Southwest Michigan Finally Gets Its Long-awaited Kroger Store

Kroger is one of the biggest grocery stores in the Midwest, operating nearly 1240 stores throughout 16 states. For the most part, the 120 locations in Michigan have mainly stayed on the east side of the state, with a few locations in West Michigan, like Grand Rapids, for example.

But for the longest time, Southwest Michigan has not seen a Kroger in a long time. But it looks like Southwest Michigan is about to get its first Kroger location, after the company recently purchased the former Big Lots location on Southwest Avenue in Portage.

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There were a lot of rumors as to what the former Big Lots location would eventually become, but now it seems that Kroger will be opening in Southwest Michigan, finally.

There Was Once A Kroger Department Store in Kalamazoo

At one point in the early 1940s, there was actually a Kroger location in downtown Kalamazoo, as the university libraries' Luna Insight collections hold an archived photo of the storefront exterior of the Kroger department store that was originally taken for Peck and the Kalamazoo Gazette.

As of right now, Kroger has not released a statement regarding the purchase of the store, but we could pretty much assume they are going to be opening, one would imagine, in 2026.

Kroger is embraced in Michigan, as its foundations were born in 1883 when Bernard Kroger from Cincinnati, Ohio, opened his first store under the foundation that Kroger should “Be particular. Never saw anything you would not want yourself.” Today, their headquarters are still in Cincinnati, Ohio.