Kroger, armed himself with three guns, entered the store and started shooting at customers and employees, and taking his own life.
Painted across the front of the store is the phrase “We are Collierville strong.” It’s a message that embodies what officials say the reopening is all about.
“A lot of times these incidents are drive fear and division in the community, and I’m so thankful here that we have seen the opposite. We saw the worse in humanity and we also seen the absolute best,” Lane said.
“Moving forward, we won’t talk about the shooting. We won’t talk about that day. We’re only talking about the opening and how we’re rebuilding to heal,” Dickerson said.
Dickerson said the store hours will remain the same as before. Prior to the opening, a ceremony will be held in honor of those impacted by the mass shooting.
