KROGER ADDS LOCAL BRANDS IN FOOD COURT

ROSEANNE HARPER

CINCINNATI -- Kroger Co. is featuring a local brand pizza and a local brand barbecue in a food court in its newest Dallas division store.

Campisi's Pizza and Colter's Barbecue are the brands, locally well-known, joining the fresh, prepared foods in the downtown Dallas store which opened near the first of the year.

The addition of local brands is a first, for the Dallas division, but not the last, according to a source at Campisi's. He said another Campisi unit is set to open in a Dallas Kroger currently under construction. And another will be part of the food court at a new Kroger store being built in Arlington, a suburb of Dallas.

A source at Colter's said there are no firm plans at this time for the barbecue to be added at other Kroger units.

Neither Kroger officials at the Dallas division office, nor officials at the chain's corporate office here, could be reached for comment.

The brands share space in the food court -- which has seating to accommodate 100 -- with a Chinese food program, a submarine sandwich counter, and an I Can't Believe It's Yogurt counter. An ice table with single-serving, packaged salads is also a feature of the court. A banner sign over it says, "Sensational Salads."

Both the pizza and the barbecue are offered hot, as well as chilled to take home and heat.

Campisi's, which is probably the best-known pizza in town, according to a Dallas resident, installed an oven in this store which is said to take only 60 seconds to bake a pizza. Staffers are very visible adding sauces and topping at the Campisi's section. A large, 16-inch by 12-inch, oval-shaped pizza is $8.95. Toppings are $1 each. A single slice is $2.25.

The food court in this Kroger unit is the first area seen as one enters the store, which is approximately 77,000 square feet.

"This food court is different than others I've seen because it gives the feel of a '50s diner. The first thing you see about 30 feet in front of you is a counter with stools where customers were drinking coffee and eating snacks. They were watching CNN on a small television sitting on the end of the counter," said a local observer.

The line-up of brands and other ready-to-eat foods is to the left of the diner-type counter. And tables and chairs are beyond that, toward the left wall.