KROGER: FIX THE MEALS, BUT HOLD THE CHEF

ROSEANNE HARPER

DALLAS -- Kroger Co. began turning out pan-seared salmon and luscious-looking pork loin at a new chef's station in a high-volume store here this summer, and even in the wake of its chef's departure it continues to cook up a strong meals business.

In remodeling the 50,000-plus-square-foot store, the Cincinnati-based chain equipped an area about 8 feet by 10 feet near the meat and seafood departments, at the back of the store with a stove, grill, sink and prep area. The retailer also hired a local chef to lure customers.

Sales have been exceeding the company's expectations, Gary Huddleston, Kroger's manager of consumer affairs, told the Dallas Business Journal last month. The chef herself said she was selling an average of 200 meals a week. But SN learned last week that chef Sally Rose has left the company, and the store's bakery manager is running the cooking station on an interim basis.

Another store-level source told SN the company has no intention of abandoning the cooking station and is looking for another chef to take over. The source went on to describe the day's menu, pointing out that it would all be ready by lunch time.

"We're having pork loin today, and lemon pepper chicken with snow peas, and there's rotini with sauce. The meals will be packed up and put in the grab-and-go case. It's very convenient. They're put on a plate, like you'd see at Boston Market, the rice or potato, and a vegetable, with the entree," the Kroger associate said.

She added the meals are priced by the pound and the price per pound ranges from $5.49 to $6.99.

The items are prepared and cooked in full view of customers, then plated in dome-top packages, weighed, labeled and stacked in a 3-foot, tiered, refrigerated, self-service case in front of the chef's station. Only a 4-foot-high plexiglass partition separates customers from the prep area so they can see everything that's going on.

"The whole idea is to add life to that part of the store, and Sally is just great at doing that, very enthusiastic. It's a personality-driven program. It's completely separate from the deli which is nearer the store's entrance," a local source told SN.

The deli includes some food-service concepts, including an extensive salad bar, and fare from a popular, local Italian restaurant.

But the chef's station with its open production is a different concept, and the only one Kroger has in the Dallas area. A Kroger spokesman told the Dallas Business Journal's Cynthia Webb the arrival of H.E. Butt's Central Market in Dallas was a factor in Kroger's decision to remodel the store and he said the chef's station should enhance Kroger's position in the market.

Webb told SN the aroma created by the chef's station is enticing. She has tried a black bean burrito on a whole wheat tortilla from the station and also pan-seared salmon and she said both were very good.

One consultant who works with supermarkets told SN he thinks Kroger's blueprint for the chef's station is a smart one for many reasons.

"It's a terrific idea. I just hope Kroger can sustain it. It's the kind of service supermarkets need to offer. They've got to figure out ways to capture some of the meals business. There's no doubt that people want to buy prepared food, but it has to be fresh and it has to taste good, and chefs know how to sell," said Stephan Kouzomis, president, Entrepreneurial Consulting Inc., Louisville, Ky.

In his area, a high-volume Kroger store has closed down a carving station -- featuring cut-to-order prime rib and the like during early evening hours -- that was being called a success less than a year ago [see "Cutting Edge," SN, Aug. 27, 2001].

At that Louisville store, Kroger personnel told SN last summer sales were excellent. The carving station was eliminated two months ago when the company cut the size of its chef team, but sources inside Kroger say a revival of the concept is still under consideration.

Relocation is one possibility. The operation's initial location was not ideal because it was separated from the service deli by several display cases, making it awkward for the carving chef to add other items from the deli to an entree order, one in-store source told SN.

The two chefs remaining at the Louisville store are concentrating on adding variety, and some eye-catching menu items, to a selection of prepared entrees, sides and desserts displayed in the deli's chilled, service and self-service cases. The most recent additions are slow-roasted leg of lamb with a garlic-olive paste and a new lineup of desserts that includes custards and bread pudding with a cream sauce.

One customer, a university professor, said she goes to the store's deli at least twice a week just to buy dinner for her family. On that particular evening she had selected the leg of lamb, Greek salad, some sides and an assortment of desserts, adding up to nearly $40.

In recent years, Kroger has given division management the go-ahead to experiment in particular stores with different ways to sell prepared meals or meal components, a source close to the company said.