Kroger has announced plans to expand its presence in North Texas with a $160 million investment in four new stores. The Cincinnati-based grocery chain will open two locations in Fort Worth, one in Anna, and one in Little Elm. Construction has already begun on the store at 113 East Bonds Ranch Road in Fort Worth, which is expected to open this fall. Another Fort Worth store at Sendera Ranch Boulevard and Rancho Canyon Way is set for a 2026 opening and will serve the Haslet area and southeast Wise County.
In April, Kroger started building its Little Elm location at U.S. Highway 380 and FM 2931. The company plans to begin construction this fall on the Anna store at Rosamond Parkway and U.S. Highway 75. Each of the four stores will be over 120,000 square feet and cost approximately $40 million to build.
John Votava of Kroger said that these new locations are expected to create about 1,200 jobs.
Kroger is currently the second-largest grocery chain in Dallas-Fort Worth after Walmart. Population growth in the region has increased competition among grocery retailers.
San Antonio-based H-E-B entered the Metroplex market in 2022 with a Frisco location and now operates 14 stores across North Texas, with seven more planned. H-E-B also runs six Central Market stores and two Joe V’s Smart Shops, with another on the way. The company continues to acquire land for future development, including recent purchases of 95 acres in Pilot Point and 20 acres in Sherman.
Kroger’s expansion comes as it recovers from a failed $25 billion merger with Albertsons that was blocked by a federal judge last December (https://www.therealdeal.com/texas/dallas/2024/01/18/kroger-closing-mckinney-store-after-failed-albertsons-merger/). Following this setback, Kroger closed about 60 stores nationwide, including one at 1707 West University Drive in McKinney (https://www.therealdeal.com/texas/dallas/2024/01/18/kroger-closing-mckinney-store-after-failed-albertsons-merger/).
Kroger first entered the Dallas-Fort Worth market in 1958 and now operates around 100 stores there. According to CoStar data, Kroger ranks eighth among retail property owners in the region.
