The oldest Kroger store in operation?

[Andrew T.]

We've had threads on Groceteria about the oldest operational A&P store and the oldest operational Safeway. What might be the oldest operational Kroger?

240 W Main St. in McConnelsville, Ohio is an old store in an old building that's a real relic by any measure, but it wasn't always a Kroger and it wasn't even always a supermarket. An article from the Zanesville Times Recorder of 15 Dec. 1967 gives the following information:

New Kroger Store
A new Kroger Supermarket will be located and open in February in McConnelsville. The store will be located in the former Bill Janes Chevrolet new car showroom on West Main street, McConnelsville.

3558 Main St. in Weirton, West Virginia is a more likely contender. It opened on 5 June 1956 and is still open in relatively unaltered condition.

Are there any pre-1956 Krogers out there?

[Balalaika762]

I think this one's a serious contender ; I've already written something like 18 pages on Kroger stores after reading ten times that, and I haven't got any mention of something older still being in operated. And the archives pic at the end of the linked thread is already in my list of extra info!

[Andrew T.]

There's another contender: 788 W. Pike St. in Clarksburg, WV. David recently researched the city, and found the address listed as a Kroger in 1955...which means it evidently preceded Weirton, though not by much. (The backlit bubble lettering seems more early-1960s than mid-1950s to me, but the store itself is a Frankenstein of different eras, so anything goes.)