Orange Mound Kroger, and New Blog Logo!

This brief post covers Shelby County, TN, retail.

I already have one other post that has been published today, but I didn't want to let this huge news slide by without mentioning it. You may recall that last year (February 2018), Kroger closed three Delta Division stores: at Lamar and Airways in the Orange Mound community of Memphis; on S Third Street, also in Memphis; and in Clarksdale, MS. Each of those closures drew upset responses from their customers, but the Orange Mound closure in particular garnered a lot of attention, and Kroger vowed to aid in the search for a new full-service supermarket to take over the building. Now, this week, after an unsuccessful search for a buyer, Kroger announced that they are flat-out donating the building - which is worth half a million dollars - to local competitor Superlo Foods, who expects to begin operating the store by the end of the year. The donation was made possible via help from city government as well, and you can read more of the details here. I never visited the store while it was open, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it even after it reopens, but I'm definitely excited for the residents, and also interested to see if Superlo will keep Kroger's existing millennium décor intact. Included below are a handful of pictures, a majority of which are from Google Maps user contributions from before the closure, showing the Orange Mound Kroger store.

Courtesy Memphis Mirror

Courtesy Google Maps

Courtesy Google Maps

Courtesy Google Maps

Courtesy Google Maps

Courtesy Google Maps

Courtesy High Ground News

Courtesy Google Maps

Courtesy Google Maps

Courtesy Local 24 News

Courtesy Tri-State Defender

UPDATE, December 2019: Superlo Foods held its grand opening at 2269 Lamar Ave. on Wednesday, December 4th, 2019. The store was remodeled to Superlo's current décor package - all that remains from Kroger décor-wise are the aisle markers, repainted to match Superlo's colors - but all in all, the new location looks great! Photos from grand opening day pulled from various social media pages follow. (As for my opinion on the décor - let's just say I like all of it but one major element...)

Overview from the upstairs management offices/security windows. Additional views across the salesfloor from this vantage point can be viewed here. Courtesy Facebook

Grand aisle, right side of interior. Courtesy Twitter

Across the front actionway. Note the former Kroger aisle markers, repainted. Courtesy Twitter

Rear wall. Please pardon the screenshot! Courtesy Local 24 News

Close-up of Superlo logo elements interspersed with the wall signage. Courtesy Local 24 News

Crew members pose before grand opening. Kroger checkstands and signature curved walls can be seen in the background. Courtesy Twitter

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland with a Superlo employee in front of the deli department. Courtesy Twitter

Front end view. Note that even the register lane lights are in Comic Sans! Courtesy Twitter

  

Mayor Strickland and other community leaders, including Councilwoman Jamita Swearengen and Superlo owner Randy Stepherson, join hands for a photo. All parties pictured were instrumental in influencing Kroger's decision to donate the building to Superlo Foods, the first such act in Kroger's history (read more at the link earlier in this post!). Courtesy Twitter

Another photo of community leaders and clergy. In the background, the wine department can be seen - that space was previously Kroger's pharmacy. In the foreground in the previous image (beneath the drop ceiling) was the former in-store bank. Courtesy Tri-State Defender

Exterior, featuring Superlo's logo. On hand for the opening were multiple groups, including the Memphis GrizzLine drummers. Courtesy Twitter

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Also in this post, I'd like to officially introduce you all to The Mid-South Retail Blog's new logo! This logo has a lot of significance, which I'd like to outline for you below:

• The line proceeding outward from the three states is evocative of our previous logo...
• The background is an image of the Mississippi River, which (literally) runs straight through our region...
• The presence of the M Bridge (the Hernando de Soto Bridge) in the photo is a reminder that Memphis is the heart of the Mid-South, but also...
• The inclusion of the full state outlines, not just the counties immediately surrounding Memphis, is an invitation for the blog to expand its scope and include a greater subject area than before, which is something I've been wanting to do for a while (particularly where areas elsewhere in my home state of Mississippi are concerned)...
• Not to mention, having the state outlines makes the location of the Mid-South much more obvious to those who are from outside the area and therefore weren't familiar with our previous county map!...
• The colors of the states are significant too, inspired by the "We Support Local" signs that Kroger's Delta Division has installed over the past several years in all of its stores...
• And even the font I chose for the text looks to be oddly similar to Walmart's current proprietary "Bogle" font, although I promise that one's just a coincidence!

I hope you all like the new logo; I certainly feel like it's a step up from our previous one (even though I still like that one, too!). As always, you are welcome to leave your feedback in the comments. And before you go, please be sure to check out tonight's other, feature post! Scroll down to continue reading if you're viewing the blog's homepage on your desktop, or click here to access the post directly: What Could Have Been: Fred's Discount Depot, West Memphis, AR

Thanks for reading, and until next time, have fun exploring the retail world wherever you are!

Retail Retell