HOUSTON — After taking a seven-year break from opening new stores in the Houston area, The Kroger Co. intends to “open a bunch” here in the near future, the grocery giant’s Texas leader says.

However, the nation’s largest traditional operator of grocery stores has been closing locations in Houston and nationwide recently.  Two stores in Spring Branch and Hedwig Village closed in September, the company’s third and fourth Houston-area closures of the year.