MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It’s one of the busiest grocery stores in the city.
“I love this Kroger. It’s convenient,” said shopper Stephanie Cherry.
The Union Avenue Kroger in Midtown Memphis is also on one of the busiest city thoroughfares.
Kroger said in order to get even bigger and better, the Union Avenue store must close January 4, 2016.
“In order for us to move forward and stay on pace with our schedule, we do need to go ahead and close the store,” said Teresa Dickerson, Kroger’s Public Relations Manager.
The schedule has already changed before.
Kroger said the new store will open in the Fall of 2016.
It initially said the it would open early this year.
So, could Fall 2016 also stretch out longer, extending an even bigger gap in Midtown shopping?
“We don’t want our customers to be inconvenienced. We want them to visit our Poplar-Cleveland store and our Poplar-Highland store and our Lamar store. We really want to be able to take care of those customers,” said Dickerson.
While the Union store is closed, shoppers will have to find other places for their groceries.
“That may be a bad idea because there are so many consumers here in this Midtown area. As you can see, it’s always crowded. So having to go somewhere else may be a downfall for them,” said Stephanie Cherry.
Kroger said the other stores should be able to handle the increase in customers once the Union Avenue Kroger closes because many of the Union Avenue workers will be temporarily transferred to those stores.