Kroger's Keller store sits on the southwest corner of Keller Parkway and Rufe Snow Drive. It has been there for 34 years. Across the intersection, on the northeast corner behind a CVS, is a nearly 18-acre tract that Kroger got approval to build on more than a decade ago. It never did. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported in February that the company was reviving that plan, and that it intends to close the older store if the new one is approved.
City paperwork lists Kroger Texas LP as the owner of the new site at 1025 Keller Parkway. A Kroger construction manager told the Planning and Zoning Commission in September that the company owns the current store property at 976 Keller Parkway as well. One company owns two corners of the same intersection. The decision ahead will start the clock on both, and only one of them comes with a plan.
Where the Permit Stands as of Mid-October
On Oct. 6, at Kroger's own request, Keller City Council tabled the specific use permit for a planned Kroger Marketplace. Community Impact reported that the chain had changed its plans for the fuel center kiosk, making it bigger than first proposed, according to Sarah Hensley, Keller's director of development services. A changed site plan has to go back through the commission, so the project's schedule moved back too.
Here is the full timeline, which runs longer than most people remember:
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| Dec. 1, 2015 | Residents speak at a council meeting about traffic, alcohol sales near a high school, and a big-box grocer near Town Center. A petition opposing the store gathers 118 signatures. |
| 2016 | Council approves a 123,590-square-foot store and site plan. The store is never built, and the approvals expire. |
| Feb. 2026 | Kroger revives the plan. Nearby HOAs and property owners are invited to a Kroger-hosted town hall at Keller City Hall on March 10. |
| Aug. 27, 2026 | The city posts notice of a Sept. 8 P&Z hearing for a 99,992-square-foot store with fuel pumps on 16.3 acres. |
| Sept. 8, 2026 | P&Z approves the permit 3-2. |
| Oct. 6, 2026 | Council tables the permit after the fuel kiosk is enlarged. |
| Nov. 10, 2026 | P&Z reviews the revised site plan and the alcohol sales variance. |
| Dec. 1, 2026 | Council public hearing. |
The 2026 council hearing falls on Dec. 1, the same date as the 2015 council meeting where residents spoke about traffic and alcohol sales. Several of those concerns are back on the agenda. Hensley said the Nov. 10 review will include an alcohol sales variance needed because the site is close to Keller High School property.
What Would Go on the Northeast Corner
The current proposal is smaller and more detailed than the 2016 version. Community Impact's Sept. 9 report quoted John Votava, Kroger's director of corporate affairs and a Keller resident, as saying the store would be about 20,000 square feet smaller than the earlier plan. Across that report and the October follow-up, the plan includes:
- A grocery store of 99,992 square feet with fuel pumps
- A pharmacy with a drive-through
- A dedicated pickup area at the back of the building
- Home goods, toys, and school and office supplies
- A Murray's Cheese shop and a Pax & Beneficia coffee shop
- Outdoor display and seasonal sales
- Four full-access driveways, two on Rufe Snow Drive and two on North Town Center Lane
The access layout matters most to anyone who drives FM 1709 every day. The February letter to neighbors described the same four access points, with limited access to Keller Parkway. Most traffic going in and out would therefore use Rufe Snow and North Town Center Lane, not the Parkway. At the September hearing, both public comments and commissioners spent a long time on traffic near Keller Parkway and on how close the site is to Keller High School and the Keller ISD Athletic Complex.
The site size has changed between filings. The city's August notice gave 16.3 acres. The October report cites city documents giving 17.58 acres. The revised site plan going to P&Z on Nov. 10 should settle the figure.
The Southwest Corner Has No Plan
Kroger has explained why it wants to move. "It's cheaper to build a brand new store," Votava told the commission, according to Community Impact, in explaining why the company is not renovating the current location.
The plan for the building it would leave is less clear. Community Impact reported that public comment at the same hearing raised the empty space near Jabo's Ace Hardware, left when Big Lots closed in early 2025. Craig Winkler, Kroger's senior construction manager for the region, answered in two parts, as Community Impact reported. He said it is hard to market the current property without knowing whether the new location will be approved. He also said, "We own the property, so it's not in our interests to have an empty building sitting there."
By Kroger's own account, then, marketing the old store depends on a decision about the new one, and no buyer, tenant, or reuse plan for 976 Keller Parkway has been made public ahead of the Dec. 1 hearing. As of the October reporting, no future use for the site had been named. The reporting also gives no construction start or opening target for the new store, so there is no published estimate of how long the move would take.
Some things are on the record. Under the city's description, the new site is zoned Town Center and sits inside a TIF boundary split. The current store would close only if the new plan is approved. Until then, Kroger's store page still lists 976 Keller Parkway as open.
Kroger Has Been Building Elsewhere in North Texas
Keller is one of several Kroger Marketplace projects in the region. Votava told the commission that the three newest area Marketplaces had opened in Fort Worth on East Bonds Ranch Road, in Plano, and in Little Elm, with Sendera Ranch in Fort Worth and Anna due to open later this year. The 2015 plan stalled after approval. This time Kroger is opening new stores at a steady pace nearby, and it has already changed the Keller plan once mid-process to enlarge the fuel kiosk.
Grocery Options Around the Intersection Today
For now, the Keller Parkway corridor already has several grocery stores close together. Tom Thumb is next door at 1000 Keller Parkway. Natural Grocers is farther east at 1501 Keller Parkway. North on Rufe Snow, Walmart's Keller Neighborhood Market is at 2130 Rufe Snow Drive. To the east, Southlake Boulevard has Central Market at 1425 E. Southlake Blvd. and Trader Joe's at 1492 E. Southlake Blvd. Whole Foods has been announced as a tenant at Southlake's Shivers Farm development, Community Impact reported in June, but the developer's forecast puts completion in the fourth quarter of 2027.
Following the Nov. 10 and Dec. 1 Meetings
Both meetings are public. Agendas and meeting details are posted on the City of Keller's Legistar calendar. The September P&Z hearing was held at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers of Keller Town Hall, 1100 Bear Creek Parkway. The city posted that agenda the Wednesday before the meeting. The September hearing was also posted to video, which shows the full traffic discussion. The Nov. 10 agenda will be the first place to see the larger fuel kiosk, the final acreage, and how the alcohol variance is presented. On Dec. 1, council will act on the permit that decides whether the southwest corner of Keller Parkway and Rufe Snow becomes available.
If you own near Keller Parkway and Rufe Snow and want to know how a new anchor store across the street, or an empty one next door, might affect your property, Randy White Real Estate Services follows decisions like this one closely. Let's Connect, and we'll go through the Dec. 1 outcome with you once the vote is in.
