The first store opens at 66 East Pearl Street in Cincinnati, Ohio. Barney Kroger buys out his partner and opens a second store. Kroger is the first grocery company to operate its own bakeries. With 40 stores and $1.75 million in annual sales, The Kroger Grocery and Baking Company is incorporated. Kroger buys 14 Nagel meat markets and a packing house. Meat and groceries are sold under one roof for the first time. During the severe winter, Barney Kroger donates 300 loaves of bread a week to the poor. On the company's 25th anniversary, 200 horses and wagons are making regular store deliveries, and Kroger's growing chain numbers 136 stores in Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus and northern Kentucky. Kroger replaces horses and wagon teams with 75 Model T trucks. Self-service is tried for the first time and the food store as we know it today begins to take shape. Kroger erects a new warehouse on State Avenue to serve Cincinnati stores.

B. H. Kroger sells his company stock and retires from active management, and the State Avenue facility expands to add manufacturing. Kroger operates 5,575 stores, the most in its history. Featuring a doorman to greet customers, Kroger's "Store of the Future" opens on Government Square in downtown Cincinnati. Albert H. Morrill becomes Kroger's President and CEO. The Kroger Food Foundation is established, making Kroger the first grocery company to test food products scientifically. Kroger forms its own produce buying arm, Wesco Foods Co. Kroger erects a new warehouse on State Avenue to serve Cincinnati stores. Barney H. Kroger dies at age 78. Charles M. Robertson takes the helm of Kroger. G.I. Joe's rations include Kroger-made plum pudding. Kroger Grocery and Baking Company officially becomes The Kroger Co. Joseph B. Hall is elected president and CEO, and Kroger's modern era begins. Kroger sales top $1 billion. Kroger joins with six other firms to found the Top Value Stamp Co.

A new skyscraper housing Kroger's executive offices opens at 1014 Vine Street in Cincinnati. Kroger acquires its first computers. Kroger's first $2 billion sales year. Joe Hall retires and Jacob E. Davis takes over as President and CEO. In just five years, Kroger's sales grow another $1 billion, topping $3 billion. Kroger, listening to its shoppers through extensive market research, introduces ultra modern stores featuring old-fashioned values and trend-setting specialty shops featuring cheese, deli/bakeries, flowers and a host of other items. James P. Herring is Kroger's new President and CEO. "Open dating" system assures shoppers of fresh perishables. An experimental scanner checkout system is tested in a Kroger supermarket. Kroger's first superstore opens in Barberton, Ohio. Nutritional labeling is put on Kroger private brand products. Kroger sales exceed $5 billion and a Consumer Advisory Council is formed. Most Kroger stores are equipped with heat recycling equipment as part of ongoing effort to reduce energy costs.

Lyle Everingham is named Kroger President and CEO and Kroger opens Tara Foods, a peanut butter processing plant in the heart of Georgia peanut country. Kroger becomes the nation's second-largest food retailing company. The specialty departments within Kroger are continually being refined, modernized and expanded, offering customers a wide selection of products and services from fresh seafood to the finest fragrances. Company sales top $10 billion. Kroger introduces Cost Cutter brand products. Kroger opens unique frozen dough and hearth bread bakery in Bowling Green, KY. Kroger merges with Dillon Companies, Inc. and begins a new era as coast-to-coast operator of food, drug and convenience stores, and the manufacturer of more than 4,000 food and non-food products. Kroger begins its 100th anniversary with theme, "Where New Ideas Come to Life." Tom Thumb Food Stores purchased by Dillon (86 stores). M&M Super Markets, Inc., Savannah, GA purchased by Kroger (11 stores). Kroger stock splits. To fend off a hostile take over, Kroger restructures, borrowing more than $5 billion and issuing to stockholders a $40 dividend and a five-year note valued at $8.69 (at the time). Stock trades for around $9 a share after the restructuring. Joseph A. Pichler elected Chairman of the Board and CEO June 17, 1990.

Lyle Everingham retires from Kroger. Kroger celebrates 110 years in the grocery business. David Dillon is promoted to President & Chief Operating Officer of The Kroger Co. Kroger announces plan to merge with Fred Meyer, Inc., creating one of the nation's largest supermarket companies. Kroger merges with Fred Meyer, Inc. in a $13 billion deal that creates the nation's largest retail grocery company. Named "Grocery Distributor of the Year" by America's Second Harvest, the nation's largest food bank network. Kroger donated 19 million pounds of product valued at $32 million. Kroger named one of America's "100 Best Corporate Citizens" by Business Ethics, a national publication honoring corporate social responsibility. -and- Sales top $50 billion for the first time in company history. David B. Dillon promoted to Chief Executive Officer after Joseph A. Pichler announces plans to retire.

Kroger Marketplaces expand to Columbus, Ohio. This store format sells an expanded selection of groceries, as well as general merchandise. Kroger introduces its 1-2-3 Rewards MasterCard. This card can be used to earn free groceries, as well as savings on products in Kroger’s family of stores. Company sales top $60 billion. Kroger donated over $6 million for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. In addition to monetary donations, the Company donated food, water and other necessary products The Company’s Board of Directors establishes a quarterly dividend program for the first time since 1988. Shareholders received the first payment September 1st. Kroger was inducted into the Billion Dollar Roundtable Inc., an organization that recognizes corporations that spend $1 billion dollars annually with minority and women-owned suppliers. Kroger is named “Retailer of the Year” by America’s Second Harvest, the nation’s largest hunger relief organization. This marks the fifth time in seven years Kroger has won this honor Kroger is honored to celebrate its 125 anniversary, thanks to its associates and customers support throughout the years.