The new Smith’s Marketplace at the north end of Heber City — almost within throwing distance of the old one — opened for the first time Saturday morning and was flooded with customers searching for groceries and out of curiosity.
Store Leader Bryer Trussell and other staff pointed out additions and improvements to the market’s operation, presentation and selection variety.
Shoppers can find items from take-home pizzas to an expanded sushi option to Lifetime kayaks and Columbia jackets.
The 123,000-square-foot building is a huge expansion compared to its 47,000-square-foot predecessor just down the street, and according to Trussell its barn-inspired architectural style is unique to Heber City.
The company’s corporate affairs manager, Tina Murray, said unique builds are becoming more popular as Smith’s parent company Kroger builds more stores. Personally, though, she said she was still impressed with the new Wasatch County addition.
“This is very unique on the exterior,” Murray said.
“You couldn’t just build a plain Jane store here,” Trussell said. “This town is stunning.”
The large size, while not unprecedented, is also unique for a newly built location.
Some Kroger stores that were built before the company bought out Fred Meyers in 2004 approach 200,000 square feet. The ones within the region that have been constructed since are smaller.
“This is the biggest store that we build now,” Murray said.
“This is the biggest this format, non-Fred Meyers store,” District Manager Stephanie Mitchell said.
She and Trussell said the majority of the store — about 98,000 square feet — is floor space where the product is displayed rather than stored.
When you limit storage areas, Mitchell explained, it heightens product turnover rate, which in turn leaves customers with fresher products.
“We limit the backroom space just for that reason,” she said. “It keeps rotations better.”
Trussell also excitedly explained that with the larger size comes wider aisles, which as anyone who shopped in squished areas during busy times at the old Smith’s location can attest, can make a big difference in the shopping experience.
The store is also unique in its carbon dioxide cooling system used to chill its refrigerators and freezers.
This, however, will not be unique for long, Trussell said.
“I think every store that gets built in 2025 will go to that,” he said. “It’s been a learning curve, but it’s going to be great.”
Typical refrigerants are far less environmentally friendly and far more dangerous to people who may be exposed to the chemicals.
“You can’t let that out into the world,” Murray said. The new carbon dioxide system changes that. “If you do have a damage or a burst, it doesn’t cause any type of damage to the store, humans or the environment.”
Every Kroger store, she said, is transitioning.
According to Trussler, the prices of freon and carbon dioxide are similar, but leaks in a carbon dioxide system are cheaper and easier to repair.
“It really is quite a bit if you have that issue,” he said. “That’s the biggest thing.”
Some of the largest — and potentially most impactful — changes to the store aren’t actually in the store at all, but at its fuel center at the southwest corner of its massive parking lot.
The massive station has two canopies holding 11 pumps, a waste dump station for trailers and RVs and a diesel exhaust fuel dispenser.
According to Jim Dye, the fuel manager for 114 sites in seven states, the center is the most complex Kroger has ever built.
“We’re glad to have it at Smith’s,” he said. “I’m kind of the advocate for fuel inside of the Smith’s division.”
In the old location, he said the five pumps were being used roughly twice as much as they should have been as motorists were waiting in line to fill their cars, trucks and other vehicles.
The new facility should resolve that issue.
“I would estimate that this site will probably get one or two deliveries a day,” Dye said. “The tank monitor monitors the sales, and they always have it here before we run out.”
Aspects of the new store also pay homage to its location and the history of the land it sits on. The entrance is decorated with photos of the old barn that once stood there. They’re framed by the old structure’s wood. A mural by local artist John Moore shows aspects of life that draw people to Wasatch County.
According to Heber City Manager Matt Brower, the new Smith’s will benefit the community through the increased sales and property tax base it will provide for Heber City. Already, Smith’s Marketplace is one of the community’s top-five tax contributors, and Brower said the new location is expected to bring in an additional $300,000 annually.