Sold: Kroger Buys Harris Teeter

Posted by Rachel Hatzipanagos 

Kroger has purchased Harris Teeter in a $2.5 billion deal announced Tuesday, but don’t worry — your local store won't close any time soon.

Harris Teeter’s 29 stores in Virginia - including one in Reston at 11806 Spectrum Center - will continue to operate under the same brand name as a subsidiary of Kroger Co., according to a statement released by the company.

Together, the company will operate 2,631 supermarkets and employ over 368,300 employees across 34 states and D.C. There are no plans to close stores, the statement says.

Kroger praised the agreement and Harris Teeter’s desirable locations in what the company called “high-growth markets, vacation destinations.”

The sale is the latest in what has been a tumultuous year for Northern Virginia supermarkets: Magruders, a family-owned Washington area grocery chain, shut down all but one of its area locations in January. And two Giant grocery stores in West End Alexandria closed their doors last month.  

The Spectrum Center has been approved for a major redevelopment, but the plan is for the Harris Teeter store to remain, even as the strip center turns into a more transit-oriented, mixed-use development.

Where is your favorite spot to shop for food in Reston? Tell us in the comments.