The grand opening of the Kroger Marketplace in Oak Ridge was Sunday morning. The new 124,000-square-foot store is the largest in Tennessee in the Knoxville and Nashville area. Pictured at center is Store Manager Marty Irwin. To the right of her is Ed Westcott, the official U.S. government photographer in Oak Ridge during the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II. The new shopping center is named the Westcott Center in honor of him.

The Kroger Marketplace that opened in Oak Ridge on Sunday is the company’s largest store in the Knoxville and Nashville area, executives said. It’s the third Kroger Marketplace in the Knoxville area.

The 124,000-square-foot store is at the corner of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue. It’s the company’s fifth store in Oak Ridge, and it’s in a new shopping center named the Westcott Center in honor of Ed Westcott, the official U.S. government photographer here during the top-secret Manhattan Project in World War II.

Kroger said the new store created 270 jobs and will employ a total of 375 workers, including those moving from the previous store on South Illinois Avenue.

The new grocery store features larger bakery, dairy, deli, meat, and seafood sections, as well as a produce section that includes organic and local produce. There are 22 check-out registers and more than 46 aisles. [Read more…]