Kroger, the country’s largest grocery store chain, announced this morning that it will acquire Harris Teeter Supermarkets, Inc. for about $2.5 billion in cash. According to a news release on Kroger’s website, there are no plans to close Harris Teeter stores, which will continue to operate as subsidiaries of The Kroger Company. Harris Teeter operates 212 stores in the southeast, including 136 in North Carolina and 20 in the Triangle.