KROGER OPENS HUGE STORE IN BONSACK

Kroger’s largest store opens Thursday in Bonsack and you don’t want to miss it. It’d be hard to overlook if you tried based on it’s size.

Located at 3940 Valley Gateway Boulevard (US 460 East) in Bonsack, the store has 84,000 square feet, making it the largest Kroger store in Virginia, west of Richmond. 

 “With the size, we will offer items that customers do not expect to find in a grocery store,” said Carl York, spokesman.  “For example, we have a kitchen place section with small kitchen appliances, decorative dinnerware, pots and pans and more.  It’s the first of it’s kind in the Roanoke Valley. We also offer back-to-school items and patio furniture.”

The store also is a large employer, creating approximately 150 new jobs.  All 60-70 employees of the Orange Avenue store are working at the Bonsack store for a total employment of 225 people.  The Orange Avenue store closed Wednesday.

“I am proud to have the opportunity to be part of something that will be very special,” said Robert Biggs, store manager.  “Our store will be world-class in product presentation and customer service.”  Biggs is a 25-year Kroger employee who lives in Blue Ridge.

The store is part of Kroger Square at Bonsack, a $20+ million development that includes 21,000 feet of retail space for shops, restaurants and outparcels.  Valley Bank and Arby’s have outparcels.

Ntelos, Subway, Q Nails, Great Clips and a State ABC store are among retail tenants.  A Kroger fuel center opened earlier this month.

Kroger has a Bistro with two chefs on staff.  There will be seating for customers to enjoy meals they have ordered while they check emails on their computer with Kroger’s free Wi-Fi service. 

The store has expanded organics, found in produce, meat and groceries.  “This is the largest natural food section in the entire 127-store Mid-Atlantic region with a wide range of items including dairy, frozen foods, cereals, snacks and chips,” said York.

The Wine Shoppe has the largest selection in the east end of the Valley.  The Sushi bar is the only one east of I-581.  The store is the only one in the east end selling Boar’s Head meats and cheese.

“Protecting the environment is an important consideration in our store designs,” said York.  Kroger saved numerous trees and landscaped the property intensively, he said.  In addition, Kroger planted 204 trees and 429 shrubs.

The store is designed for energy conservation with special features that take advantage of natural sunlight, guard storage areas from excess lighting and energy waste, and regulate refrigeration and air conditioning.

Recycling cardboard and plastic is an important environmental responsibility at Kroger.  Reusable cloth shopping bags also are available for sale to customers.  They help reduce the number of plastic shopping bags in use.

A traffic light on US 460 improves the flow of traffic into the shopping center.  The Kroger store is open 24 hours a day.

# # #