Downtown Cincinnati store has retailer's first food hall

CINCINNATI — Kroger Co. opened a new, 52,000-square-foot urban format store in its hometown here on Wednesday.

The store in downtown Cincinnati includes the retailer’s first-ever food hall, called On The Rhine Eatery. The food hall showcases the grocer’s own food restaurant concept, Kitchen 1883 Café and Bar, as well as the outposts of a number of local eateries.

Kroger’s two-level store in downtown Cincinnati includes with the retailer’s first food hall

“Kroger is thrilled to introduce our first food hall and offer a one-of-its-kind shopping experience in our hometown of Cincinnati, providing a convenient location to experience delicious, quality meals and foods,” Kroger chairman and chief executive officer Rodney McMullen said in a statement. “This innovative destination highlights Kroger’s food-first culture. Kroger’s new store offers something for everyone. We invite all to visit the store to meet our wonderful associates, shop for fresh groceries and discover their new favorite restaurant.”

The new two-level Kroger store anchors an 18-story residential high-rise and is located in the city’s central business district, just a block from the retailer’s national headquarters. To serve the local customer base, which includes downtown workers and area residents, including customers from the nearby Over-the-Rhine and West End neighborhoods, the store offers grab-and-go and ready-to-heat meals for lunch and dinner. The company adds that the store also offers a traditional grocery shopping experience, including fresh produce and other perishables.

The On The Rhine Eatery food hall can accommodate up to 200 customers and offers indoor and outdoor seating as well as a full-service bar with signature cocktails, local beers, wine and Kentucky bourbon. Local restaurants featured at the food hall include:

• Kitchen 1883 Café and Bar: Kroger’s second location of its American food restaurant that offers dishes like flatiron steak panini, Brussel sprouts salad and coconut milk smoothies. The restaurant also offers breakfast and weekend brunch.
• DOPE! Asian Street Fare: a restaurant that offers ramen, dumplings, bao buns and more, all inspired by street food throughout Asia, along with Vietnamese iced coffee and global libations.
• Django Western Taco: Mexican food with a flair of American cuisine, starring homemade tortillas produced with Ohio corn, jackfruit carnitas and jerk chicken quesadillas. The restaurant also serves handcrafted margaritas, breakfast and weekend brunch.
• Eli’s BBQ: a Cincinnati favorite with a cult following that offers hickory-smoked pork sandwiches topped with homemade barbecue sauce plus ribs, smoked turkey and sides like jalapeno cheddar grits and macaroni and cheese.
• Queen City Whip: a popular local food truck offering its first brick-and-mortar location at the food hall, featuring made-to-order burgers, chili dogs and milkshakes.

“On The Rhine Eatery features emerging restaurants and true tastes of Cincinnati — all handpicked by Kroger’s culinary team to create a popular hangout for meals, cocktails and community,” said Teri Rose, Kroger’s senior director of culinary development. “Cincinnati is Kroger’s hub for culinary innovation and experimentation, and the food hall is an example of the types of concepts and ideas we’re creating every day.”