www.roanoke.com

I learned some details about Kroger's store remodel and expansion on South Main Street in Blacksburg.

This grocery retailer has added new features and significantly enlarged its shopping area.  And most of the remodel work is complete.

For more than a year, crews have been working to expand and spruce up this Kroger at the Gables Shopping Center. Carl York, a Kroger spokesman, told me the grocery company purchased this retail center several years ago with the intention of expanding the store.

The grocer's space now is 83,000 square feet, an increase from its former store at approximately 53,000 square feet. A grand opening remodel celebration is set for July 16.

Here are some other features at the remodeled Kroger:

--Indoor cafe to seat 45 people

--A new specialty foods department with five chefs and a bistro. Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be served.

--An olive bar and sushi island

--Expanded organic produce area

--A permanent demo-grilling station in the meat department

--A walk-in wine cellar

--A pharmacy drive-through

--Eight U-Scan checkouts, along with traditional checkout counters

I wrote a story in today's newspaper about Ukrop's Super Market's performance more than six months after the grocer disclosed its troubles building sales and customers at its Roanoke store.

You may have noticed that this Richmond grocer is waving triple coupon offers on Saturdays at its Roanoke location on Franklin Road. Starting next month, you also can receive these triple coupon deals on Wednesdays. This is one example of the grocer's new efforts to pull in more customers in Roanoke.

June 27 marks this Roanoke store's two-year anniversary.

Also, you may be interested in this story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch about Ukrop's battle for market share in the Richmond area. Ukrop's dropped to No. 2 behind Food Lion in the latest market share report.

The expanded Kroger at Westlake Towne Center at Smith Mountain Lake officially is complete today. Look out for special give-aways offered at the store if you stop to shop.

This Kroger added 25,500 square feet to its store, which opened five years ago. Some of the new features include a gourmet cheese shoppe, sushi bar, kitchen place department and a Bistro Bar selling prepared foods by chefs.

The grocer also has added 95 new employees, increasing its total workforce to 200 people.

Photo courtesy of Kroger

May is the month that you can expect renovations to be complete at two Roanoke Valley Kroger stores. The store in Vinton and one at Smith Mountain Lake are getting larger, and they will have some new features.

Here are the details:

Approximately 30,000 square feet will be added to the Vinton Kroger, making it as large as the newest Kroger store which opened in the Bonsack area last year. The changes to the Vinton Kroger include an expanded wine department, a pharmacy with a drive-up window, a new floral department, a new section selling home furniture, an additional frozen foods aisle and a new Natures Market section.

The Smith Mountain Lake (Westlake) Kroger is adding about 23,000 square feet of space, for a total of 74,000 square feet once all of the work is done. The additions there will include a new Kitchen Place department, an expanded frozen foods area, a new pharmacy and drive-up window, a new deli department with a sushi island and a cheese and an olive bar, seven new check-out lanes and six new Uscan machines.

Once the remodels are finished, let me know what you think about the changes at these Kroger stores.

Also, do you have any ideas for Kroger? Let me know what you'd like to see added or changed at local Kroger stores, if it's not already on the list above.

To save costs, Ukrop's Super Market will close the pharmacy at its Roanoke store this month.

The pharmacy will close Feb. 21, and all prescriptions will be transferred to CVS Pharmacy on Colonial Avenue in Roanoke, according to a letter to local Ukrop's pharmacy customers that was sent late last week.

Jason Woodcock, manager of the Roanoke Ukrop's, told me today that by closing the pharmacy, the grocer can cut down its costs in Roanoke. Late last year, the Richmond grocery said its Roanoke store wasn't performing up to expectations and that it needed more business to keep its doors open.

Meanwhile, a Walgreens store is under construction adjacent to Ukrop's on Franklin Road. Walgreens' coming is not a factor in the closing of Ukrop's pharmacy, Woodcock said.

For those of you following Ukrop's Super Market's financial troubles at its Roanoke store, you may be interested to know that this grocer plans to close one of its Williamsburg stores. According to this story, Ukrop's will close its Lightfoot store at the Williamsburg Marketcenter.

Bobby Ukrop, president and chief executive officer of Ukrop's, said earlier this month that the Roanoke Ukrop's needs more business to ensure its survival. Starting in late November, the grocer sent a letter and coupons to local customers to pump up traffic at its Roanoke store, which opened in 2007.

To follow up on our conversations about Ukrop's Super Market's performance in Roanoke, compared with other grocers, you may be interested to read the latest news about Kroger's national sales and profits.

The grocer's quarterly earnings were down 6 percent, though its sales rose 9 percent. According to the article, Kroger has weathered the economic downturn better than other national grocery retailers because of its heavy price-cutting for certain products.

Some of you may have received a letter from Ukrop's Super Market within the last week, containing coupons for $5 off $50 purchases through the end of the year. The letter, meant to drum up business, divulges some troubles at the Richmond-based grocer's Roanoke store. 

According to the letter, Ukrop's is having trouble building sales and business at its store in Roanoke, which opened in June 2007. Ukrop's blames slow progress at its Ivy Market retail center as a reason for lagging customer traffic.

"It is disappointing that the Ivy Market Center has not been fully developed," states the letter, signed by Bobby Ukrop, president and chief executive officer of Ukrop's, and Jason Woodcock, manager for the Roanoke store.

"We believe in the viability of this area, but without strong retail co-tenants to draw more traffic to the center, it is difficult to build business as a stand-alone operator," the letter states.

The mailed letter encourages local residents to continue shopping and spending at Ukrop's Roanoke store.

"If you were among those thousands of folks who welcomed us with open arms at our grand opening, we are asking you to give us another look," states the letter. "Perhaps you will have to drive a little farther to do so, but we know you won't be disappointed."

I caught up with Bobby Ukrop to discuss the grocer's performance in Roanoke. You can read the story here.

Also, tell me about your Ukrop's experience. What do you think about the Roanoke store? Where do you shop primarily for food in the Roanoke and New River valleys and why?

Today is opening day at Super Dollar Discount Foods in Vinton. This grocer landed on Bypass Road in the River Park Shopping Center, which formerly housed a Winn-Dixie store.

K-VA-T Food Stores of Abingdon owns Super Dollar and Food City stores. According to a news release from the company, Super Dollar has "top-selling supermarket items at rock bottom prices." Its stores stock Food Club and ValuTime brands, as well as certain national brands.

The Vinton Super Dollar store has a meat department, where you can buy packaged and fresh cut meats. Other sections of the store sell produce, dairy and frozen foods and items for $1, named the Dollar Zone.

There will be a separate gasoline station in the grocer's parking lot, though it's not open yet.

Click here to read an update on the Vinton Super Dollar in my retail roundup column in Nov. 16's Business section.

Is your favorite grocery store healthy?

I found interesting this survey of the top 10 healthiest supermarket chains, conducted by Health magazine. It ranked the 35 largest grocery chains based on how well the locations stock fresh and organic produce, offer healthy packaged foods and have supplemental nutrition information available for shoppers.

Click here for the top 10 list. You'll see that Food Lion is the only chain on this ranking (No. 7) that has locations in the Roanoke Valley. And this ranking highlights Food Lion's boutique concept, Bloom, as a leader in healthiness for the chain.

Since no other area grocery stores made this list, how do you think local supermarkets rank in order of healthiness?