And I've saved the best for last, but I still somehow only took one picture of this -- the Panda Express counter up front! This is such an unusual feature that it's worth the visit all by itself, even ignoring all of the other interesting stuff going on here. Off in the background, the Starbucks space is apparently where Art's had a restaurant -- I wish I had gone back there, but I doubt there are any remnants. I had always assumed Panda Express was from the Art's era simply because I didn't think Kroger would have added this, but I was very wrong -- I was able to dig up a permit document from 2005 that very clearly says that this was added at that time. QFC and Fred Meyer were still operating fairly independently at that point despite their Kroger ownership, but that still really surprises me! I'm not aware of any other Kroger-owned stores around here (or anywhere) that had a fast-food place (or any other restaurant) added in the 00s -- that was a bit of a trend in the 80s and 90s, but I thought that had died out long before 2005.
Ha, well, you may say that this doesn't count since it is from the 2010s (though it is still around today, I think), but the Kroger Signature store (the one that opened with F4L/Colorful Value decor and I think it still has it) that opened about a decade ago in Humble, TX over by IAH has a Church's Chicken built into it. It even has an exterior entrance as well: https://maps.app.goo.gl/bCydK7CradV7EgRZ8
ReplyDeleteIt is not unprecedented for Church's Chicken to be in supermarkets here as a few Fiesta Marts had them, but I don't know if any of those still exist. Some Fiesta Marts also had a local Chinese fast food chain in them at one time, but I think those are long gone as well. And, of course, when the Houston Division first started the Kroger Signature program, they had stores with Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and so forth in it. Of course, that was in 1993-4 so I know you'll say that doesn't count. The funny thing is that the aforementioned Humble Kroger Signature was one of the last new Kroger Signature stores to be built before Kroger discontinued the Signature designation in around 2017.
That is interesting! I know Kroger experimented a bit with in-store restaurants in the 2010s (including bars in some Fred Meyers and Tutta Bella Pizza in some QFCs), but I didn't know they tried fast food places like that!
DeleteThose 90s Kroger Signature stores were exactly what I was thinking about with that 80s/90s comment, along with a few earlier experiments.