Kroger Replacing Wine Bar With Office Space At Atlanta Supermarket

At the Kroger store in Atlanta's Lindbergh neighborhood, customers will soon be able to pick up milk, eggs and a quick huddle with co-workers to finish that sales proposal by deadline.

The grocery giant — the second-largest U.S. chain by market share behind Walmart — filed an application Dec. 2 with the city of Atlanta to replace a wine bar at its store at 2452 Morosgo Way with “open office space.”

According to the renovation application, Kroger wants to convert its 1,655 SF wine bar and seating into office space by installing new wall partitions, changing fixtures and equipment, and updating lighting and plumbing for a total of $167K. 

The application didn't say whether the office space is to be used by employees only or open to customers. Calls to Kroger officials were not returned as of press time. 

But if The Kroger Co. is designing the space for customers to use, it could prove to be an interesting pivot to the coworking and shared office industry: A main street retailer reserving space for hybrid and remote workers as many companies are still wrestling with how often to bring employees back to the office.

In February, 42% of office workers polled by Gallup reported that they had a hybrid schedule while 39% more reportedly worked entirely outside the office. More than half the employees polled by Gallup also said their companies planned to make hybrid work schedules permanent moving forward. 

While coworking firms have long attempted to capture that remote work activity, nontraditional environments continue to remain popular with gig and hybrid workers, including coffeehouses, bookstores, bars and restaurants, Teambuilding reported.

Kroger saw identical sales rise by nearly 7% in the third quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, according to CNBC. The grocer also is pursuing a merger with competitor Albertsons in a blockbuster deal that could see the chains operate a combined 5,000 locations across the U.S.