Sparta Kroger store

The Sparta Kroger store was one of thousands of retail locations the chain operates across the United States. First opening for business in the community in 1950, Kroger operated in several locations before occupying the former Piggly Wiggly building at 207 West Town Plaza, just off Highway 111. On March 4, 2014, corporate executives visited to inform the employees and community that the store would be closing March 28.
==Locations==
#Initially, Kroger operated out of a (no longer standing) building at 123 West Bockman Way, overlooking the Calfkiller River. This lot is now occupied by 3D Financial. Link to map.
#Sometime in the late 1960s, Kroger relocated to a new building at 427 West Bockman Way, now occupied by Dollar General. Link to map
#In January 1996, Kroger moved to 207 West Town Plaza, a building that Piggly Wiggly had vacated only a week prior. Link to map
==Closure==
On Tuesday, March 4, 2014, a media relations person with Kroger's Mid-South Division, Melissa Eads, informed the Sparta Expositor that corporate executives were at the store, notifying the 62 employees that the location would be closed, and their jobs terminated, effective March 28. The executives said that, if positions were available, they would work with employees to find work at other Kroger locations.
Sparta Mayor Jeff Young was the first government official informed of the closure. Calling the decision "very unfortunate," Young added "[Kroger executives] said the store had been losing money for ten years", leading to the "tough decision to close". Eads confirmed the store's "significant losses" over the previous five years, including the loss of nearly $1 million since 2012, also stating that closures are a "last resort".
In the final days of operations, store manager Donnie Powell marked nearly all merchandise down to 50% off the retail price, as a (highly effective) means of clearing out the remaining inventory.
Following the closing, Kroger has three remaining Upper Cumberland locations: Cookeville, Crossville, and McMinnville.
===Reactions===
*State Representative Paul Bailey:
::“As a state legislator, as soon as I heard the news, I contacted the Tennessee Economic and Community Development deputy commissioner and basically alerted him to the fact that we were losing an employer of 62 people and if there were any suggestions they had so that they could try to help us maintain Kroger in our community that we certainly wanted to do that.
::I’m sure the other grocery stores in the area will certainly gain sales from that, so we shouldn’t lose all our sales tax dollars. But there is a concern that our local community could lose tax revenue off the fact that the [Kroger] store is closing.
::We’ve got to bring awareness to these rural areas that we’re in serious trouble of losing employers. We don’t have to have a 500-employee plant for White County. I’ve expressed to the [TDECD] commissioner that if we can get a 50-employee plant, if we can get a 75-employee plant, that’s what we need to started with in this area to get things going.”
*White County Executive Herd Sullivan:
::“We strongly urge them to stay, because we need them desperately. I’m so sad to hear about this.”
::Sullivan added that he was considering drafting a resolution of the county commission, declaring the community's support of the store and asking Kroger executives to reconsider their decision to close it.
==References==
*"Kroger.com; Store Finder." https://www.kroger.com/storeLocator?storeSearchTerm=38501&distance=3000&selectedStoreFilters= 2014. Web. Accessed 12 March 2014.
*White County, Our History 1806-2006: 200 Years in the Making. Sparta, Tennessee: Sparta Expositor, 2007.
*Militana, Laura. "Sparta losing Kroger store due to losses." Cookeville Herald-Citizen. 5 March 2014. Web. Accessed 12 March 2014.
*Wood, Kim Swindell. "Kroger shutting down Sparta store." Sparta Expositor. 6 March 2014. Web. Accessed 12 March 2014.
Category:Businesses of White County
Category:Defunct businesses
Category:Sparta