Murder Kroger
![](../I/m/Murder_Kroger_mural_painting.jpg)
Murder Kroger was the name by which the Kroger supermarket at 725 Ponce de Leon Avenue in Poncey-Highland, Atlanta[1] was popularly known for two decades.[2][3] On January 15, 2016, Kroger announced that the location would be demolished to make way for 725 Ponce, a mixed-use development incorporating office space, a new urban prototype Kroger store, and expanded parking.[4]
The nickname refers to murders that took place in the parking lot in 1991 and 2015.[5] In 2002, an odorous corpse was found in a vehicle in the parking lot.[6]
History
An article in Creative Loafing called the store "one of the city's quirky charms that Atlantans seem to both love and hate at the same time".[2] It opened shortly after 1986, when low-interest government loans were used to convert the adjacent and former Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant into lofts and commercial spaces.[7] From the 1990s,[8] and until at least 2002,[9] the store had drivers license renewal services. In 2002 the store tested scan-it-yourself checkout devices.[10] After two Publix supermarkets opened nearby, the store was refurbished around 2002.[11] The closest neighboring Kroger, near Little Five Points, is the area's top performing one, as of 2006.[12]
![](../I/m/Murder_Kroger_as_seen_from_across_Ponce_de_Leon_Ave.jpg)
In October 1999, a man robbed the Bank of America inside the store.[13] A song titled "Murder Kroger" by the group Attractive Eighties Women, which incorporates a mention of the nearby Clermont Lounge into the lyrics, is dedicated to shoppers who frequent the store.[14] Renovations were scheduled for completion in November 2014 at the market, including a bike/pedestrian ramp to the Atlanta BeltLine's Eastside Trail, a bike repair station, new curbs and sidewalks (including paved sidewalk access to Ponce de Leon Avenue), new trees and landscaping, a "water quality pond" in the parking lot to filter runoff, new LED parking lot lighting and repaving the front and back parking lots.[15][16][15][17][18] The store opened in 1984 and was considered a local landmark during its existence.[19][20]
Murders and corpse
- In 1991, a 25-year-old woman, Cynthia Prioleau,[3] was fatally shot in the parking lot.[21] The Atlanta Journal-Constitution attributed the nickname "Scary Kroger" to the store because of the event.[21] The murder was unsolved as of 2015.[3]
- In August 2002, a strong odor raised the suspicions of a woman who reported her findings to police: a dead man was in a car in the parking lot.[6]
- In 2012, a 20-year-old male junior at Georgia State University, Lee Lowery,[22] was murdered just inside the Ford Factory Lofts, which shares a parking lot with Murder Kroger.[23]
- On March 10, 2015, Joshua R. Richey[24] was fatally shot in the chest beside the Kroger building.[5][25]
References
- ↑ "Store Details". Kroger. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
- 1 2 Thomas Wheatley (April 6, 2011). "Murder Kroger to get a makeover? Grocer says 'no'" Creative Loafing. Accessed September 12, 2013.
- 1 2 3 "Murder at Atlanta Kroger highlights perception, reality of crime] WXIA 11Alive. March 11, 2015 [https://www.webcitation.org/6Wydj9Yu7?url=http://www.11alive.com/story/news/local/old-fourth-ward/2015/03/10/atlanta-kroger-shooting/24710551/ Archive URL". Retrieved 9 March 2018. External link in
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(help) - ↑ "Murder Kroger To Morph Into 725 Ponce - What Now Atlanta". 15 January 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- 1 2 "Police investigate shooting at Northeast Atlanta Kroger". Atlanta, GA: WSB-TV. March 10, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
- 1 2 LAW & ORDER: [Metro Edition] The Atlanta Journal - Constitution [Atlanta, Ga] 04 Aug 2002: F.8.
- ↑ Enterprise THE BUSINESS OF THE CITY Kroger spreads wings downtown The Atlanta Journal the Atlanta Constitution (pre-1997 Fulltext) [Atlanta, Ga] 29 Aug 1996: D.04.
- ↑ Q & A ON THE NEWS Bessonette, Colin. The Atlanta Journal the Atlanta Constitution [Atlanta, Ga] 01 Jan 1997: A.02.
- ↑ 2002 ULTIMATE GUIDE: SOUTH METRO: YOUR GOVERNMENT: [Home Edition] The Atlanta Journal - Constitution [Atlanta, Ga] 25 July 2002: GD.24.
- ↑ Ready to check out? Do it yourself: [Home Edition] DeGross, Renee. The Atlanta Journal the Atlanta Constitution [Atlanta, Ga] 14 July 2001: A.1.
- ↑ GROCERY GLADIATORS: Kroger, Publix raise the stakes No. 1, No. 2 go all out as new rivals invade: [Home Edition] DeGross, Renee. The Atlanta Journal - Constitution [Atlanta, Ga] 12 May 2002: Q.1.
- ↑ Unusual firm opens 'big boxes' in town: Persistence, flexibility and money are key: [Main Edition] WALTER WOODS, PATTI BOND. The Atlanta Journal - Constitution [Atlanta, Ga] 12 Nov 2006: D.1.
- ↑ LAW AND ORDER: [Home Edition 1] The Atlanta Journal the Atlanta Constitution [Atlanta, Ga] 09 Oct 1999: F; 6.
- ↑ "Murder Kroger" Attractive Eighties Women (live). Accessed September 14, 2013.
- 1 2 "'BeltLine Kroger' to get ramp connection to Eastside Trail - Atlanta INtown Paper". 13 August 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- ↑ "Behold, the new Look of 'Beltline Kroger'!". Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- ↑ ""'Beltline Kroger'? Atlanta grocery store could get new nickname", 11 Alive (NBC Atlanta), August 15, 2014". Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- ↑ "Kroger store tries to shake off 'murder' moniker". Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- ↑ http://www.viceland.com/int/guide_atlanta/htdocs/basic-stuff-105.php%5Bpermanent+dead+link%5D
- ↑ "I forgot my Mantra". clevortrevor.livejournal.com. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- 1 2 CityLights A weekly column of this and that: [Home Edition] The Atlanta Journal the Atlanta Constitution [Atlanta, Ga] 24 Aug 2000: JD; 1.
- ↑ Taft, Isabelle. "Lee Lowery remembered for bright smile, big heart". Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- ↑ "How 'Murder Kroger' got Its nickname and why it won't change". Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- ↑ Officials ID construction worker killed confronting man in Kroger lot Tuesday, March 10, 2015. AJC.com
- ↑ "Man killed outside Kroger on Ponce (Update)". Retrieved 9 March 2018.
External links
- Marketplace and WABE audio coverage (3 min 6 sec)
- 725 Ponce website