The newly revamped produce section at the west Broadway Kroger location.(Divya Karthikeyan / LPM)For years, shopper Rhonda Reeves has mainly shopped at the Kroger at 2710 West Broadway. But there are a few ingredients she’s always had trouble finding: barley, pimentos and baked potatoes. These a re staples she said she needs to stock up on in her home in the California neighborhood.This Kroger is one of just two full-service grocery stores in the West End, which comprises nine predominantly Black neighborhoods, so Reeves said she doesn’t have a lot of options.Now, after a long-needed revamp that includes an expanded produce section, more grocery shelving and a redesigned deli section, Reeves hopes her weekly shopping trips can be better.“The lines are much faster, there’s more help,” she said Thursday.Along with improving the store, Kroger said it invested $500,000 to increase employee wages. Starting wages are at $14.70 for courtesy clerks and $25.85 for department leaders. A worker wheeling a shopping cart at the newly renovated west Broadway Kroger location.(Divya Karthikeyan / LPM)Store manager Byram Muteshi, who has worked there for two years, said the wage increase has boosted morale. He hopes the wage increases and improvements to the store can attract more applicants.“We’re fully staffed right now, but we always have room to hire and offer open interviews for more associates, especially during high seasons like Christmas,” he said.West Louisville is a food desert, where accessing affordable fresh foods is a struggle for many residents.Residents voiced their concerns last year about issues at the west Broadway location. They said they were impacted by unexpected early closures, a lack of cleanliness and dwindling fresh produce options. One resident called the store the “bottom of the barrel” for the Kroger chain.When the renovation was announced last summer, residents said it could be a way to earn back the trust of shoppers and the community.Food marts and convenience stores, which sell fast food but not necessarily fresh options, are often easier to access for some West End residents who don’t have cars.Other options include dollar stores, which primarily focus on keeping prices low and aren’t often stocked with fresh produce. They tend to be heavily concentrated in predominantly Black neighborhoods, and experts have criticized them for using predatory tactics that undermine local businesses in the area. And some studies say historical redlining and disinvestment in historically Black neighborhoods exacerbate the gap in food access between those areas and majority white neighborhoods.Kroger spokesperson Jessica Sharpe said the new Norton Healthcare hospital and Goodwill Opportunity Center encouraged more economic development and collaborations in west Louisville.“We see the expansion happening in west Louisville and definitely wanted to be a participant and as a community neighbor for about 95 years and counting,” she said.Despite the dearth of grocery stores in west Louisville, Kroger isn’t planning on opening another location there. Sharpe said they’re opening the next Kroger location on Beulah Church Road in south Louisville, possibly as soon as 2026. ...read more read less