Kroger's Longest-Serving Associate Retiring

The grocery industry is home to many long-tenured employees, but perhaps few more tenured than Kroger’s Larry Arnold.

After 63 years with The Kroger Co., Arnold, 79, the grocer’s current longest-serving associate, will be retiring at the end of the month.

Arnold works as a dairy clerk at the Pickerington, Ohio, Kroger Marketplace. He started with the company in 1953 when, a week before his 16th birthday, he accepted a job as a clerk at the former Market Street store in Zanesville.

Arnold decided in December to pass along his title of longest-serving associate. "It's just a feeling everybody gets," he said. "They always said you know when you're done, and I knew when I was done."

"Kroger is grateful to Larry for his decades of service to the company and its customers," said Kroger Columbus Division President Joe Grieshaber. "All of us with Kroger congratulate him and his family on a tremendous career, and wish him all the best in retirement."

Since his retirement announcement, Arnold has been enjoying some time away from work, but on a visit to the store earlier this month, he confessed leaving won't be easy. "I will miss the people — you'll always miss the people — and I'll miss the customers.” he said. “We have nice customers up here."

Cincinnati-based Kroger employs 443,000 associates at 2,796 retail food stores under a variety of local banner names in 35 states and the District of Columbia.