December 3, 2025
Lake County Seeks $1.3 Million Back From Kroger After Groveland Closure
By Frank Stanfield
Lake County Seeks $1.3 Million Back From Kroger After Groveland Closure
Lake County Commissioners are doing a version of “clean up on aisle nine” by asking Kroger to give back $1.3 million in economic incentives following the grocer’s announcement that it is closing its Groveland warehouse doors for its home-delivery service.
“We’ll be using that money to help with training and finding new jobs for the people who have lost their jobs,” says County Commission Chairwoman Leslie Campione after the commission’s Tuesday meeting.
About 1,400 jobs are being lost statewide, with more than 900 in Lake County.
The county offered the grant to Kroger and British grocery company Ocado for a 10-year period during the 2019 tax year.
It is not the only grant the county has issued. It also offered one for the Crooked Can brewery in Minneola and a rehabilitation center, for example. The grants are based on a company’s capital investment, number of employees, salaries and property taxes.
“When the county looked at the ad valorem taxes it was a 60 percent return on investment,” says Meg Brew, the county’s economic development director.
Meg says Kroger “is aware” of the county’s termination letter but could not comment on the company’s reaction. Kroger did not respond to an email request from Style Magazine.
Meg says the county is working with the state unemployment office, Lake Tech and Lake-Sumter State College to provide training for displaced workers.
On Nov. 18, Kroger put out a press release with the headline: “Kroger Evolves eCommerce Offerings to Improve the Customer Experience, Drive Profitable Sales Growth.”
Part of that “improvement” was the closing of the Groveland operation and ones in Wisconsin and Maryland.
The company said “updates” will result in an operating profit of $400 million in 2026.
Putting a positive spin on the news, it read: “This will be used to improve the customer experience through lower prices and better store conditions while also improving operating margins.”
It then stated: “The company expects to incur impairment and related charges in the third fiscal quarter of 2025 of approximately $2.6 billion as a result of these closures and the automated fulfillment network not meeting financial expectations.”
The company also cited increased automation plans and its intention to work with DoorDash and Uber Eats for delivery as ways to increase profitability.
Frank Stanfield has been a journalist for more than 40 years, including as an editor and reporter for the Daily Commercial, Orlando Sentinel and Ocala Star-Banner. He has written three books, “Unbroken: The Dorothy Lewis Story,” “Vampires, Gators and Wackos, A Florida Newspaperman’s Story,” and “Cold Blooded, A True Crime Story of a Murderous Teenage Cult.” He has appeared on numerous national and international broadcasts, including Discovery ID, Oxygen and Court TV. He maintains a blog at frankestanfield.com. Stanfield graduated with a political science degree from the University of North Florida and a master’s in journalism at the University of Georgia.
