DaytonDailyNews.com

KETTERING — There is no confirmed date set, but the Kroger at 530 Stroop Road will close sometime soon for remodeling, according to a Kroger spokeswoman.

"We do anticipate it to be closed several months," said spokeswoman Rachael Betzler. "It could be four months."

Employees at the store said they were told by Kroger officials the store will close on Feb. 2 and re-open sometime in July. The store's employees will be placed at other Kroger locations while the store is closed, Betzler said.

"Soon as we firm up a date we will be able to get that message out," Betzler said.

Most of the construction will be done to the interior, according to Kettering City Planner Ron Hundt.

When the store re-opens it will be renamed Fresh Fare by Kroger, Betzler said.

Customers can expect more perishables, chef-prepared meals and cheese from around the world, Betzler said. Floor plans submitted to Kettering's planning and development office show the store will include a wine cellar, wine tasting area, a bakery, a deli, a floral area, an international section, a nature's market section, a mezzanine that takes up 4,748 square feet of the total 65,833, seven customer check-out lanes and six U-Scan areas.

The plans also show Starbucks as a tenant.

The store will not have a pharmacy since there is a CVS next door, according to Betzler.

The renovations should not affect traffic at the shopping center, Hundt said.

"We have evaluated the store's square footage ... and determined that additional parking won't be necessary," Hundt said.

Bill Wollenhaupt, 65, of Kettering said the store's closing would inconvenience him. "We just live a half a mile away, so we usually walk here in the good weather. Yeah, it bothers me."

Jim Cretcher of Kettering said, "It's convenient to come here. I'm in the neighborhood, but I'll just shop at Meijer more."

Other shoppers said they will switch to other Kroger stores. "We have a lot of stores here, so I will probably shop at another Kroger," said Mark Barnerd, 49, of Washington Twp.

"I'm used to coming here, but there are other stores that people can go to," said Fran Cocciolone, 69, of Centerville.

Betzler said Kroger will use advertisements to encourage customers to shop at other Kroger locations.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2414 or kwynn@DaytonDailyNews.com.