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.jpg) A King Soopers in Colorado Springs, CO (Store #006-0620) | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail /grocery |
| Founded | October 1947; 78 years ago (1947-10) inArvada, Colorado, U.S. |
| Founders | Lloyd J. King Charles W. Houchens |
| Headquarters | Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
Number of locations | 120[1] |
Area served | Colorado,Wyoming |
Key people |
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| Products | Bakery,dairy,delicatessen,frozen foods,fuel,grocery,lottery,pharmacy,photographic processing,produce,meats,snack food,liquor,flowers, andWestern Union |
| Services | Supermarket |
| Revenue | US$4 billion |
Number of employees |  20,000 |
| Parent | Dillon Companies (1957–1983) Kroger (1983–present) |
| Website | kingsoopers |
King Soopers is an Americansupermarket chain located in the Rocky Mountains of the United States. It started as its own brand, and is now a subsidiary ofKroger. It is headquartered inDenver, Colorado.[2]
King Soopers has a significant presence in the state ofColorado on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. The stores are located along theFront Range fromCheyenne, Wyoming, toPueblo, Colorado. There are also a few locations in thefoothills west ofDenver andColorado Springs.[3]
Lloyd J. King opened the first King Soopers with Charles W. Houchens and Robert C. Loury.[4] and[5][6] This location has since been demolished for Arvada's Public Library, built in 2005–06.[7]
The name "King Soopers" was derived from Lloyd's family name and an alternate spelling of the word "super!" from theArchie comics series that one of his two sons, Larry, read.[8] Within the next five years, King Soopers became the firstgrocery store in the country to open an in-store pharmacy[7] and one of the earliest to have a meat department.[8][7]
King Soopers grew to several stores[9] in the Denver metro area andColorado Springs,[10] before being bought out byDillon Companies in 1957.[11] The original King Soopers location was relocated from Olde Town Arvada to Arvada Plaza.[12][7]
King Soopers' then-parent, Dillon Companies, was bought out byThe Kroger Company in 1982–83, and King Soopers and Dillon's are both still owned by Kroger today.[13]
In 2012, Kroger expanded its Fresh Fare style of supermarkets into the King Soopers brand, opening the first Fresh Fare King Soopers in Englewood, Colorado.[14] This is a concept that first appeared in Kroger as early as 2007[15] and actually seems to have started withRalphs, another Kroger subsidiary primarily located inCalifornia in 1998.[16]
The main idea of Fresh Fare is to be a bit more upscale in that it sells more organic foods while still selling traditional groceries; it follows the themes of the 'Green Grocer' Concept.[17]
In 2012, the first King Soopers Marketplace opened,[18] just one year after the first Kroger Marketplace in Texas.[19] As of 2017, there are ten King Soopers Marketplace locations all located in Colorado.[20]
The marketplace concept is based onFred Meyer stores (which have spawned multiple Marketplace stores under other Kroger banners), and features a wider selection of products besides just food and other necessities.
As of June 2025, King Soopers operates 120 locations.[1] All are located in Colorado except for one, located in Cheyenne, Wyoming.[21]
In October 2022, Kroger and major competitorAlbertsons announced a merger agreement.[22] That plan has been challenged in court by several states. Colorado Attorney GeneralPhil Weiser summarized consumer and worker opposition: the merger "would lead to stores closing, higher prices, fewer jobs, worse customer service, and less resilient supply chains.”[23]
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