KING SOOPERS OPENS STORE DOWNTOWN
The new location is downtown Denver’s first full-service grocery store, and “It’s been like a dream come true.”
C ue the band: Downtown Denver finally has its full-service grocery store.
King Soopers opened its doors at 20th Street and Chestnut Place at 6 a.m. Wednesday to a line of waiting customers, according to a company spokeswoman. A ribbon cutting and red-and-yellow balloon release followed at 9 a.m., attended by a crowd of King Soopers leaders, store employees, officials and downtown residents.
“It’s been like a dream come true,” King Soopers president Russ Dispense said. “We started working on this site 11 years ago when we first spotted it.”
King Soopers, a division of Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. that got its start in Colorado in 1947, is the first full-service store operator to put down stakes in downtown Denver, fulfilling a decadeslong dream of downtown dwellers, office workers and advocates.
Whole Foods Market will follow in 2017, opening a 56,000-square-foot “flagship” at 17th and Wewatta streets. Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, a specialty grocer, has a store across the South Platte River at 15th and Platte streets.
Being the first downtown was “very important to us,” Dispense said.
“We like to be No. 1,” he said. “It took a long time to get it going, but it’s much needed in this community. We’re really excited.”
The store, nestled between Coors Field and Union Station, will employ more than 150 people. Amenities, specifically tailored to the rapidly developing urban neighborhood, include 86 free parking spaces for customers and an expanded focus on fresh and prepared foods.
MouCo Cheese Company of Fort Collins, Etai’s Food and Gateaux Pastries of Denver were just a handful of the local
“We moved into this building specifically because of this store.” Retiree Steve Skipp, who moved from the Highland neighborhood
brands on the shelves opening day.
“This store, when you walk in it, you’re going to feel local, you’re going to feel Denver, you’re going to feel urban,” Dispense said. “It’s all about being local.”
Inside the 46,475-square-foot store Wednesday morning, the horde of shoppers wasted little time before getting down to business. Many were hoping to take advantage of the opening-day deals and drawings, while others were there just to check things out.
Recent retirees Steve and Dawn Skipp live in one of the apartments above the supermarket, having downsized from a house in the Highland neighborhood.
“We moved into this building specifically because of this store,” Steve Skipp said.
“They’ll see a lot of us here,” Dawn Skipp said.
They weren’t disappointed with what they saw.
“We think it’s fabulous. The amenities it has — the sushi bar, the bakery is amazing,” Steve Skipp said. “It’s comparable to a Whole Foods. When they said they wanted to go upscale, I think they’ve done it very well.”
Abigail Antolovich, who works from home downtown, stopped by to grab a drink at the in-store Starbucks and set up for a while in the cafe.
After years of having to leave downtown to do her grocery shopping, she said she’s looking forward to her closest store being just a 15-minute walk away.
“So far, it’s great,” she said. “It just improves the walkability and convenience of being a downtown resident. It creates a sense that the people who work here live here, too.
“The nice thing is they’ve got a parking lot, too. If I need a lot of stuff, I can bring my car and haul it home.”
At Wednesday’s ceremony, King Soopers also presented a $25,000 check to the Women’s Bean Project, a Denver-based social enterprise that helps women break the cycle of unemployment and poverty.