Kroger Marketplace prepares for April 11 opening

Unlike the other Marketplace locations, which offer a larger selection of furniture, the Spring store cut back its furniture inventory to include 5,000 square feet of apparel. Howard said a Kroger Marketplace in Forney tested apparel and experienced success, particularly among women's clothing.

"After that first furniture purchase, you don't really have a need to buy [additional] furniture," Howard said. "[Apparel] is a continual purchase that people need."

The retailer features numerous other products. The Fred Meyer Jewelers inside offers watches, necklaces, bracelets and other jewelry, while the Murray's Cheese shop features 175 types of cheeses. The Kroger also offers baby apparel and toys, home dcor, a large pet section, a full-service pharmacy, kitchen appliances and cookware.

With 60 aisles overall, Kroger Marketplace offers a wide array of grocery products, including basic grocery fare, dairy, frozen, produce, beverages, beer and wine. Howard said the store sells more than 525 varieties of beer and 1,700 wine labels. The store showcases products from local breweries, farmers and other vendors, such as Klein Bros. and Chappel Hill.

"Whenever we can get something that's grown here, we want to get it in our stores," Howard said.

The store also emphasizes healthy living, with a health and wellness section that offers vitamins, supplements and protein powders. Howard said the health food section is like "a store within a store," featuring thousands of health food products. She said Kroger has seen double-digit growth annually in health food sales.

"We are demanding a more sophisticated product, a cleaner product, a healthier product," Howard said. "If you're following a strict diet, you can just shop on these aisles."

Customers looking for a quick meal can stop by the "grab and go" section, Howard said, which features a salad bar, sushi cooked fresh daily, sandwiches and other prepared food. The store allows customers to make their own cups of coffee and slice their own fresh bread.

The Kroger Marketplace also features a deli section with six slicers, seafood and meat and a bakery with a variety of baked goods. Howard said the store has 20 check-out registers, including six self check-out registers.

Requiring more than 300 employees to operate, the grocery retailer is still hiring several positions, Howard said. For more information on the store or the company, visit www.kroger.com.