Bellevue Kroger closes, but only for remodeling | Shopping & Services

BELLEVUE, KY (FOX19) - The Kroger store on 6th Street in Bellevue has closed for a major remodeling project.  The pharmacy is staying open while the work goes on.

The store is undergoing the biggest change in its 37-year history.  It was last remodeled in 1997, when it expanded to the west, without changing the basic layout of the store too much.  Kroger isn’t saying much about what it will look like when it’s finished, but the store will have a whole new décor, a relocated deli, and a pair of entrances off the front lobby, in the style of most modern Kroger stores.

The surprising thing may be that the store is staying open at all.  There is an almost-new Kroger store in the Newport Pavilion, just .6 miles away by air or 1.5 miles by car, which is more than twice as big as the Bellevue store, at 110,000 square feet to Bellevue’s 51,000.  (The company average is a little over 80,000).  Kroger’s Rachel Betzler says the company was pleasantly surprised when the Bellevue store’s business stayed steady when the Newport store opened.

Is this summer's closing a concern for neighboring businesses? The Gold Star Chili location at the other end of the plaza has added a sign to remind people that "We're still open".

Kroger  hopes to reopen the Bellevue store this fall.

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