For weeks, maybe months, blogs had been abuzz with anticipation about a new King Soopers at 4600 Leetsdale Drive (corner of Cherry Street) in Glendale. And when it finally opened last fall, there was a line around the block.
All this for a grocery store?
You bet.
The crowds have faded, but the reasons the store debuted so big remain: a sprawling produce section, with an admirable selection of Colorado goods. Wide, easily navigable aisles. A cheese counter really worth lingering over. And a remarkably attentive crew.
One gripe: Bigger doesn’t always translate into more selection. For one very small example, on one recent visit they stocked only one brand of anchovy, though the shelf space would easily have housed a handful. A tiny quibble, but variety is the spice of grocery shopping, and details like this can make a good store a great one.
But the new King Soopers more than makes up for it with one brilliant addition to the shelves: wine.
There’s a provision in Colorado law that permits each grocery chain to open one liquor outlet in the state; King Soopers picked its new Glendale location to sell its booze. And it’s made the most of it.
A very large, nicely stocked and proficiently staffed liquor room (pictured) sits in a wing of the new King’s. There is whiskey and vodka and full-strength beer, but its lovely and comprehensive (in an everyday way) collection of wine — old world and new — is a surprise. A happy one.
What’s more, wine is merchandised throughout the grocery: chardonnay by the salmon, cabernet by the steak. Not a replacement for your favorite neighborhood vintner, but a cheerful twist on one-stop shopping.
