The commissary on Patch Barracks in Stuttgart, Germany, will be one of four in the area that will close when the new commissary on Panzer Kaserne in Böblingen is built. The other three are on Robinson and Kelley Barracks, and the current commissary on Panzer. Ground was broken for the new commissary on June 16, 2025, and it is scheduled to open in 2028. (Facebook/U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart)
Work crews broke ground Monday on a long-delayed $47 million commissary at the U.S. Army’s garrison in Stuttgart, where grocery stores at four separate installations are being consolidated into one shop.
The Defense Commissary Agency said the new commissary on Panzer Kaserne, located in the town of Böblingen on the outskirts of Stuttgart, is expected to open by spring 2028.
“This new state-of-the-art commissary will offer our valued patrons better product selection and convenience due to its larger sales floor size and proximity to the exchange and lodging,” Tracie Russ, DECA Europe Area director, said in a statement.
The project, which officially launched Monday, has been years in the making. The effort ran into opposition in 2018 due to local government concerns about noise and increased traffic. At the time, Army officials had hoped that the project would be wrapped up by 2021.
Upon the new commissary’s completion in 2028, it will replace existing stores at Patch Barracks, Panzer Kaserne, Kelley Barracks and Robinson Barracks.
The consolidation is expected to free up space for the garrison, which hosts U.S. European, Africa and special operations commands.
“Optimizing use of space across U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart helps ensure the installation can best deliver on its primary function of serving as a key power projection platform for U.S. national security interests and deterring adversaries,” the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District said in a statement.
At EUCOM’s Patch Barracks headquarters, space has been especially tight over the years. Clearing out the commissary could provide the command with more options to modernize a headquarters that operates out of a pre-World War II building.
The new 37,000-square-foot commissary also will incorporate an elevated parking garage next to the store.
Still, the loss of commissaries at other locations will mean service members and their families have longer drives through Stuttgart traffic to pick up American groceries. For example, Robinson Barracks on the north side of Stuttgart is about 20 miles from Panzer Kaserne.
