Athens Kroger store introduces public to $13.8 million, 18,000-square foot expansion

Grocery stores are an essential and ever-changing business in every city.

On Wednesday, a group of people gathered outside the Epps Village Kroger to celebrate a major change at the store located off the busy Epps Bridge Parkway in Oconee County.

An 18,000-square foot expansion that coursed over a 14-month period, was completed at a cost of $13.8 million, according to Victor Smith, president of Kroger’s Atlanta Division.

There are four Kroger supermarkets in the immediate Athens area.

Kroger recently renovated the store off Alps Road at a cost of $1.7 million and is building a new store to replace the one on Barnett Shoals Road at a cost of $36 million.

“We’re putting our money where our mouth is in Athens,” Smith told the crowd that was entertained with music and the University of Georgia’s Hairy Dawg.

The ribbon cutting event also gave Kroger management an opportunity to recognize people who worked on the expansion from those on the construction end to the office personnel.

Tammie Young, the corporate affairs manager, also recognized the University of Georgia Campus Pantry, which Kroger supports along with the Northeast Georgia Community Food Bank.

Most campus kitchens serve students on campus, but this one goes into the community and serves food to seniors in need and works with parents and grandparents with children, according to Young.

Store Leader Lusakivana “L” Lassandra also recognized the many employees in the store who worked to keep the store operating while construction workers were inside making changes. She introduced the managers in the various departments such as produce, deli, meat, bakery and pharmacy.

Lassandra, who has worked in the store for 13 years, also recognized several employees who have worked for Kroger for 40 years.

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Smith, the division president, has 41 years with Kroger.

A native of Compton, Calif., he worked a majority of his career in Southern California, before moves to the Houston and Memphis divisions. He moved to his present job in Atlanta about two years ago.

Smith was in college and already 22 when he obtained a job at Kroger as a grocery bagger.

“I fell in love with it and decided to stay,” he said about his career in the grocery business.

“Back in the day, 40 years ago, they taught you how to segregate the bags. Food items stay together, you don’t put bread on the bottom. You learned the techniques. It’s all about making sure you get home with your groceries the way you need them,” he said.

“Typically, as a bagger, you’re the last face a customer sees, so you smile. You get a chance to carry out groceries. All those interactions help you fall in love with the business. That’s what happened to me,” he said.

Grocery stores are important in a community, according to Smith.

“We recognized, in the course of the pandemic, how essential we are to communities,” he said about how grocery store employees continued their jobs in the workplace.

That’s another reason some people have such longevity in the grocery business, according to Smith.

“The long and short of it is you fall in love with service and serving other,” he said. “People have to eat.”

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Kroger officials cut ribbon for expansion of Epps Bridge location