I mentioned that this development was themed, but I'm not entirely sure what that theme actually
is -- the name Grand Central would make you think of train stations, but the aesthetic seems to be far more industrial. Regardless, it's pretty cool, and I'm glad Fred Meyer went along with the theme despite being the sole anchor tenant where I'm sure they could have gotten away with building a more standard store.
Hey, this is pretty neat...for a Kroger especially! Of course, I'm saying that without knowing how hideous this store might be on the inside, it is a Kroger after all, so perhaps I'll wait for those photos before I deem this store to be a 'must visit' site! But, yeah, brick stores aren't uncommon for 1990s-2000s era Kroger stores here, but certainly outdoor neon and farm designs are rare! I will say that the dairy facility Kroger owns in Ft. Worth, TX, Vandervoort Dairy, does have a really neat neon sign though: https://goo.gl/maps/WwdrdK9VvHBKZLMZ6
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to believe Kroger would pay to keep that neon sign going in good condition especially since it is just at a manufacturing plant!
I wonder if this store has a general western theme as many people associate that with trains and the railroad era. I guess it would have been neat if Kroger did do something with trains, but I guess this water tower is a whole lot cheaper than putting a credible looking train up like Minute Maid Park, the baseball stadium in Houston built out of an old train station, has in left field!
Apart from the exterior details, this store is pretty run-of-the-mill for Fred Meyer, though I wouldn't say it looks particularly bad either.
DeleteWow, that is cool! It's surprising that they've kept the name, even, since I'm assuming everything they sell is just under the Kroger brand.
Your guess is as good as mine when it comes to what the theme here was supposed to be! It's clear that there was one (otherwise, I imagine Fred Meyer would have built a more standard store), but apart from the name and the pair of water towers (one on the store, the other on one of the strip mall buildings), there isn't anything else indicating a specific train theme.
I think most of what Vandervoort sells is under the Kroger brands, but they may do some manufacturing for other brands as well. Vandervoort was probably once an independent company acquired by Kroger, but even otherwise, Kroger does sometimes give their manufacturing plants somewhat of generic names. For example, their bakery in the Portland area is called Clackamas Bakery and they have their own logo: https://goo.gl/maps/JPyLubyXRQ63Dbki9
DeleteJust down the street is Safeway's version of Clackamas Bakery, but this has less original imagery: https://goo.gl/maps/Tmqkrjw1v9fuHXwy6
Cool! I could be wrong, but I don't think we have any Kroger manufacturing plants around here (like Safeway does), but I'm not surprised to see that the home of Fred Meyer has some. I figured Kroger would just follow the Safeway model and use their own name rather than using some separate brand just for the production facility!
DeleteVery neat!
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