You walk into Kroger, order a cup of gourmet coffee and a California sushi roll and surf the Internet before completing your grocery shopping. You think it's a dream, but come January it will become reality for Oxford residents.
Store Manager Ed Begley said the Oxford Kroger will be expanding from 53,000 to 90,000 square feet.
"Our business has been expanding and we've outgrown our facilities," Begley said. "Our sales growth is very good."
Changes will include an added sushi bar, a fuel center and a drive-thru pharmacy window.
There will also be a coffee shop with a sit-down café and wireless Internet. Begley said they are negotiating with two to three different companies, including Starbucks and Seattle's Best Coffee.
The deli will feature a new option called Chef-on-the-Run. Customers will be able to call ahead and place orders for complete meals.
"You can call and place an order for enough prime rib for five people and then just grab it and go," Begley said.
Begley added every other section will expand, including cosmetics, organics and frozen nutrition.
Oxford's Kroger will soon have a small section of Miami apparel for sale. There will also be a furniture section, with futon beds, desks and chairs.
"This is a major remodel of around $10 million," Begley said. "We need to keep up with the times."
Other changes Oxford residents will notice near Kroger is the demolition of China One restaurant to create more room for Kroger. Begley said the owner accepted a buy-out.
Julie Bridgeford, salon manager of Fiesta Hair and Tanning in Oxford, said they will no longer be at their location next to Kroger.
"We're re-opening a new salon come Sept. 15 in the empty Hallmark Cards in the building next to Kroger," Bridgeford said. "We had a plan to move, but it wasn't supposed to be until December."
Bridgeford said the Oxford salon workers are currently working at other Fiesta Hair and Tanning locations in Ohio until the move is complete.
She hopes for an increase in business once Kroger's construction is complete and more people come to that area.
"The brand new salon will be nice," Bridgeford said.
Begley said he's received positive feedback from community members.
"They are excited for the changes," Begley said. "We want to offer an updated version to customers."
Abe Lawson, a manager at Kroger, said hiring has begun for after the expansion is complete.
"We'll have a 25 percent increase in the workforce we have now," Lawson said.
Kroger will remain open 24 hours a day during remodeling and construction should be completed by the end of January 2010.
