Kroger Co. opens first-ever food hall

Cincinnati-based The Kroger Co. has opened On The Rhine Eatery, a 52,000-square-foot food hall in downtown Cincinnati that includes a Kitchen 1883 Café and Bar, Kroger's American food restaurant concept.

The new two-level Kroger store features grab-and-go and ready-to-heat meals for lunch and dinner, in addition to fresh fruits and vegetables and a traditional grocery shopping experience. The store offers an exclusive Starbucks coffee blend as well as a walk-up window for beverage orders.

On The Rhine Eatery can accommodate up to 200 customers and offers indoor and outdoor seating as well as a full-service bar, offering signature cocktails, local beers, wines and Kentucky bourbons. Featured restaurants and dishes at the food hall include:

• Kitchen 1883 Café and Bar: Kroger's second location of its American food restaurant that offers dishes like flatiron steak panini, Brussel sprouts salad and coconut milk smoothies.
• DOPE! Asian Street Fare: Ramen, dumplings, bao buns and more, all inspired by street food throughout Asia, along with Vietnamese iced coffee and global libations.
• Django Western Taco: Mexican food with a flair of American cuisine, starring homemade tortillas produced with Ohio corn, jackfruit carnitas and jerk chicken quesadillas.
• Eli's BBQ: A Cincinnati favorite with a cult following that offers hickory-smoked pork sandwiches topped with homemade barbecue sauce plus ribs, smoked turkey and sides like jalapeno cheddar grits and macaroni and cheese.
• Queen City Whip: A popular local food truck offering its first brick-and-mortar location at the food hall, featuring made-to-order burgers, chili dogs and milkshakes.

"On The Rhine Eatery features emerging restaurants and true tastes of Cincinnati — all handpicked by Kroger's culinary team to create a popular hangout for meals, cocktails and community," said Teri Rose, Kroger's senior director of culinary development. "Cincinnati is Kroger's hub for culinary innovation and experimentation, and the food hall is an example of the types of concepts and ideas we're creating every day."