New owners are taking over the Farm Fresh at 2320 E. Main St. (Photo by Sarah Lockwood)
News spread quickly through Richmond’s East End about the area’s only grocery store potentially closing when the 90 employees of the Farm Fresh on East Main Street abruptly received layoff notices in March.
Couple the latter with Supervalu Inc., which owns the Virginia Beach-based Farm Fresh chain, announcing plans to sell 21 of its 38 Farm Fresh stores, and speculation dominated neighborhood conversations: Which competitors, if any, would put in a bid for ownership? Could a Trader Joe’s land in Shockoe Bottom? Would the store sit empty?
By the time employees were expecting to be out of a job, however, Charlottesville-based Neighborhood Grocery Holdings LLC announced plans to acquire the store, which now anchors a new GRTC Pulse bus station. The owners say they’ll operate the store under the same name, keeping the same employees on board.
Customers can expect few changes as the Farm Fresh shifts ownership: The 37,000-square-foot store will sell many of the same items, but with an increased selection of specialty, organic and locally sourced products.
The Starbucks inside the store, which shuttered in mid-spring with a “thank you” note to customers scribbled on the chalkboard outside, is expected to be replaced by Blanchard’s Coffee Roasting Co.
