Changing Landscape

VOL. 129 | NO. 167 | Wednesday, August 27, 2014

A high-end grocery store chain not currently serving the Memphis market has leased the shuttered former Kroger store at 9050 U.S. 64 in Lakeland and should open in the spring, according to a Lakeland official.

As news of a high-end grocery store chain possibly moving into a shuttered former Kroger in Lakeland and former Schnucks in Germantown, Kroger continues ramping up market improvements.

(Daily News/Andrew J. Breig)

The still-unidentified grocery chain, which is also eyeing the old Schnucks store at The Shops of Forest Hill at Poplar Avenue and Forest Hill-Irene Road in Germantown, signed a lease for the former Lakeland Kroger store with owner Garfunkel Development Corp., which is currently making improvements to the site to prepare it for the new grocer, said Jim Atkinson, director of planning and administration for Lakeland.

Right now, (Garfunkel) is preparing the space for the company to come in and do their own thing, said Atkinson, who declined to identify the grocer, citing a confidentiality agreement. We believe it is a home-run tenant. We heard who it was by accident and we cant let that out yet.

Atkinson said an announcement could be made in the fall and developers are expecting an early spring opening date.

Were pushing them to do it is as soon as possible, said Atkinson, referring to the announcement. This is great news for Lakeland.

A real estate source with knowledge of the two sites said the new grocer was Sprouts Farmers Market. Sprouts, along with chains like Trader Joes and Publix, does not currently have a presence in the Memphis market.

Phoenix-based Sprouts replicates the look and feel of an indoor farmers market and specializes in fresh, healthy food. Recently named one of the top five supermarket chains by Consumer Reports, Sprouts employs more than 17,000 team members and operates more than 180 stores in 10 states.

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Changing Landscape