Part of the more than 48 feet of dry kosher groceries available at the new Kroger Fresh Fare on Stroop Road

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer

The opening of Kroger’s upscale Fresh Fare market at 530 E. Stroop Road in Kettering on July 30 brought with it the largest selection of kosher food of any grocery in the Miami Valley.

According to Cyndi Gaw of Kroger, several departments were involved in the kosher expansion, which now features “48-plus feet of dry grocery, 10-plus feet of refrigerated grocery, 10-plus feet of fresh meats,” and a bakery display for Kosher baked goods.

Kosher dairy section at Kroger on Stroop Road

The dairy section includes cholov Yisroel (under Jewish supervision) milk, yogurt, and numerous varieties of cheese. On opening day, shelves of the fresh kosher meat department were stocked with David Elliot and Meal Mart beef products including briskets, London broils, veal chops, ground beef, and stew meat, along with Empire chicken products, and International Glatt Kosher Beef Frankfurters. Fresh bakery goods included babkas, pastries and cupcakes from Green’s, and Challah rolls from Beigel’s: both companies based in Brooklyn.

The most impressive display is the selection of dry and non-perishable kosher grocery items, including sauces, mixes, pastas, popular kosher wines, Dr. Brown’s sodas, and Israeli snack foods and sweets.

Another welcome addition is a refrigerator case featuring numerous kosher smoked fish products, well beyond smoked salmon.

“This is a serious selection,” says Rabbi Nochum Mangel, director of Chabad of Greater Dayton, who led the effort to expand Kroger’s kosher offerings at the Stroop Road grocery. “I think it’s a wonderful opportunity, given the current scarcity of kosher choices in Dayton. Our community will not need to travel elsewhere to find kosher products. They will all be here.”

Mangel says that his brother, Rabbi Yisroel Mangel, executive director of Chabad of Blue Ash, introduced him to the president of Kroger’s tri-state area. “I spoke to him and told him that we have a need.”

In 2008, Kroger on Stroop Road gave it a go, with a modest kosher refrigerator case and display.

Part of the kosher dry grocery section at Kroger on Stroop Road

“When they brought it in the first time,” Mangel says, “they saw that there is a clientele here.”

Now, Mangel has put together an advisory group of kosher shoppers. “Kroger gave me a list of kosher products and kosher meats,” he says. “This group can guide them on what people like, so that they should carry the meat that we actually eat, not just product that they can get.”

Mangel says he and the advisory group will offer guidance to the store in advance of the Jewish holidays. “We’ll continue to address the needs, to see what the possibilities are. We would like to do fresh deli, maybe before the holidays, or maybe special-order deli. We’re still kicking it around. Kroger is very cooperative. They deserve recognition. They went all out.”