This updated Kroger may be University of Louisville's biggest fan. It's coated in Cardinals

It’s not just a Kroger. It’s University of Louisville’s Kroger.

If the Cardinal tracks at the front of the store don’t tip you off, then the unusually large stock of the notoriously cheap, undergraduate dietary staple of instant Top Ramen should.

It took one year, $14 million and a three-sided expansion to turn the Kroger at South Second Street and Central Avenue into a hub for Cardinal pride and a showroom for the grocery giant’s latest concepts. The remodel features an expanded produce, meat, seafood and deli options along with a new Starbucks, Wine and Spirits Shop, the company’s scan-as-you-shop system and Eli’s BBQ.

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And there were more than 150 people in line waiting to celebrate the seemingly new 96,000-square-foot store.

That’s a turnout that store manager, Tim Dawson, was grateful to see. The roughly 13-month renovation caused some chaos for shoppers and staff.

“It hasn’t been easy but like I’ve told them, nothing good comes easy,” Dawson said. “They’ve got a wonderful new store and we’ve got a great attitude throughout the store.”

It’s a neighborhood that’s used to a little turbulence, though.

That store inherited a new surge of shoppers when the hundreds of people in nearby Old Louisville lost their Second Street location in January 2017. Now, it’s not uncommon for seniors living in low-income housing to bus to the one near campus. Louisville’s urban core has lost about six grocery stores in the past three years or so, as grocery companies have increasing pulled out of lower income areas nationwide.

But the remodel indicates an investment, and it's one that brought in about 100 new jobs.

Even if it came with a few headaches along the way.

Some products moved as many as three and four times during the transition, said Ann Reed, president of Kroger’s Louisville division. The company opted to grow its footprint by about 20,000 feet but that meant busting out walls from the back and both sides of the store.

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That’s not something Kroger traditionally does, Reed said. Usually, just one side gets a new addition, not three.

But the grocer bent several rules that it normally wouldn’t for this particular store. This isn’t the first Kroger near a college campus by any means, but it’s the first one in the division to truly take on the identity of a school. The lights at the checkout counter, the staff and even the trash cans are wrapped in school pride. Those Cardinal tracks lead to a special aisle where customers can buy blankets, signage and other fan gear. The aisle markers don’t just say Kroger: They say “Kroger in the Ville.”

There’s also a nod to Churchill Downs with a horse racing mural over the floral section.

Which is fitting. Kroger crafts the Kentucky Derby Garland, and Churchill Downs' spires are visible from the grocer’s parking lot, too.

“It’s being a part of the community,” Reed said. “Our associates are from the community and our customers are from the community, so it’s really important that we’re all united.”

City Living reporter Maggie Menderski covers retail, restaurants and development in downtown and its nearby urban neighborhoods. Reach Maggie at 502-582-7137 or mmenderski@courier-journal.com. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @MaggieMenderski. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/maggiem.

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