Kroger celebrates Ashland Road store grand re-opening

Kroger's on Ashland Road Friday celebrated its $1.7 million grand re-opening of its newly remodeled store after nearly four months of renovations and improvement.

And center stage was Kroger's employee Joy Lillibridge-Norris of Bellville, who cut the ribbon at 10 a.m.

Lillibridge-Norris retires at the end of the month after almost 45 years with the company.

The employee said she worked at West Fourth Street Kroger store for a brief period and spent most of her career at the Ashland Road store doing almost every job.

"I started at the old store down on Park Avenue East. Remember when it was that little building? I started there as a bagger (at 18 years old)," she said.

Lillibridge-Norris said she loves working at the Kroger store and looks forward to retirement, including spending time with her grandchildren and doing martial arts.

"The people, and No. 1, the customers, they know you, they know you and recognize you when you're out eating," she said. "... The employees are just family."

Customers were offered specials on products at the store and free samples, including Buckeyes peanutbutter-chocolate candy in honor of the grand re-opening which was attended by Kroger officials.

Located at 1060 Ashland Road, the store officially held a celebration event at 10 a.m. in front of customers, employees and media.

“Our store renovations were designed with the customer in mind, and after almost four months, we are thrilled to share the results during our Grand Re-Opening celebration,” said Michael Robinson, Mansfield Kroger store leader. “We appreciate our customer’s patience during this process and thank the Mansfield community for their continued support of our store.”

Robinson told the crowd, "The customers are the only reason we're here."

He thanked his team.

"My team each and every day, they show up for the fans, the customers. The customers are the only reason we're here. Every day we show up and take care of our customers because the customers keep on coming back," he said.

Newly remodeled store in spotlight

The newly remodeled 71,349-square-foot store features new décor throughout, expanded beverage/adult beverage, a full store reset for better traffic flow and better selection, updated fresh bakery fixtures and tables, updated produce tables, updated fresh meat cases and refreshed departments and restrooms.

Store hours are 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, with pharmacy hours 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., weekdays; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays; and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sundays.

The location presently employs more than 140 associates. Kroger encourages anyone interested in joining the Kroger team to visit jobs.kroger.com.

lwhitmir@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Joy Lillibridge-Norris to retire, cuts ribbon, 45 years with Kroger's