Richmond Grocery Wars

[whw53]

Ok, @rjp212may have nailed it with the call on Amazon Fresh. RichmondBizSense today confirms that the upcoming Midlothian Depot mixed use development will include a new to market retailer. Additionally, Willow Place shopping center  is to receive a new grocery anchor in a former Food Lion spot.

New to market and new build almost has to mean Amazon Fresh un less it is a high end grocer like Sprouts or Earth Fare which do have some footprint in Virginia (the latter in Williamsburg). There is a possibility at Willow Place that an ethnic super market could be in the cards. Those retailers almost always inhabit older shells and do not build new. 

Other thoughts? 

https://richmondbizsense.com/2022/09/26/mystery-grocer-homegoods-to-join-shake-shack-at-revamped-willow-place/

 

Edited September 26, 2022 by whw53

[HRVA]

12 minutes ago, whw53 said:

Ok, @rjp212may have nailed it with the call on Amazon Fresh. RichmondBizSense today confirms that the upcoming Midlothian Depot mixed use development will include a new to market retailer. Additionally, Willow Place shopping center  is to receive a new grocery anchor in a former Food Lion spot.

New to market and new build almost has to mean Amazon Fresh un less it is a high end grocer like Sprouts or Earth Fare which do have some footprint in Virginia (the latter in Williamsburg). There is a possibility at Willow Place that an ethnic super market could be in the cards. Those retailers almost always inhabit older shells and do not build new. 

Other thoughts? 

https://richmondbizsense.com/2022/09/26/mystery-grocer-homegoods-to-join-shake-shack-at-revamped-willow-place/

 

No way Willow Place is an ethnic grocer if there were multiple retailers interested and they got their pick of the mix. Anybody have renderings?That would be the tell of what to expect. 

[rjp212]

Willow Place: https://www.thalhimer.com/sites/default/files/listings_files/WillowPlace.pdf

[whw53]

Could it be Food Lion coming back to this spot?

[Hike]

23 minutes ago, whw53 said:

Could it be Food Lion coming back to this spot?

I think they’d say for food lion, not sure they’d be a secret, could be wrong. Could another Trader Joe’s happen here?

[wrldcoupe4]

Amazon Fresh is the best bet. 

[I miss RVA]

What I wouldn't give for Ukrop's to be resurrected... 

[HRVA]

The wood accents are relatively common and there’s no other details that stand out but the façade reno & comments from Sauer Properties (multiple interested retailers) leads me to expect a chain. Any chatter of Sprouts coming to Richmond? That’s what it looks most like to me. 

[Flood Zone]

It’s not Kroger, Aldi, Lidl, Publix, or Whole Foods based on proximity to nearest locations.  Probably wipe out Fresh Market for the same reason (location isn’t too far from the Parham store). Doubtful it’s Food Lion because it seems they want it to be nice. Can’t be Harris Teeter because that’s just Fancy Kroger and they’re not in RVA anyway. So we’re looking at Trader Joe’s or Amazon Fresh. Just a WAG, but it’s not Trader Joe’s. So, unless it’s  Mystery Chain, then we’re looking at Amazon Fresh.

[whw53]

And it's not Wegmans because the size but what about a Walmart Neighborhood Market as a possibility?

[eandslee]

43 minutes ago, whw53 said:

And it's not Wegmans because the size but what about a Walmart Neighborhood Market as a possibility?

Do they even still have those?!  I thought they had closed most, if not, all of those stores. At least, that’s what I thought.  If they are still around, I don’t think Walmart is putting a lot of stock in that concept anymore. 

Edited September 26, 2022 by eandslee

[whw53]

30 minutes ago, eandslee said:

Do they even still have those?!  I thought they had closed most, if not, all of those stores. At least, that’s what I thought.  If they are still around, I don’t think Walmart is putting a lot of stock in that concept anymore. 

Sure do! I go to the one at Brook & Azalea occasionally. I know the one off Iron Bridge south side shut down but i chalked that up to a weak location and didn't realize corporate strategy was moving against that concept overall. Interesting - unfortunate because the one off Brook is always clean and well stocked. 

It looks like there are only 3 in our metro if you include Ashland. There's one at the Chippenham exit at Hopkins Rd.

Edited September 26, 2022 by whw53

[whw53]

Article from last month - 

Sprouts Markets looks to open 30 stores in 2023, 15-17 before end of this year.

https://www.grocerydive.com/news/sprouts-store-growth-sales-phipps/628881/

Edited September 26, 2022 by whw53

[whw53]

Another thought on the mystery grocer at Midlothian Depot- could our conversation and BizSense be mis-interpreting 'new to market grocer'. What if SJC is talking about the sub-market area of north Chesterfield or just referring to the Chesterfield county jurisdiction in general? It could be we axed Whole Foods to soon. 

[I miss RVA]

38 minutes ago, whw53 said:

Sure do! I go to the one at Brook & Azalea occasionally. I know the one off Iron Bridge south side shut down but i chalked that up to a weak location and didn't realize corporate strategy was moving against that concept overall. Interesting - unfortunate because the one off Brook is always clean and well stocked. 

It looks like there are only 3 in our metro if you include Ashland. There's one at the Chippenham exit at Hopkins Rd.

I'd definitely count both Ashland and the Tri-Cities in the metro. Any retailers in those localities should be counted in the total of those in Greater/Metro Richmond.

[Hike]

47 minutes ago, whw53 said:

Another thought on the mystery grocer at Midlothian Depot- could our conversation and BizSense be mis-interpreting 'new to market grocer'. What if SJC is talking about the sub-market area of north Chesterfield or just referring to the Chesterfield county jurisdiction in general? It could be we axed Whole Foods to soon. 

Out here in short pump, there’s a Home Goods next to Whole Foods, do they follow each other, some marketing strategy is following other vendors in the same shopping center.

[wrldcoupe4]

I think they’re both Amazon Fresh. We shall see….

[plain]

I had to scratch my head about the "Ashland" Walmart Neighborhood Market. I know its address is listed as Ashland but it's actually in the Atlee area.

 

And yes Ashland (and the rest of Hanover County), as well as the Tri-Cities are in the metro. And so are Caroline, Charles City, Dinwiddie, Goochland, New Kent, Powhatan, and Prince George counties.

Edited September 27, 2022 by plain

[plain]

Let's count what national grocers we have so far in the Metro:

 

Aldi

Farm Fresh (though just 1 location)

Food Lion

Fresh Market 

Kroger

Lidl

Publix 

Trader Joe's

Walmart

Wegmans 

 

This is on top of the smaller grocery stores in the area (ex. The Market on 25th). 

 

To say that this area is a mixing bowl for supermarkets is an understatement!

[whw53]

Don't forget Whole Foods! 

Additionally the Farm Fresh in Shockoe is just a relic of the regional Hampton Roads chain- Supervalu sold off locations to different entities- ours is owned by an independent grocer out of Charlottesville and is the only location like that. There are only 2 or 3 left under a different ownership in HR itself.

You could also add in Save-A-Lot which is a national grocery entity although it may operate under a  franchised structure not 100% sure. Either way we have 2 to 4 in our metro- one location in the city itself at Belt Blvd.

[plain]

Not sure how I forgot about Whole Foods (I pass by the one on Broad literally everyday lol) and Save-A-Lot.

 

Farm Fresh is indeed a strange bird (there's a pun you will see very shortly). I used to live in Hampton and Newport News for a while and it was a very popular place in Hampton Roads. The prices were pretty steep, so it wasn't the best place for people on a budget. But what many people did like about them was the deli, most notably the fried chicken.

[Hike]

35 minutes ago, plain said:

Not sure how I forgot about Whole Foods (I pass by the one on Broad literally everyday lol) and Save-A-Lot.

 

Farm Fresh is indeed a strange bird (there's a pun you will see very shortly). I used to live in Hampton and Newport News for a while and it was a very popular place in Hampton Roads. The prices were pretty steep, so it wasn't the best place for people on a budget. But what many people did like about them was the deli, most notably the fried chicken.

Publix fried chicken is pretty good too along with their subs made to order at the deli, their grocery prices are super high. We tend to only get very specific items there and do small shops, some items can literally be dollars more. 

[wrldcoupe4]

Can get your Ukrop’s chicken fix at their market hall too. 

[I miss RVA]

10 hours ago, plain said:

Let's count what national grocers we have so far in the Metro:

 

Aldi

Farm Fresh (though just 1 location)

Food Lion

Fresh Market 

Kroger

Lidl

Publix 

Trader Joe's

Walmart

Wegmans 

 

This is on top of the smaller grocery stores in the area (ex. The Market on 25th). 

 

To say that this area is a mixing bowl for supermarkets is an understatement!

Definitely a big change from when I was a kid (admittedly 50-plus years ago... as I recall RVA had:

Safeway

Giant

A&P

Colonial Stores

Food Fair

Farm Fresh

and of course, Richmond's very own Ukrop's

 

Aside from Safeway and MAYBE Giant in specific regions of the country, I don't think any of these have been in business for decades now.

[Downtowner]

I remember super fresh on Patterson avenue where the dollar tree is now near starling drive. I have seen super fresh up in Delaware and Maryland I think. I also remember farmer jacks and rack n sack.