Fry's Marketplace
Fry's Marketplace is a multi-department store that offers full-service grocery, pharmacy and general merchandise including outdoor living products, electronics, home goods and toys. Ranging in size from 80,000 - 105,000 ft2, the Marketplace stores are smaller than the original Fred Meyer stores. The Marketplace format was derived from the Fred Meyer concept but on a smaller scale and has since expanded to other Kroger divisions (Ohio, Virginia, Texas, etc.), including the Smith's Food & Drug Centers Division in Utah.
Fry's Marketplace started out as Smitty's, Arizona's first multi-department store. Smitty's was similar to a Walmart Supercenter (but on a smaller scale) and even had a food court with four branded fast food options (such as Taco Bell). Smitty's notably carried the President's Choice brand. In 1996, Smitty's merged with Smith's Food and Drug Centers. In 1997, after the Fred Meyer–Smith's merger, Fred Meyer updated and revitalized the Smitty's concept (naming the stores Smitty’s Marketplace) and in January 1999, all Smitty's stores were renamed Fred Meyer Marketplace, ending the Smitty’s name. During this time, management of Smitty’s changed from Smith's Food and Drug to Fred Meyer. Later that year, construction also started on a full size Fred Meyer store in Phoenix, at 35th Avenue and Bethany Home Road, with plans to build more Fred Meyer stores in the Phoenix metro.
In June 2000, Kroger transferred the management of all Fred Meyer stores in Arizona to Fry's Food and Drug. The Fred Meyer stores were rebranded as Fry's Marketplace, unifying the stores under the Fry's brand. The full size Fred Meyer store in Phoenix was completed but never opened and was later demolished to build a Walmart, as the store was too large for Fry's to use, with Fred Meyer’s expansion plans for Arizona scrapped.
