Kroger Has Closed 51 Stores Since June 2025 Across 18 States

Kroger has closed or scheduled for closure at least 51 supermarkets across 18 states since June 2025, according to a Fast Company review of local media reports, Google maps data, and Kroger's own store locator tools. The company is closing in on its stated target of roughly 60 shuttered underperforming stores, with less than three months to go before the end of 2026.

The closure pledge came from Ronald Sargent, then interim CEO, who said on an earnings call in June 2025 that Kroger would shut about 60 underperforming locations by the end of 2026. Fast Company's updated tally, current through this week, shows the plan is more or less on track.

Which chains have been hit?

Nearly two dozen stores fly the flagship Kroger banner. The closures stretch across Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Other Kroger-owned chains have not been spared:

• Fred Meyer: six stores, five in Washington state and one in Portland, Oregon; one Tacoma location is not scheduled to close until January 2027.
• Harris Teeter: seven stores in Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia, including three in the Washington, D.C. suburbs.
• Mariano's: four stores in the Chicago area.
• Pick 'n Save: five stores in the Milwaukee region.
• King Soopers: two Colorado stores, in Denver and Centennial.
• Single closures at Food 4 Less in Stanton, California; Fry's Food and Drug in Mesa, Arizona; Jay C Food Stores in Shoals, Indiana; and QFC in Mill Creek, Washington.

Some closures have hit communities where fresh food access was already scarce, raising concerns about so-called food deserts. Fast Company noted this risk in earlier reporting, and the updated list confirms the pattern extends into towns like Gassaway, West Virginia, and Shoals, Indiana.

The takeaway: the cuts are broad, brand-agnostic, and concentrated in lower-density markets.

What is not being said?

Kroger has not identified which of the 51 stores closed under the footprint optimization plan announced last year. The company did not reply to requests for comment about the closures or whether more are planned.

United Food and Commercial Workers, the union representing Kroger workers, also did not respond to a request for comment. Kroger has said affected employees can apply for jobs at other Kroger-owned locations — a promise, not a guarantee of placement.

The closures follow the collapse of Kroger's merger with Albertsons, a deal blocked by courts and now the subject of a lengthy legal fight. The trial of Albertsons' lawsuit against Kroger, seeking $8 billion in damages over the failed merger, began this week.

Since the merger fell apart, Kroger has cut thousands of corporate jobs and embraced AI-powered solutions to streamline operations and improve the customer experience. Under current CEO Greg Foran, the company announced a much smaller deal to acquire the pharmacy retailer Giant Eagle.

Is Kroger in trouble?

The total store count is shrinking, but modestly. Kroger had 2,697 locations at the beginning of 2026, down from 2,731 a year earlier — a net decline of 34 stores, roughly 1.2% of the footprint.

At an investor day event this week, Kroger executives announced a plan to open 110 new stores by 2029. CFO David Kennerley projected the new stores will generate $7 billion in annualized incremental sales. That figure works out to roughly $64 million per store per year — an ambitious target that Kroger has yet to demonstrate it can hit in a shrinking base.

Investors gave the plan a lukewarm reception. Kroger shares (NYSE: KR) rose 1.79% on Wednesday, the day after the investor day, yet the stock remains down 6.52% over the past 12 months as of Wednesday's close.

The takeaway: Kroger is trading old stores for new ones and betting $7 billion in projected sales that the swap pays off, while an $8 billion courtroom fight plays out in parallel.