Nearly a year and a half after Kroger Co. announced sweeping reductions to its national store footprint, the grocery giant has largely made good on its promise, a Fast Company review has found.
At least 50 Kroger-owned supermarkets have closed since June 2025, when then-interim CEO Ronald Sargent said during an earnings call that the company would shutter roughly 60 underperforming stores by the end of 2026.
With less than three months to go, the plan appears to be more or less on track.
The store closures have cut across Kroger-owned supermarket chains in at least 18 states—and few brands have been spared. In addition to more than two dozen stores under the flagship Kroger banner, closures have impacted Fred Meyer, Harris Teeter, King Soopers, QFC, Mariano’s, and other chains.
Some of the shutterings have taken place in communities where fresh food access was already scarce, raising concerns around so-called grocery deserts.
Sargent’s 2025 announcement came in the wake of Kroger’s ill-fated attempt to merge with rival Albertsons Companies, a deal that was blocked by courts and set off a lengthy legal battle that is still ongoing. An $8 billion trail between Kroger and Albertsons began this week.
Since the merger deal collapsed, Kroger has aimed to be more nimble, slashing thousands of jobs from its corporate workforce and embracing AI-powered solutions in a bid to streamline operations and enhance the customer experience. Under CEO current Greg Foran, the company also announced a much smaller deal to acquire pharmacy retailer Giant Eagle.
Which stores have closed?
According to a Fast Company review of local media reports, Google maps and review data, and store locator tools across Kroger brands, the following 51 stores have closed since June 2025 or will close soon:
Kroger
- 2452 Morosgo Way NE, Atlanta, GA 30324
- 3855 Buford Hwy. NE, Brookhaven, GA 30329
- 3479 Memorial Dr., Decatur, GA 30032
- 11877 Douglas Rd., Alpharetta, GA 30005
- 3311 N Sterling Ave., Peoria, IL 61604
- 4526 W Western Ave., South Bend, IN 46619
- 901 Johnson St., Elkhart, IN 46514
- 4211 S 3rd St., Louisville, KY 40214
- 4100 Barksdale Blvd, Bossier City, LA 71112
- G3288 Corunna Rd, Flint, MI 48532
- 1664 E Stone Dr., Kingsport, TN 37660
- 239 W 20th St., Houston, TX 77008
- 6060 Farm to Market 2920, Spring, TX 77379
- 9325 Katy Fwy., Houston, TX 77024
- 2300 Gessner Rd., Houston, TX 77080
- 13133 Veterans Memorial Dr, Houston, TX 77014
- 6805 Main St, The Colony, TX 75056
- 2901 Lake Forest Dr, McKinney, TX 75070
- 3410 Gulf Fwy, Dickinson, TX 77539
- 1904 Emmet St. N, Charlottesville, VA 22901
- 466 Cummings St., Abingdon, VA 24210
- 2908 State St., Gassaway, WV 26624
- 981 Dunbar Village Plaza, Dunbar, WV 25064
Fred Meyer
- 1111 NE 102nd Ave, Portland, OR 97220
- 7250 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA 98408
- 6901 S 19th St, Tacoma, WA 98466 (closing in Jan. 2027)
- 10201 SE 240th St, Kent, WA 98031
- 13000 Lake City Way NE, Seattle, WA 98125
- 8530 Evergreen Wy, Everett, WA 98208
Harris Teeter
- 11845 Old Georgetown Rd., Rockville, MD 20852
- 5706 Wyalong Dr., Charlotte, NC 28227
- 817 N 1st St, Albemarle, NC 28001
- 5563 Western Blvd., Suite 6A, Raleigh, NC 27606
- 950 S George Mason Dr., Arlington, VA 22204
- 3600 S Glebe Rd. W100, Arlington, VA 22202
- 8200 Crestwood Heights Dr., McLean, VA 22102
King Soopers
- 825 Colorado Blvd, Denver, CO 80246
- 5050 E Arapahoe Rd., Centennial, CO 80122
Food 4 Less
- 7910 Katella Ave, Stanton, CA 90680
Fry’s Food and Drug
- 1915 S Power Rd., Mesa, AZ 85206
Mariano’s
- 450 W Half Day Rd., Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
- 2323 Capital Dr., Northbrook, IL 60062
- 144 S Gary Ave., Bloomingdale, IL 60108
- 6655 Grand Ave, Gurnee, IL 60031
Pick ’n Save
- 1735 W Silver Spring Dr., Glendale, WI 53209
- 3701 S 27th St., Milwaukee, WI 53221
- 2355 N 35th St., Milwaukee, WI 53210
- 2320 W Ryan Rd., Oak Creek, WI 53154
- 2931 S. Chicago Ave., South Milwaukee, WI 53172
Jay C Food Stores
- 201 High St., Shoals, IN 47581
QFC
- 926 164th St. SE, Mill Creek, WA 98012
As Fast Company reported in March, Kroger was already well into its store closure plan during the first quarter of this year. The list above is updated through this week and shows that store closures have continued since then.
Kroger has not identified which of the above stores have closed as part of the footprint optimization plan announced last year. The company did not reply to a requests for comment about the closures or whether additional closures are planned.
United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), the union that represents Kroger workers, did not respond to a request for comment. Kroger has said that employees impacted by the closures would be given the opportunity to apply for jobs at other Kroger-owned locations.
Is Kroger in trouble?
Kroger’s total store footprint did decline last year. According to annual financial filings, it had 2,697 locations at the beginning of 2026, compared to 2,731 locations a year earlier.
But in addition to closing stores, the company has also said that will accelerate store openings.
At an investor day event just this week, Kroger executives announced an ambitious plan to open 110 new stores by 2029. During the event, CFO David Kennerley projected that the new stores will generate $7 billion in annualized sales on an incremental basis.
Shares of Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) were up 1.79% on Wednesday, a day after its investor day announcements. However, the stock is down 6.52% over the last 12 months as of Wednesday’s close.
This story is developing and may be updated with new locations as we learn about them.