Harris Teeter closing Nashville stores, converting 3 to Kroger stores

Major changes are in the works for the Nashville area grocery scene as Harris Teeter announced plans Tuesday to close four locations and convert three of those to Kroger stores.

The move comes about one year after The Kroger Co. acquired Harris Teeter for $2.5 billion. Kroger retained the Harris Teeter brand in the merger. Both the Kroger Nashville division and Harris Teeter are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Ohio-based The Kroger Co.

Harris Teeter spokeswoman Danna Jones said in an email the Nashville market "did not support Harris Teeter's future business plans." She added that leaving a market is a difficult decision but opening and closing stores is a "necessary part of the retail industry."

Harris Teeter in February closed its store at 4416 Ridgefield Way in the Belle Meade Theatre redevelopment.

Now, Harris Teeter plans to close the following stores on or around June 15, leaving a temporarily hole in the Nashville area grocery market:

2201 21st Ave. S. in Hillsboro Village

411 Whitman Road in the Westhaven Town Center in Franklin

210 Franklin Road in Peartree Village in Brentwood

Those locations will be converted to Kroger stores over the course of the next year. Kroger Nashville spokesman Melissa Eads said the Hillsboro Village store is slated to reopen in January 2016, the Franklin store will reopen before Thanksgiving and the Brentwood store will reopen in spring 2016 after a "major" remodel. The existing Kroger store a half-mile away from the Brentwood Harris Teeter will close when the remodeled Harris Teeter reopens as a Kroger, Eads said.

"Each (remodel) will be different and those plans are being worked on as we speak. …It's just easier to get that work done when the store is closed; we can actually do that more efficiently when the stores are closed," Eads said.

Meanwhile, the Harris Teeter store at 6002 Highway 100 in Harpeth Plaza will close permanently.

Eads said it did not make sense for Kroger to invest in that store location because of its proximity to existing Kroger stores.

Harris Teeter employs 335 associates at the four Nashville area stores that are slated to close. Employees were notified of the impending closures earlier this month.

Kroger is encouraging Harris Teeter employees to apply for a job at local Kroger stores, and Eads said there are existing job openings at several Kroger locations.

"When we say apply, we don't mean they have to sit around and wait until these stores are remodeled," Eads said. "They can certainly apply with us now and we have openings available today in most all of our stores in the Nashville area."

Jones said the closure of Nashville stores does not mean the Harris Teeter brand is dissolving; she said Harris Teeter continues to operate in other markets.

"We look forward to continuing to serve our loyal shoppers at their Harris Teeter," she said.

Harris Teeter was founded in 1960 and is based in North Carolina. The company operates more than 220 stores, with plans to open nine locations in 2015.

Reach Lizzy Alfs at 615-726-5948 and on Twitter @lizzyalfs.