Dallas, TX
Kroger’s all self-checkout Dallas store brings back cashiers
Cashier-staffed checkout lanes are returning to Kroger’s Oak Lawn store.
After three years, Kroger is reversing its decision to turn its smallest store in the market into an all self-checkout store.
The location at 4142 Cedar Springs Road converted to all self-checkout in Feb. 2021 and it was the only one among the grocery chain’s 2,700 U.S. stores trying out the idea.
“We listened closely to customer feedback and made the decision to convert back to hosting staffed checkout lanes at this store,” said John Votava, Kroger spokesman.
The conversion to a mix of staffed and self-checkout lanes started on Tuesday, he said.
Shoppers love and hate the self-checkout experience, but people are using it. About 29% of food retail transactions were through self-checkout lanes in 2022, according to the food industry association, FMI.
While retailers rethink self-checkout, a walk into any Walmart, Target, Costco and any brand of traditional supermarket reveals a mix that signals the self-service payment lanes aren’t going away. Trader Joe’s is a holdout with all cashier-staffed lanes and has also stayed away from e-commerce.
Some stores have modified their self-checkout areas for purchases of fewer than 10 or 15 items. Target last year started testing 10 items or fewer checkout lanes in stores saying it wasn’t about theft but it was intended to speed up the process for shoppers who want to use it.
H-E-B has put limits of 10 or 15 or fewer items on its self-checkout lanes, said Mabrie Jackson, H-E-B and Central Market spokeswoman. The San Antonio-based grocer has also added two self-checkout lanes with longer belts for 25 or fewer items in its newer stores including Plano, Frisco, Allen and McKinney stores, she said. Central Market has also added self-checkout lanes over the last three years with a 15-item or fewer limit.
Walmart hasn’t put a limit on its self-checkout lanes, said Walmart spokesman Josh Havens.
Walmart experimented with an all self-checkout Supercenter in Plano, creating this huge circle of checkout lanes with employees corraled in the middle watching and ready to assist shoppers. The self-checkout area was installed in 2021 and the idea was ditched within months.
On its customer service website, Walmart says, “If you prefer checking out with a cashier, we will continue to have that option available for customers who prefer that method.”
Looking for more retail coverage? Click here to read all retail news and updates. Click here to subscribe to D-FW Retail and more newsletters from The Dallas Morning News.
Dallas, TX
New video of Lake Dallas explosion draws focus on order decades ago to remove old plastic pipes
The search for the next general manager or president of basketball operations of the Dallas Mavericks has begun. They terminated Nico Harrison in November, which was about nine months too late, and gave any available candidates clear notice that they were open for business.
The plan was always to wait until after the season to start the search. While names popped up as the season reached an end, they didn’t begin turning over the staff until the Monday after the season ended. However, Dallas Mavericks fans are not going to like how the team is going about the search.
Patrick Dumont Leading Search for General Manager
NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the Mavericks are not hiring a search firm in their hunt for a new lead executive. Instead, team governor Patrick Dumont is “acting as his own point person.”
This is an… interesting decision, to say the least. Dumont is not a basketball person whatsoever, and most organizations usually hire a search firm. The Chicago Bulls hired one as they look for their replacement for Arturas Karnisovas. Just because a firm is hired doesn’t mean a team will listen, though.
The Mavericks hired a firm in their last search for a GM. They let Donnie Nelson go in 2021 after a long tenure with the Mavs. Instead of listening to the firm, though, Mark Cuban ignored it to hire Nico Harrison, who had no previous NBA front office experience. Harrison had been an executive with Nike, which gave him connections with players like Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and plenty of others.
For a while, that seemed to be working out okay. While he still had some questionable transactions, such as trading for Christian Wood and letting Jalen Brunson walk in free agency, they were still able to make a run to the NBA Finals in 2024. Then, he blew it all up, trading away Luka Doncic for an older and injured Anthony Davis, and the team hasn’t been the same since.
It’s imperative that the Mavericks get this hire correct. The interim Co-GM setup with Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley has performed admirably, but the 2026 NBA Draft is important for the Mavs to get right. It’s their best chance to pair Cooper Flagg with another young star, as they don’t own their first-round pick again until 2031 after this.
Hiring the right GM could help bring in more draft capital by bringing in bad contracts or flipping veterans into picks.
Dumont was able to convince Rick Welts, a Hall of Famer, to come out of retirement to be the CEO and lead the charge for a new arena. Maybe Dumont pulls another rabbit out of his hat for the GM.
Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on X for the latest news.
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow
For a moment, it looked like FC Dallas was on its way to another statement win at home tonight.
Petar Musa scored two first half goals, to extend his Golden Boot leading tally to nine goals. But after Dallas grabbed control, the Galaxy found a way back before halftime with goals from Lucas Sanabria and Joseph Paintsil.
The second half brought more chances and more frustration for Dallas, which finished the night with 13 shots to LA’s nine. In the end, the point stretched Dallas’ unbeaten run to five games, though just like last week, it felt like another match where Dallas left points on the table.
Key Moments
7’ – GOAL! After a poor pass back by a LA defender, Petar Musa was free to go one-on-one with the LA goalkeeper. After a touch to get ahead of a defender, Musa slotted home his eighth goal of the season from outside the penalty box.
21’ – Offside! Joaquin Valiente sent a floating ball over the Galaxy defense, where Musa was able to get behind the defense and make an easy play for what appeared to be his second goal of the night. The play was called offside despite a fairly lengthy review period.
38’ – GOAL! This one counts! Musa gets his second of the night off a great ball from Chris Cappis. Logan Farrington picked off the ball in the midfield. He then played Cappis wide to the left of the penalty area. Cappis immediately played a ball back across the goal for Musa to slide in and finish for his ninth of the season.
43’ – Goal LA. Lucas Sanabria got the ball near the top of the penalty area. He took a couple of touches to get outside the penalty box before firing a shot that beat Michael Collodi at the near post.
45+4’ – Goal LA. Gabriel Pec got the ball near the top of the penalty area. He pulled the ball back a bit, which caught a pair of Dallas defenders. This allowed Joseph Painstil to get free behind the Dallas defense as Pec played him through inside the penalty area. Pec immediately smashed home a shot above Collodi to tie the game.
75’ – Another offside goal. This time on a corner kick for Dallas, after a scrum in the penalty box, Kaick hammered home what looked to be the go-ahead goal. But after a few seconds the flag was raised due to a deflection on Osaze Urhoghide, who was in an offside position.
Instant Reaction
Yeah, this is another disappointing result for this team. In a real way, it felt like the first half against Houston from last month. Dallas grabbed the lead, looked in control, but some defensive miscues opened the game up for the visitors to climb back.
With a double-game week coming up, this will certainly be another game where Dallas will wonder ‘what if’ more than anything else…especially when you factor in the two goals called off for offside.
About the Subs
Eric Quill went to his bench for the first time in the 66th minute, as he brought on Santiago Moreno for Logan Farrington. Quill went to his bench again 81st minute with Ran Binyamin and Nolan Norris coming on for Sebastien Ibeagha and Deedson. The final sub came during stoppage time with Herman Johansson and Joaquin Valiente coming off for Sam Sarver and rookie Nick Simmonds, who made his MLS debut.
Man of the Match
No question about it tonight, it has to be Musa.
Where does this fit into the season
As of this writing, the draw puts Dallas into a three-way tie for 5th place with Real Salt Lake and Seattle. Both are in action right now and look firmly in control of their games. I’d expect Dallas to be in 7th place by the end of the night.
What’s next for FC Dallas
Dallas wraps up a three-game homestand next Wednesday night as they host Minnesota United.
-
Technology4 minutes agoThis pasta sauce wants to record your family
-
World10 minutes agoMassive 7.5-magnitude earthquake hits off Japanese coast, tsunami alert issued
-
Politics16 minutes agoUS military announces another deadly strike against ‘narco-terrorists’
-
Health22 minutes agoCancer tied to woman’s vaping habit since age 15 as she’s now given just months to live
-
Sports28 minutes agoPolice report details Zachariah Branch’s arrest days before NFL Draft over sidewalk incident
-
Technology34 minutes agoBMW puts humanoid robots to work building EVs
-
Business40 minutes agoAMC’s Adam Aron backs David Ellison’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery
-
Entertainment46 minutes agoBob Spitz proves the Rolling Stones are rock’s greatest band in magnificent new biography