Fancy Schmancy?!?!?!

I finally (not sure if I can say finally since it did just open a week ago) . . . but I finally went to our new claimed to be fancy schmancy Kro-ger Marketplace with its jewelry store and coffee shop within! I had heard mixed reviews about it so had become quite curious and wanted to scope it out for myself.

Here are my casual observations:
- The whole place is decorated very fancy schmancy. The lights over the checkouts should be on some streets in a historic downtown shopping district.
- Due to the whole place being decorated up, there were no cut outs. I am talking about those oh so cute cut outs of my favorite Nascar driver. Currently, he has one for his not-to-be-named main sponsor as well as for Lays chips. Not a cut out advertisement to be seen in fancy schmancy land.
- There was a bulk area in the grocery section. You could get coffees , rices, noodles, fun little snacks . . . you could even get your spices out of cute little containers so that you only bought what you need. Fancy clever!
- The store does indeed have a very odd layout as others had said. There didn't seem to be a logical flow other than to put things you really need towards the back of the store making you walk through aisles of things you would not normally buy otherwise.
- I was surprised to only find an end cap of movies, no big section. I really expected to see a big movie section. There was a larger book and magazine selection. Not movies though. Hmmm?
- Toys and beer right next to each other . . . goes with previously mentioned messed up layout.
- And here is one thing that I just don't get . . . and this isn't just a Marketplace thing . . . why in the front of the store milk display do we not have 1% milk? Is that a high seller therefore I must walk all the way to the very far back corner of the store to buy it? I mean I could see how when I ran to the store to get a gallon of milk I might wander by a $1000 living room set and pick that up as well. I mean I have a shopping issue of going for just a few items and spending $50 . . . but $1003.59 . . . I don't think that would happen.
- Kudos can go to a few more things - the soup bar in the deli area had my favorite fancy tomato soup, and all the checkouts were open with folks ready to get me out of there.

All in all I was kind of bummed that what I heard was pretty accurate. I was ready to be impressed and have another cool place to venture for my retail therapy. But I am not sure that the ole marketplace will make my list of places I need to go. I've got my own new Kro-ger that I am getting used to and is very convenient and very nicely laid out for the grocery shopping adventure. And for the rest of my retail therapy . . . I still have my Kohls.