Transformation of the former Kroger store on Pemberton Square Boulevard into a new home for clothing and pet supply chain stores began Saturday, a process that’s building up to both outlets opening by midsummer.

Work crews arrived around 7 a.m. to begin the process of gutting the interior of the building to prepare it for renovation.

“This is a medium-sized job, with fair-sized square footage,” said Dewayne Hammons, owner of Hammons Contractors. “We are looking to be done by Friday.”

Hammons, based in Florence, will take down ceiling panels and the metal grid that supports the panels and knock down walls around the perimeter of the former grocery store that housed store offices, meat counters and bakeries.

The side of the store closest to the Vicksburg Mall, west on Pemberton Square Boulevard, will house Petsense, while the other side of the building will contain Citi Trends.

The announcement of the company that will build up the interior is expected to come in the middle of the week, Hammons said.

Citi Trends will open its 25th store in Mississippi in 12,400 square feet of remodeled space in May, said developer Andy Weiner, president of Weiner Development, which purchased the old grocery store and the former Pemberton Square mall in October.

The Petsense store will open in a 5,200-square-foot slot next to Citi Trends by June or July, Weiner said. Those stores and a Goody’s clothing location inside the newly named Vicksburg Mall will employ about 55 people, with Goody’s gearing up for a grand opening next to the mall’s management offices April 7, he said.

Savannah, Ga.-based Citi Trends specializes in urban fashion apparel and footwear at 461 stores in 27 states. The closest locations to Vicksburg are on Terry Road in Jackson and on Jerry Clower Boulevard in Yazoo City.

Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Petsense operates 45 stores in 14 states, mainly in small markets, specializing in discount dog and cat treats, ID tags and pet fashions. Seven members on its corporate board and list of company officers previously worked for PetSmart, including chairman of the board Jim Dougherty, who founded both companies.

The Vicksburg store will be the second in Mississippi, and the company lists new stores coming soon in 46 cities nationwide.

Developers plan three new stores per year in the mall in the next three years to reach capacity, along with marketing much of the retail space for such professional services as orthodontists and tax offices.