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DLM, Trader Joe’s not disturbed yet by Kroger

Sue Mullins helps set up the bakery shelves at the new Fresh Fare by Kroger on Stroop Road. The store opens to the public today, July 30.

Staff photo by Jan Underwood Sue Mullins helps set up the bakery shelves at the new Fresh Fare by Kroger on Stroop Road. The store opens to the public today, July 30.

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By Kelli Wynn, Staff Writer 12:15 AM Thursday, July 30, 2009

KETTERING — Tom Hart, store director for Dorothy Lane Market, 2710 Far Hills Ave., said the new Fresh Fare by Kroger store on East Stroop Road will likely affect his grocery store’s sales.

“Especially in the first month,” Hart said Wednesday, July 29. “I’m sure everybody will want to go in and see all the new fixtures that a typical Kroger won’t have.”

Hart went on to say that Dorothy Lane Market, which has other stores in Springboro and Washington Twp., will not go out of its way to compete with the new Kroger, which is in Eichelberger Shopping Center. “We’re not doing any giveaways.”

The new Kroger will have giveaways to the first 300 customers daily starting at 7 a.m. today, July 30, and ending Sunday. The store will also raffle off Larry, a 5-pound lobster.

One of the customers likely to be in line today is Nikki Boesch Short, who attended Wednesday’s preview of the store. The Kettering resident said she put off her grocery shopping for more than a week so she could shop at the new Kroger.

“Prices are spot on,” she said. “The selection is just remarkable. To be honest, I think Dorothy Lane Market and Arrow Wine (& Spirits) are going to be on their toes.”

Hart believes his Dorothy Lane Market will survive the new Kroger.

“In the end, our quality will shine through,” he said.

Cari Lee, a Kettering resident who also visited the new store Wednesday with her husband, Matt, said the new store is “comparable” to Dorothy Lane Market and Trader Joe’s, which is in the Town & Country Shopping Center next door to Eichelberger Plaza.

Kroger “has a lot of different amenities and things that are a little fancier, a little more upscale,” Cari Lee said.

Alison Mochizuki, director of national publicity for Trader Joe’s, based in Monrovia, Calif., said, “We don’t worry too much about competition. There are a lot of people out there trying to sell food and I can tell you, we compete against ourselves and our focus is (that we’re) constantly trying to get better at what we do.”

When asked what he wanted to tell Dorothy Lane Market customers, Hart laughed and said, “don’t go.” Then he said, “We hope they have appreciated the service we have given them in the past and continue to come back.”

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

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