Prayers answered after Kroger reopens in West Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Many in West Louisville were overwhelmed with pain after the Kroger on 28th and Broadway was burglarized and looted early Tuesday morning.

But after people spent the day cleaning up, and praying, it reopened Wednesday.

Some west end residents like Henrietta Dean thought their local Kroger store would never reopen after it was burglarized.

“When I came here (Tuesday), I cried and cried,” Dean said. “But I knew God was going to get the victory.”

People who depend on the Kroger location said they handed everything over to God. They prayed and worshiped for two days. Bernice Phillips said she grew up around the original Kroger store near 31st and Elliott when she was a child. The Kroger on 28th and Broadway holds a special spot on her heart.

“There were elderly people out here crying because they didn’t know if they were going to be able to get food, medicine,” Phillips said. “That’s when the manager came out and said we’re going to open back up (Wednesday).”

Phillips said prayers were answered when the store her family helped bring to the neighborhood reopened Wednesday morning. She said that as a child, her parents wanted more for the children in the neighborhood, adding that she wants the same for following generations.

“They formed a committee, and that’s why we have this Kroger out here today,” Phillips said. “That’s why I’m out here today, (for what) my ancestors did for us.”

The store is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday.

"(I want) the spirit of God to saturate it,” Dean said. “Let it saturate; God will do the rest.”

Even with doors now back open at Kroger, the community said the prayers won’t stop.

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