Ukrop’s is looking for a buyer
The news is out that Ukrop’s Super Market is seeking a buyer for its 28-store chain.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports on its Web site this evening that Richmond-based Ukrop’s has issued a prospectus seeking potential buyers. It cites an online article by Food World, a grocery industry publication, which is reporting this news and attributing it to “multiple industry sources.”
The grocery chains that have responded to Ukrop’s prospectus are Ahold, Harris Teeter and Supervalu, according to the Food World article.
July 14, 2009 - 8:35 PM
This is sad. I don’t care what the nay sayers have said on here and I’m sure this will be a hot topic tomorrow here on this blog. See If we hit the 100 mark again. I really hate to see this store go. Since I have been shopping there I rarely shop at Kroger anymore. I see just how much better shopping can be. They say Harris Teeter is the front runner. If this comes true I hope it will be their return to the area. I like them better and they will be great competition for high priced (unless it’s on sale and even then..) Kroger. I would hate to see that store sit empty like the Rite Ade in Vinton and the brand new, used less than two years, Winn Dixie.
Last I have to ask as I meant to last time Ukrops was a subject here. Just what in the world (nicer word than I wanted to use) is so dumb about underground parking? YES it is only a grocery store, but what do people have against parking where you don’t get wet when it is raining and don’t get back into a 100+ degree car this time of year. I love it and always use it.
Exactly what the Fresh Market did 2 years ago, and nothing came of it. Apparently they set their minimum too high, so no one jumped.
Ukrop’s is probably better positioned to do this, and if they retain the Central Kitchen part of the business, then smart on them. They will be able to supply whoever buys them out, plus the current chains they do now – aside from their own stores.
From the chicken farm they own, to the biscuits they make at the Central Kitchen – Ukrop’s is in more places than you think. And you would probably be very shocked to find out where.
It will never be the same…. RIP Ukrops
I have been doing my shopping at Ukrop’s since they began the triple coupons on Saturday. I really enjoy shopping there and hope that whomever takes them over retains the quality service. While I hate to see Ukrop’s go, I hope that if they must sell Harris Teeter is the buyer. I have really missed them since they left the Valley.
Jenny – At the time Krogers and Harris Teeter did the store swap several years ago there was a non-compete clause in the agreement. Is this still in effect and how would this impact the Roanoke store if Harris Teeter were to buy out Ukrops? Could they even reopen in the Roanoke Valley?
“…I hope that if they must sell Harris Teeter is the buyer. I have really missed them since they left the Valley.”
I agree. If Ukrop’s is sold, I would hope that Harris Teeter would buy them. HT would probably be more open to keeping the Roanoke store, since they were a presence here in Roanoke before. Harris Teeter would be more adept at keeping the “upscale” grocery store brand, since Ukrop’s and HT are similar.
I shopped at Harris Teeter for years (I still have my HT VIC card) before they left. I thought there was some rumor that HT would return with a store at Keagy Village, but heard nothing more.
I hope the Ukrop family decides to stay in the business. It’s wonderful knowing that I am shopping at a business with some values. The fact that they are closed on Sunday is inconvenient but I respect it and plan my grocery shopping around it. I also appreciate the family atmosphere and wonderful variety.
Well, you have to remember, Harris Teeter and Kroger worked out a deal where H.T. would vacate Virginia, and Kroger would leave North Carolina. (mostly. Does this sound anti-competitive? Whatever, that’s what happened. Anyway that’s been a long time ago now, perhaps Harris Teeter will return to Roanoke. Maybe they could even get their old store on Brambleton back, and fix it back up.
Looks like even Ukrop’s “strong family values” can be bought for a dollar.
Don’t let the door hit you on your way out of Roanoke.
Amy,
Apparently, there is not a non-compete clause with Harris Teeter and Kroger in the Roanoke Valley, according to Kroger.
Right now, it’s unclear how any changes in ownership would impact the Roanoke Ukrop’s. I’ll keep everyone posted as more news develops.
I would hate to see Ukrops go (where will I get that awesome breakfast pizza?). If they do sell, I agree with most comments on here that Harris Teeter is the way to go. Their store on Brambleton was the best in town. My wife and I drove from Goodview just to shop there.
Jenny – The deal for Ukrops is for all stores; however, with the non-compete clause Harris Teeter would probably have to sell the Roanoke store. Probably to Kroger.
Rich – Man what a nice attitude. I don’t want to see you complaining about any of the other posts out here again. Is this how you show pride in Roanoke? Let me see if I can understand what you meant by your previos post, if you don’t look, act, and smell like the rest of us, don’t bring your business to Roanoke. I really hope you are not on the panel being surveyed when a business is thinking about coming to Roanoke.
Ugh. I prefer Harris Teeter over any of the grocery chains in Roanoke –even Fresh Market. Depressing to be reminded that we’re not allowed to have the best here…
I have had the pleasure of getting to know the great employees that make up the Roanoke location inlcuding all of those that have moved here with their knowlege and expertece. Jason, Bill, Jade, Kristen, Chris, Karen, Jt, Bruce, & Mitch have all been a huge asset to this location. I Hope that they as well as all of the others are able to trasition into the new company whom ever that will be. I for one would hate to see them go as well. You can walk into that store today and feel the sense of sadness amoungst the employees about the unknown of this intire news worthy story. My heart goes out to every employee of Ukrop’s especially those here because they deserve to be treated better than they have been.
I agree with most of the others. No offense to Ukrops, but I would love to see Harris Teeter back in Roanoke – they set the bar that Kroger has yet to rise up to and they did alot for their communities – plus they are open on Sunday.
It’s a sad, sad day for Richmonders.
If it’s not going to be Ukrop’s, I guess Harris Teeter would be the next best thing (except no one can beat Ukrop’s prepared foods and baked goods! Duchess potatoes and rainbow cookies, yum!) At least you get your money’s worth at Harris Teeter and Ukrops, unlike other chains around here. When I lived in North Carolina, HT was my stand-in Ukrops.
My guess would be if another high-end grocery came in, they’d close the Roanoke store. The comments seem to support that there’s not enough market for it in Roanoke, unfortunately.
My friends and family say quality of the Richmond-area stores have gone down since Mr. Ukrop died a few years back. I don’t get back often enough to know, but a sale makes me think maybe it’s true.
I applaud the efforts of the folks who moved here from Richmond. As an everyday shopper of the store on Franklin Road I have had the pleasure in getting to know them, some more than others. I along with them (I am sure) have been extremely frusturated with the main office clearly one can see that they DO NOT care about the Roanoke store anymore. It is evident in many ways including the little remark made by their marketing manager. If Ukrop’s does sell I do hope that the Roanoke store stays and the employees remain here. They are good people who deserve to be treated fairly.
Anyone who doesn’t think Kroger does “alot” for their communities needs to do “a lot” more research.
Rich-
I’m guessing you have a tie to Kroger?
If only Wegmans would throw their hat into this ring. Ukrops is a poor man’s Wegmans. They are probably a little more expensive but they have so much more to offer including more prepared food choices and free child care.
It is too sad to see another “name” going down in the retail business, but you have to learn to adapt to your customers wants and desires. I have only shopped at Ukrops a few times, but I did not find anything spectacular about the products they offered. I guess I may be jaded because of living in the North for so many years and have shopped Wegmans almost exclusively while there. Wegmans is tough to compete against, as their quality, prices, and customer service are outstanding.
If Ukrops is up for sale, I would love Wegmans to buy them out to make their presence more known in Virginia. I doubt they will do it though, they are not the buy-out kind of store; they usually build from the ground up. But one can hope…
Rich how long have you worked for Kroger?
I am very sad to hear this news. I have enjoyed shopping at the Roanoke Ukrops – best chicken and tuna salad in the Valley! I think the entire Ivy Market fiasco has been a big part of the slow sales at Ukrops. After all, just how many years does it take to build a Walgreens Drugstore??? They can throw one up in a few months anywhere else. Ukrops is also a great source of fresh, local produce – ripe juicy Hanover tomatoes that actually taste like a tomato and not like cardboard. Fresh Market can help fill the gap in this area to a degree, but none of the other stores even come close. My best wishes to the Ukrops family and the fine folks at the Ivy Market store!
As I would be sad for Ukrops to go, I just hope whomever opens there keeps it nice and a tad “upscale”. And I have to disagree with Mark above saying we ar enot “allowed” to have the best here in Roanoke. Fresh Market is quite nice, great quality foods,produce and ready to serve meals that no other store does in the area. All of those hung up on HT, check out the others looking at Ukrops, Giant/Martins would be an excelent and both have clean stores and competive prices. This is just my 2 cents into this topic.
Not to mess with anyones sense of nostalgia for Harris-Teeter, but Giant would be a MUCH better fit with Roanoke. Especially if they bring along their PeaPod delivery service..
Although it’s going to be a catfight between the two, both companies have much to gain from taking over Ukrop’s. Winners in all this? The Ukrop’s families, and we shall see just how much they value their employees when this is over.
UKROPS LED THEIR EMPLOYEES TO BELIEVE IN SOMETHING THAT WAS NEVER THERE. NOW IT’S THE EMPLOYEES THAT WILL PAY THE PRICE. MANY EMPLOYEES LEFT GOOD JOBS TO COME TO UKROPS AND ALOT TRANSFERRED FROM RICHMOND. NO ARM TWISTING WAS INVOLVED ONLY AN ILLUSION ABOUT HOW WONDERFUL A COMPANY IT WAS. MOST OF THE EMPLOYEES I SPOKE WITH HEARD ABOUT THIS JUST LIKE YOU..NEWSPAPER, NEWS, INTERNET. THE LEAST THE MANAGEMENT COULD HAVE DONE WAS INFORM IT’S EMPLOYEES. I’M SURE MANAGEMENT HAS KNOWN FOR A WHILE THE COMPANY WAS HEADED IN THIS DIRECTION. AS FAR AS ANOTHER CHAIN WANTING THE ROANOKE LOCATION..HMMM. IF IT HAS BEEN SUCH A BUST FOR UKROPS WHY WOULD ANYONE ELSE WANT THE SAME PROBLEM. IF THEY DO SELL LETS ALL PRAY THEY KEEP IT OPEN AND OFFER JOBS TO ANYONE THAT IS LEFT. I HOPE THE NEW OWNERS HAVE BETTER LUCK WITH BLAND PAINTER (THE DEVELOPER) THAN UKROPS EVER DID.
First of all: Let it be known in the community how VERY supportive Kroger was to my son and our family, when my son, now a Roanoke Times staffer, was a young, teenage, part time employee at their Towers Mall location.
But, yes; I’ve always missed HT.
And, yes; I agree with the posters who noted that Wegman’s and (full size) Giant would be great replacements for Ucrops in light of the realty of the Ucrops’ family decision. However…
Whole Foods Market!!!!! Seize the opportunity (and the real estate)–please!
Here’s your chance to give us a beautiful Whole Foods, a la’ the one in Fairfax. We deserve it! We’ve been waiting soooooooooooooo long!
I can just see the scenario now. Kroger will close their Towers store. They’ve been in a constant battle with the mall owners since they’ve been there. Then they will buy and move into the former Ukrops store, and if you’ve been around here long enough to remember what they did to the Brambleton Ave. Harris Teeter store, you know what’s coming.
I guess the golden lining would be that Towers could re-divide that lower level monstrosity back into individual sites, and maybe make that end of the mall interesting again.
I was a “regular” at the Towers’s Harris-Teeter before the chain exited the Roanoke Valley. With the H-T departure I, unfortunately, found myself in the position to shop at Kroger’s simply due to its convenient location. Year after year, and again unfortunately, Kroger’s customer service has continued to scrape the bottom of the asphalt. It has been a year since I walked into a Kroger store. Believe me, I know that Krogers does employ some wonderful individuals that happen to be friends. However, these individual exceptions cannot over ride three words that do not exist in the Kroger vocabulary…”hello-thank you.” Take it from one that has been in the customer service business for twenty seven years, those simple words go along way. Obviously, the customer service at Ukrop’s will be hard to duplicate if the chain does indeed cease to exist. If Ukrop’s is sold, Roanokers can only hope that Harris-Teeter can and will return. However, I truly believe that ANY chain is better than Kroger’s!
We are not so much hung up on Harris Teeter as they are who people in this area know the best out of the potential buyers.
As a Ukrops employee i have had a wonderful experience working there! However i am ( along with several other employees) very dissapointed with their lack of communication on news comming through! Its pretty bad when we (employees) hear about major news like this comming from newspapers and the news channels, before our managers get wind of it! Come on how involved is your company with its employees when we have to hear shocking news like this through other recources other than our owner ? I along with every other employee am upset about this. Its frusterating when i read horrible negative comments about our store,(go back home) ( you will never copmete with Kroger).Ok i understand you don’t like our store but do you have to be soo cruel? What you dont understand is that alot of people might soon be out of a job, these comments are not helping us ease this tough time for us! For those of you bloggers who are supporting us through this tough time i honestely thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!Alot of employees have restarted their lives here with families, friends, homes, and schools,and it would be very tough to pack up and go back home, ( if that was an option still! Thank you for your time.
People, it’s a grocery store and one with horrible customer service the last time I went there (yesterday.) why is this such a big deal?
Granger, I hope your scenario doesn’t play out. But, if it does…
…Trader Joe’s, are you paying attention? (Please pay attention! SOMEBODY decent please pay attention!!!!!)
Dear Roanoke-
Get a clue, after this debacle at Ivy Market (Don’t forget we the community and the developer promised the Ukrops we would actually deliver a shopping center with other tenants)I’m sure their confidence in us has not helped them in these tough times. What retailer beyong Walmart kroger or Food Lion is ever coming here? Just when we try to shake the mold of a coal and rail town, we show our real colors. No wonder my college kids dont and wont come back here to work.
Jason and team at Ukrops…you are great and I hope this works out for you guys. I pray that Bobby and the family will treat you fairly. I’m sorry my fellow citizens of this community did not support you.If this rumor is true I for one will miss you and appreciate your efforts to make the Roanoke Valley a better place to live.
My money’s on Harris Teeter or Supervalu (Farm Fresh) buying Ukrop’s. Kroger and Food Lion would overlap too much with Ukrop’s Richmond operations. Royal Ahold could work, but I can’t imagine Giant or Martins coming here unless they opened more stores.
I have no ties other than an investor for many, many years.
Congrats on #21 Lauren! Yet another one who “gets it” in a sea of those who don’t. Adapt or die applies to nature and businesses. It isn’t the 1950′s anymore. People want availability, price and convenience…of which Ukrops could only provide 2 of the 3 at best, but never all three at once.
Kroger hasn’t been around for over 125 years because they don’t adapt to changing environments. Customers want 24/7/ one stop shopping and for the most part they get it. From the KKR debacle in 1988 to the Fred Meyer mergers in the late 1990′s, Kroger has adapted, flexed their muscle, and regained markets lost to the competition. Albertsons, Big Bear, Hannaford, Winn Dixie, HT are just a few big names that have folded to Kroger presence.
I’m enjoying the same communities that can’t/won’t support a Ukrop’s saying how great it would be to have a Wegman’s (to not support after the novelty wears off).
I am so sad about Ukrops!! Will really miss it if it is sold. Such a unique shopping experience and wonderful foods.
Where will I get those wonderful rolls, chicken salad and chocolate fudge pies?
But as someone mentioned before……..
Trader Joe’s would be awesome!
I hope Ukrops doesn’t close. I travel to Roanoke from Blacksburg almost every weekend for grocery shopping at Ukrops and Fresh Market. There quality is much better than Kroger’s and there service is outstanding. I avoid Kroger’s and Food Lion like the plague, unless it is an emergency. When I first moved into this area, I could never find fresh vegetables at the Kroger’s and was excited when the Ukrops and Fresh Market opened in Blacksburg. Personally, I would like to see a variety of grocery stores open in this region besides Krogers or Food Lion. My dream would be to have a Trader Joe’s open up in the area, but, I would also like Harris Teeter. Wegman’s sounds interesting!
corrections…Ukrops and Fresh Market are in Roanoke
Comments that are getting posted between this and the former Ukrops discussion from several weeks ago, are getting a bit confusing.
Well Roanoke, here we go again. Everyone wants it their way & nothing else is acceptable.
Roanoke is a small town that wants to think it’s big, but is hung up on it’s petty ways. By the way, Roanoke is no different than other towns throughout this country! Yes, we’re not unique to the Sundays, and beer & wine scenario.
What makes you think that a town that can’t compromise with it’s bordering towns on anything (civic centers, ball fields, utilities) would be any different when it comes to a retail business.
The ongoing argument of lower level parking, parallels the no downtown parking, when in reality parking garages fill the needs very well. It’s just not what you want!
Me, me, me.
Never worked retail??? Try it sometime. The rewards are the appreciative folks who in many instances also deal with the public. The rest of the time it’s people belly aching that whatever is not the way they want it. Price, 24 hour / 7 days a week, beer, etc. And then there are those who write responses right here, saying they don’t care about what it takes to keep a business viable! Spoiled rotten me, me, me’s.
Then there’s the issue of being “2nd”. Guess what! Everything / everyone can’t be first !!! When they plow the streets from snow they leave my street till last. Guess what! There has to be a first and a last. Roanoke is not second fiddle to Richmond Ukrops. It’s based totally on priorities.
When individuals start caring about others, opening doors, deferring parking places, and so much more, THEN you’ll see some changes. Till that day, count on the incessant belly aching.
30+ years in Roanoke, but there’s a whole other world out there.
p.s. When you hear of a business making community contributions, check a little bit further. Many times the company getting credit for ‘contributing’ is not the source, but have coerced a vendor/supplier, or even the employees to make the actual sacrifice!
You’re right Rich. I’m sure Chick-Fil-A will be closing any day now because they don’t adhere to your guidelines.
Yes Rich, Kroger has flexed their muscles over the years, and have basically shoved themselves down everyone’s throats. They have effectively tried to run everyone else out of town. They have made it so no one else wants to come to this area knowing they probablly won’t survive. Food Lion survives but I’m not sure how. When I have been in a Food Lion store, it seems empty most of the time. I shop at Ukrops on occasion but do not do all of my shopping there, and have always had a great experience. It is unfortunate that Ukrops was built in this location. I think there would have been more support in a different location. I’m not sure if any store would survive in that location at this point.
Whole Foods/Fresh Fields!
#40- Chick-Fil-A doesn’t sell staples like grocery stores do. You can’t run into Burger King and get a CFA sandwich can you? Waffle fries? Fresh Lemonade? McDonalds? Wendys? Negatory, Nein, No. There is a HUGE, almost incomparable difference between grocery and fast food offerings and sales models that makes them unrelated to each other completely.
You can run into grocery store X and purchase most any item the Ukrop’s offers (unless its a Sunday, or after 10 pm…or alcohol) and while your in store x, you remember things you also need…buy a little bit more…you’re already there, right?
Oh look! head lettuce is on sale. Milk is cheaper here…I’ll go ahead and get some. Their called ‘loss leaders’. Grocery stores are psychologically designed to entice and foster impulse buys. Its a fact.
#41- Wal*mart shoves themselves down throats also. Victory through superior firepower, not warm fuzzies. I don’t seem to recall Fresh Market begging for customers in the newspaper though, or Food Lion for that fact. Did they? Did I miss it?
Ukrop’s rolled the dice big time on the Roanoke location. That is obvious.
1. Its a store logistically isolated from the rest of its operations,
http://ukrops.gsnrecipes.com/StoreLocator.aspx.
2. Its in a market that is inundated with competition…how many competitors stores do you have to drive past to get to it? If Ukrop’s is indeed “That great”, then that wouldn’t matter, would it?
3. It is in a marginally bad location. Its not the greatest, but its good. No where near the nightmare that getting in/out of Towers can be, but it is not effortless either.
4. Kroger seems to have developed a ‘hometown’ flavor here…even though they’re located in Cincinnati. That is huge.
5. It is in a neighborhood that you’d think would welcome the chance to say “I shop at Ukrop’s” but for some reason, it didn’t take hold like it should have. Did Ukrop’s bury Tinnels? Absolutely not. And its less than a mile away and has FAR better parking than Tinnells, better hours (both closed Sunday) and certainly more/better options. That should be a very good indicator that Ukrop’s doesn’t have “it” in Roanoke.
But it has some things going for it.
Great bakery items.
Clean appearance.
New (albeit snug) store.
Parking- Ukrops offers by far the BEST parking option of any retail location in Roanoke. I can’t see how people complain about that.
There are many factors for/against Ukrop’s here in Roanoke. Somewhere, somehow, someone dropped the ball. I think it is unfair and insulting to place the blame on Roanokers for Ukrop’s failure.
This is terrible news I moved here from Maine 10 years ago and Ukrops has become my favorite place to shop here. If they go I’ll have to shop at Tinnells because Kroger is greedy, Food Lion stores are nasty, and the service at these chains are well um? What service? I have a motto ” If you want my money earn it” Ukrops deserve’s a raise. No store is going to be able to compete here as long as we have a greedy Kroger on every corner. I wish they were the one’s that were going bye bye.
Dan I was there yesterday too but I got the same great service I have gotten each and everytime I have shopped at Ukrops.
I’m curious as to where Ukrop’s hides all this great customer service.
My wife and I visited the store a few days ago and were treated like sewer-trash. One lady preparing deli meat samples looked straight at us and then turned to the Hunting Hills tan-as-a-wallet soccer mom with the Louis Vitton purse and offered her a sample. After the sampling was over, we were once again looked over and had a back turned to us.
Our verdict? Too expensive, a touch hypocritical (the Ukrop family owns a few quickie mart-esque stores in Richmond that are open on Sunday and sell cigarettes and alcohol, but for obvious reasons don’t shed much PR on that sector), and not worth your time unless you’re wearing a polo shirt and some pleated khakis.
Kroger will do just fine. I prefer their disinterested staff to a staff that views anyone as not being good enough to shop there.
Biglickbaron,
I don’t know of any stores that Ukrop’s owns that are quickie marts, open on Sundays and sell alcohol. What are the names of the ones that you mention in your comment?
The intire comment made by Biglickbaron is a lie.
I give excellent customer service every day I work. For those of you who have gotten less than great service from any department you should ask for a manager at once. Less than excellent customer service should be addressed because we were all hired knowing what was expected of us…I believe most of us perform our jobs very well. I not only work there but I shop there. For the associates NOT putting their best foot forward, get with the program. If you are frustrated, mad, or whatever leave it at home. Your fellow associates don’t want to see or hear it and neither do our customers. So everyone at the Roanoke store PLEASE PUT ON YOUR SMILE, be honest, be helpful, and be hardworking believe me people will notice. Obviously some of the above bloggers have.
we get a very nice grocery store and Roanoke doesn’t even support it. My hat off to them for not being open on Sunday’s and selling alcohol. That is the problem now in our society. Stores use to not be opened on Sunday and we made it fine. Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest and worship.
I hope the store makes it.
biglickbaron may be referring to Uppy’s stations. Ukrops does not own Uppy’s, but they have a collabarative agreement to provide discounted gas with purchases done at Richmond area Ukrops stores. It is similar to Kroger’s Fuel Rewards program. Uppy’s sell cigs and beer, and is open on Sunday.
Maybe Biglickbaron is referring to Joe’s Market at Libbie & Grove or the Market at Tobacco Row (both in Richmond). Either way, both are VERY far from being “quickie marts”. And I’m pretty sure Joe’s isn’t open on Sundays.
I think not being open on Sundays is a business problem. Clearly, the Ukrop’s store needs to draw customers from across the region to make a profit. Sunday is one of the two days that persons are most likely to go shopping outside their immediate areas. And, Sunday tends to be the busiest grocery shopping day in most areas. In Richmond, Ukrop’s has long been the dominant grocery chain and a very valued part of the the community, so its customer base has an acculturation to not grocery shopping on Sundays that’s unique and difficult to replicate in other areas.
I am not so sure that all of biglickbaron’s post was a lie. I too have felt that I was treated poorly in Ukrop’s. The last time I was there I broke a bottle of hot sauce and the employee that I found to report the spill too treated me horribly, I was humiliated. Actually, I never experienced the customer service that so many people here talk about.
While I don’t care for Ukrop’s myself I still hate to see anything fail and am sad for the people who like to shop there.
I think not being open on Sunday really hurts their Saturday sales as well.By Saturday afternoon everything has been picked over and let run out.If they were open on Sundays they could keep everything stocked up.This pretty much makes weekend shopping there a bust.Out of a lot of items on Saturday and closed on Sunday.Maybe they should try being open on Sunday to see how it goes.What have they got to lose.Whoever buys them is going to have longer hours and be open on Sunday anyway.
Okay- the “not open on Sunday” argument has been beaten to death, drop it. As for being treated rudely- I find that hard to believe. Sometimes I go to Ukrops with my grandchildren just to walk around and try the samples. The employees are always friendly. If Ukrops has to go I hope Weagmans buys out the chain. Weagmans is Ukrops times 10.
Its absolutely insane to ‘drop’ an argument that is completely valid. They are losing plenty of sales by not being open Sunday. Especially in an established market where customers are already very familiar with Sunday trips to the grocer.
But how silly of me…I forgot high and mighty Ukrop’s cares enough about their families to be closed on Sunday, but not too much to sell the whole chain and those families down the river when the going gets tough.
just wanted to let people know that harris teeter can go back to Roanoke the non compete clause was only for 5 years
We get the idea- you think Ukrops should be open Sunday. They aren’t going to do it so get over it. What has Ukrops done to you that you seem to have such hate for them?
I don’t see where your argument is valid. Chick-fil-A is closed on Sunday’s so do you dislike them as well?? NO store is going to change the days they operate just because sales are down (they find different ways to boost sales). Ukrops has always been closed on Sunday’s years and years ago when I lived in Richmond. I don’t see why people are so upset about this. I think it’s great they give people atleast one day off without being worried of being called in to work.
I don’t know RJ, but I can guarantee you no store ever stayed in business because people showed up to eat their stuff for free.
No one “hates” Ukrops. They’re wondering why they’re not doing better here, and their customer base is telling them “We like to shop on Sunday”. I’d like to know what sort of family they’re being “family friendly” to. Certainly not the single working parent or two working parent family, in which case there’s no option other than to shop on weekends. Is it tough for the employees? Yes probably. Retail is possibly the least “family friendly” business there is, but that’s the nature of the beast.
They can stay closed on Sundays if that what they feel is right for them.Just don’t blame the customers when you go out of business because you were not willing to change with the times.Sure it would be nice if everyone could just sit around at home on Sundays and not have to work.Times change you can either go along with it or get left behind.In retail you can either adapt or go out of business.
I don’t shop at Ukrop’s just because I live in Salem and I don’t get over to that part of town very often, but how I wished that Ukrops would have come to Salem. I shop at Kroger and get so fed up everytime I go in there. The produce department is the pits, you have to look everything over b/c especially berries seem to be moldy. I watch all expiration dates in this store. When you get to the checkout, prepared to stay for a while b/c the cashier will have to check you out, PLUS bag your groceries b/c the teenage boys that they hire to bag groceries never seem to be around. I have even seen customers bagging thier own groceries to help the cashier, but why should people have to do that??? While I am waiting to be cashiered and bagged, I notice that customers that need to go to customer service seem to wait longer than they should because there is no one ever there. This store seems to be busy all the time, I can’t be the only one that notices these problems. I even emailed Kroger about this and suggested that top management do suprise visits in these stores and told them about my complaints. I received an email back that said fluffy stuff about wanting customers to be happy and then wanted my phone number so that a director could call me about my complaints…hello, you aren’t listening, I spelled out my complaints in the email and told you what to do—that told me all I needed to hear. I shop at Foodlion now, not my favorite place either, but the stores are never busy and I get checked out so much quicker.
Oh, and one more thing…Kroger has those self cashier stations set up, what a great idea for Kroger, have the customer do all the work themselves, a win-win for them. I refuse to use those until Kroger starts giving me a discount for cashiering and bagging my own groceries!! And guess what, when I go to checkout with a cashier those are always empty which tells me that in general people don’t like them either.
Good riddance. The ukrops owners are a couple of whiners. They wanted outrageous tax breaks to come here in the first place, then expect everyone to tolerate their self-righteous attitude of closing on sundays and refusing to sell alcohol. They are some of the most selfish and arrogant people to deal with in any industry. Having dealt with them previously, I am confident that their “sale” will go nowhere, since the price will be set based upon greed, not value. Let Kroger continue to eat their lunch until they are run out of town on a rail. Then a real chain can move in there. I’ve never seen anything like their public appeal awhile back to shop there or they might leave and take their toys back home. A Hokey move at best.
I’m with Rich sortof, I think the Sundays and the Beer/Wine are valid arguments. I applaud Ukrops for having principles and sticking with them, but they also in doing so must know that they come with a price. They need to be reminded of that price when they consistently reach out to the community begging for more foot traffic. They want more traffic, we tell them how to get it, they don’t want to do that, they don’t get the traffic. If anyone needs to “drop it”, it is those who really think those items make no difference.
#61. Read #44. apples to oranges, yet you people just don’t get it. CFA and grocery retail aren’t remotely comparable.
I just ate a steak from Ukrops and had to comment. It has to be he best steak I have cooked in some time. I only seasoned it and threw it on the gas grill. Nice and flavorful and tender. It was a Top Sirloin and was on sale. Will never get any steak from Walmart to taste like that. Kroger highly unlikely. IGA comes close.
look, I’m no homer for any of these stores, but I have to comment when you tell me the best steak you ever had came off a propane grill. Seriously? The best steak you ever had? Propane? I applaud Ukrop’s for their ability to overcome your taste buds, because no steak off a propane grill tases better than charcoal, or hardwood, or broiler.
Jimmy I saw that comment coming when I said propane. I agree 100% that charcoal is better. Sorry Hank Hill. But I got home late and wanted to get dinner cooked and over with. I can just imagine how much better it would have been. I am more apt to wait for the charcoal when I am camping. The fact that I was that good off a gas grill shows you how good their meet is. It was All natural Angus too.
Jimmy– I think Mike D was saying it was the best steak he ever cooked.
As a die hard propane aficionado and 18 year defending sales champion of propane and propane accessories, I love #68.
I’ve grilled with charcoal, hardwood charcoal, hardwood open-pit, and gas, and I’ve managed to get my gas grill set up to very closely replicate the results I get with other cooking methods. Basically, I use a lower heat setting and a smoker box with wood chips. I get all the smokey, woody flavor that comes from charcoal or wood-fired grills, without having to spend a lot of time setting it up or a big clean-up time afterward. It can be done. Honestly, the best grill I’ve ever owned was a cheapie table-top propane grill I bought on clearance from Kroger for $15. That thing worked great, we also did the smoker box in it too, and the flavor was wonderful. It didn’t get anything overdone, too tough, or otherwise poorly cooked. Darn near perfect results every time.
When we moved to Roanoke the Harris Teeter was going strong & I was on the advisory board. The last meeting we had was on a Saturday & on Thurs the deal with Kroger/HT was announced. I was devastated. I grew to like the Cave Spring Kroger – they kept the same level of service, etc. that HT had. Almost two years ago we moved back to Chesapeake & guess what store is 1 1/2 miles from my house – HT!!! I have only shopped at Ukrops a couple of times & never in Roanoke (not convenient) but I hate to see them go out of business. In Tidewater, we have Krogers & Harris Teeters.
I just had to comment one more time in regards to the complaints about Ukrops not selling Alcohol or Tobacco, first off there is a wine store right next door, and numerous convenience stores nearby, I enjoy shopping at a store where I don’t have to be subjected to alcoholics. Maybe the ABC stores will start selling groceries so that the drunks can get everything they need in one place! Typical Big Lick behavior!
Catherine,
So everyone who purchases alcohol is a drunk. I have been buying groceries for over 50 years and I cannot once recall being annoyed by a drunk in a grocery store. Maybe you should consider living in a bubble or becoming a nun.
It seems to me that people try to make this a morals argument about right and wrong, good vs evil, yadda yadda yadda…it is simple business people, in the current times, a store, such as Ukrops simply can not survive unless it changes with the times…once again I am frustrated to see the illogical Chic-Fila comparison, you can not compare the two as they are two separate entities and business
All you have to do is compare Ukrops to Fresh Market. They are almost identical with the alcohol and Sundays execption. Does anyone in here honestly believe Fresh Market would have survived without being open on Sundays and selling alcohol. I do not think anyone could make the argument with any logic.
One last comment, I do not know who complained about the self-check out feature, but it is amazing. Come on people, the world is expanding, technology is expanding and you have two choices, go with the flow or get out of the way…
#32 is spot on. Good grief. It’s a flippin grocery store. What the heck do you people do when you are out of town and the only grocery store around is a Piggly Wiggly? Starve? Jeez Louise.
You people have lost it! Fresh market stores are trashy. They are for the alchol drinkers and could not survive with out it. Kroger is way over priced and has nother more to offer than a nasty Food Lion. Harris Teeter’s are nice and clean but they lack customer service the last time I Bagged my own Groceries and took them out with the cashier not even saying have a nice day or anything. Ukrops has features thesae companies could never dream of!! Some stores watch ure kids some of there stores even have elevators!! thats a company that cares about all of its customers. Where are The other Companies Golden Gift programs??? I don’t know about yall but I like service when I’m paying and Ukrop’s IS THE ONLY OPTION!!!!
The home meal replacement side was fabulous, but the groceries were hard to find and too expensive. I loved UKrops in Richmond, as did many others, but Richmond has the community to support them, Roanoke does not.
GOOD! Ukrop’s is gone!!! What a waste of space…the land was better off being flooded by the Roanoke River! How can a grocery store chain like Ukrops think that they can compete in this region. There are not enough of us that are normal in this area to support an up-scale grocer. When you dont sell beer and smokes and you are closed on Sunday, you just lost 90% of the population…the rednecks and the food stamp hounds!!! This area needs a Piggly Wiggly in that location to satisfy the masses!
Ukrops was a mismatch for the demographics in Roanoke. It needed a strong base of upper-middle income customers that are selective about their foods (i.e. organic, international, etc….) and willing to pay for the convenience of prepared foods. Before Ukrops arrived, discriminating eaters could find those items at Fresh Market, the Roanoke Co-Op, and Asian grocery stores like J&L. I think Ukrops had the intention of matching those offerings under one roof but could not sustain it due to a lack of volume. As a result, Ukrops could not separate itself from the pack. Whole Foods will never come to Roanoke, it requires a strong “bobo” base of high earning professionals. I’ll miss the great customer service at Ukrops.
I still miss Piggly Wiggly and the A&P. Oh, well.
I’m very sad about Ukrop’s leaving. I enjoy going there. I agree with Brenda, where will we find those delicious rolls and chocolate fudge pie? I like the deli, bakery and salad/fruit bar. The employees have been very helpful and kind. It may be a bit pricy, but they do have good specials. Since they are leaving, I think Whole Foods would be nice. I have no complaint with Kroger either. Some people just love to complain about everything. Too bad!
I agree with Mark! These people in Big Lick belong in AA. I will continue to shop at Ukrops in the Richmond area. Their customer service and quality of their meats and bakery items are well worth the drive. Kroger and Foodlion will never get my business. Roanoke is a matchbox town on a hillside with Kroger’s and Foodlion’s scattered everywhere you look. Who could possibly compete? Maybe they could convert the Ukrops building into a brewery! Im quite sure it would be packed.
This was coming. Ukrops was never designed for areas like Roanoke. Ukrops has always been a powerhouse in Richmond, which is an entirely different world than Roanoke. People in Richmond enjoy finer, more “upscale” things, while Roanokers enjoy saving a buck or two here and there. I moved to Richmond (from Roanoke) two years ago, and LOVE Ukrops, and Trader Joe’s! There are 26 Ukrops operating, and doing well, in Richmond. There is 1 Trader Joe’s, and it is always so crowded, you can barely walk through. There is also 1 Whole Foods, which is very nice, and a Tom Leonards, which I also love. I LOVE Richmond! Choices, Choices, Choices! Can’t beat that.
I can’t believe this! Ukrops is one of our family’s favorite stores and also is a fabulous option for good food for all the Carilion folks. Hasn’t Ukrops considered the projected building & development and influx of med students who will be attending school just down the road? I think a lot of folks are looking for a quality grocery store and had found it in Ukrops and Fresh Market. The fabulous service & products at the deli, the florist, the Starbucks, the bakery, etc., all will be greatly missed. I’d like to see Ukrops reconsider – Everyone is suffering in this economy, but I think the customer base they seek is there.
So it turns out that Kroger’s is the winner now that Ukrops is closing, I sure hope another grocery chain moves into the place.
While I did enjoy visiting the store on occassion, lets look at the hard evidence. Can Roanoke’s overall household income level support such high-end markets? What demographic of customer does one see that frequents Ukrop’s on a daily basis…just check out who’s driving what in the parking lot. Overall Roanoke lives on a tight budget, has low household incomes, and is basically a blue-collar community with a minority of households with either old money or high-end professional positions. The previous comment about possibly attracting a chain such as Giant is quite logical. Giant is a volume retailer that focuses its management model around mid-American households with a hint here and there of high-end speciality. Was it a wise management decision to bring Ukrops here at such a high development cost, not to mention the significant ecological impacts…..I think we learned a faluable lesson. Lets hope decision-makers learn from their mistakes.
The Ukrops building is absolutely first class and the developer is going to be hard pressed for dollars. So my guess is that either Food Lion or Kroger will lease the store. Neither will be anywhere near as attractive or upscale as Ukrops, but at least it will be in a nice building with the wonderful underground parking to get out of the bad weather.
I am sad to see Ukrop’s go, but I think one of the main reasons it’s going (as echoed by previous posts) is simply that Roanoke and Richmond are different markets. I first fell in love with Ukrop’s years ago when I traveled to Richmond frequently. People would always want me to bring back the fudge pies. Naturally, I was excited for Roanoke to get the store.
However, the demographics of Roanoke are not Richmond, for better or worse. I think Ukrop’s did not do enough research on this. We can’t get Kohl’s interested in Roanoke, yet Ukrop’s thought they could make it? The price points Ukrop’s used seemed to be the same in Richmond and Roanoke. This would work in Richmond with higher incomes, different demographics, etc. Roanoke doesn’t have enough of an urban professional customer base to support a higher-end grocery store, unfortunately. Perhaps The Fresh Market has made it because it is a smaller scope and doesn’t try to be a one-stop shopping arena. Still, I will miss Ukrop’s and their deli/bakery.
So you don’t open on Sundays because you want to give your employees the day off. But now you are closing and will fire everyone–all those folks might work a Sunday over losing their jobs. It just doesn’t make sense. I hate to see it go, but you just can’t compete with Kroger when you don’t sell what they sell and aren’t open when they are open. At least we have the Fresh Market!
I wish they’d bring back Mick Or Mack (not the imitation one on Winborne) and S&H Green Stamps.
Kroger recently opened the largest store in its chain here in The Roanoke Valley . Kroger will do very well on Franklin road. Ukrops copied what Kroger tried twenty years ago , full service departments that could not support the cost of the floor space and the staffing. My Kroger friends tell me that Sunday is thier best sales day and that the Towers store leads the Valley stores in beer and wine sales. Ukrops should try their ‘concept’ in a more favorable enviroment my quess would be Salt Lake City.
Please don’t let it be a Food Lion. Ugh.
I’m surprised by the Piggly Wiggly comments, though. The newer stores I’ve visited at many beach locations are very comparable to Ukrop’s. My family and I are ‘big on the pig.’
Bye Bye Ukrops!
Sorry you failed in you mission to civilize us poor, dumb, Godless Roanokers! Good riddance. I didn’t set foot in your self-righteous store the whole time you were here. Glad to see I wasn’t the only one. The City of Roanoke should be ashamed for paying $20 Million to bring some bigshots from OUT OF TOWN instead of putting the money towards merchants who have been loyal to this community for generations. SEE YA!
When Ukrops goes under or sells their grocery stores I believe they should keep the Ukrops Kitchen and outsource it out to another grocery chain like Kroger. The Franklin Road store would be a Kroger sell wine/beer, open on Sundays like every other grocery store in the world but the customers will still have the same prepared foods item available. I think that would be a winning concept. I have a hunch Kroger wants that spot anyway since the Towers Mall location is rather congested. Also, I hope Ukrops does not get away with the tax money we gave them to open here, the scoundrels!
I remember people wandering around Harris Teeter in tears as it closed. I may be in the same state at Ukrop’s next month. We have done all of our grocery shopping there, drawn by the quality and prices, and especially by the extraordinary service. Guess it’s back to the often surly Kroger employees.
The big problem with the failure of Ukrop’s is that Roanoke has one of the lowest standard of living in Va. and Ukrop’s prices are difficult to pay for the majority of the residents, even if the quality is very good. If you have noticed that the prices of basic staples like potatoes, apples, tomatoes, green peppers, onions, cucombers, and ground beef, seem to be excessive, it is because the wages in this area have not kept up with the prices over the last 25 years. Even the min. wage was held down for the last 10 years until recently. This was mostly un-noticed because cheap Chinese products flooded the area and made your dollar go futher, but when you bought something made in America, you couldn’t afford it. I guess the best use for the Ukrop’s Store would be one of those free standing Walmart Grocery Stores. Roanoke seems to always go against their own best interest. It is also difficult to afford advertising when you only have one store and the large chains can spread the expense over many stores. Another problem with low income areas, is with only a small amount of disposable income, many customers spend too much of their money on expensive snacks like chips, soft drinks, or buy beer, cigarettes, video games or get tattoos, and prefer not to do without and buy fresh fruits, vegetables, fish and better cuts of meat, like Ukrop’s is known for. It is their preference, it is what they like and enjoy, it is their business, but it is why good quality and better projects won’t make it in Roanoke.
Although not a suprise this is very, very sad; I am sorry for all of the folks who were uprooted and moved here to Roanoke from Richmond. Jason, perhaps you can help these loyal employees in your new position here in Roanoke. We too, at ShopFoodEx will also try and help in this manner where we can.
This whole Roanoke debacle coupled with the “for sale” rumors and how that has been mishandled by the home office has scarred this once fine company. Again….a sad story….good luck to you all and I hope this will allow the chain to “right the ship” if at all possible.
To “The Doctor”:
Doctor of what? Stereotyping and elitism?
The Roanoke are is NOT ” . . .90% redneck and food stamp hounds . . .”
Shame on you. You should move somewhere more appropriate for your brand of thinking.
Since I live outside Philadelphia it’s difficult to “just pop in,” but I have usually done some shopping at Ukrops when visiting Roanoke. My son still lives in Roanoke and goes there quite a bit – often for their prepared foods since he doesn’t do a lot of cooking. The store is beautiful and quite attractive. Since the new Walgreens only opened a month ago, their obviously hasn’t been enough time for that to have an effect in possibly bringing in new customers. I would urge Ukrops to at least give it another six months before making a final decision to see if having the Walgreens close by boosts the numbers enough to keep the store going.
If Ukrops grew a brain and started selling alcohol and opening on Sunday maybe the sales that they expected would be there. They certianly charge enough. I hope everyone is happy that the city gave them a ton of tax breaks so that they could leave yet one more vacant building in town.
Ukrop’s is a standout in the grocery industry. Many businesses have little concern for customer service and look for the quickest way to conduct a transaction. Ukrop’s has five-star customer service. For example, they will take your groceries to your car and load them into your car without the customer requesting the service. Ukrop’s great customer service, along with its bakery products, does not compare to any other major grocer in the Roanoke Valley.
My wife and I like Ukrop’s very much. The quality of their murchandise was excellent. My wifel just returned from Ukrops this evening with the most delicious tender fried chichen. Krogers cannot compare.(very tough). We feel that the location hurt Ukrop’s tremendously. If for instance They could have located in the very attractive Keagy Village as the Anchor Store,Keagey was looking for, it could have been a tremendous success for them and would have drawn more business to that attractive location. We live in this area and had to drive a distance to Ukrop’s. This area is also populated with affluent families, willing to .pay for the quality products Ukrop’ has to offer. Please…Please..whoever you find to purchase Ukrop’s, let it not be Kroger Co. They already have a monolpy in this area and run off the conpetion, eg Harris Tetter. Thank you, Don Alouf.
Well I am terribly sad and will have to resort to shopping at Fresh Market. I travel down to Blacksburg to do my shopping at Ukrops every weekend. I don’t know what I am going to do now that shopping has gotten more complex. I will have to go to Fresh Market, Krogers (stable stuff), Bread Craft and other specialty stores. I don’t understand why Southwest Virginia does not have a variety grocery stores to choose from. I liked some the specialty items that Ukrops has.
Most Krogers have been expanding and improving…the ones in Vinton and out at the Lake are huge, bright, and fabulous now. Unfortunately, the Towers Krogers is hemmed in by neighbors that won’t leave so they don’t have the space to expand like the other ones.
The Ukrops spot would be a good place for them…it’s already nice and big and new. A Trader Joes would be super there – and for all us fellow drunks who like to get a bottle of wine to go with our steak – TJs offers Three Buck Chuck! Sad to say, after the Ukrops fiasco I can’t see any other mildly upscale places giving the Valley a shot.
As for the tax break bonanza thrown at an out of town business with no ties or commitment to Roanoke…that’s another story. Maybe local tax dollars would be better used on local business ventures.
Wow! All this great ranting and raving -even down to propane vs charcoal.
Since there is all this available time on your hands – how about writing to the city to find out how much this little debacle has cost the taxpayers of Roanoke.
The Ivy Market would NEVER have happened without the City backing it with your dollars. Be it Ukrop, Kroger, Whole Foods, Trader Joe or GOD’s own store – nothing was going to happen to that flood plain without some big dollar lures. Was this a good idea? Want the City to do it again? Find out! Ask’em! I did….
Example letter for you to cut and paste (Roanoke Times DO a real story):
————————————————————–
Roanoke Times reports that Ukrop’s is closing.
Please make a public statement concerning the ramifications of this closing on the agreement that the City of Roanoke made with Ukrop’s, Walgreens and the property developer to create (and ?complete?) the Ivy Market project. In addition, I would appreciate a personal response to this email.
Please address the following questions:
How many taxpayer dollars have been spent and will be spent on the Ivy Market project (tax breaks and/or outright payments for Ukrop’s, Walgreens and the property developer, etc)?
What is Ukrop’s, Walgreens and/or the property developer’s legal commitment (tax revenue objectives, term commitment) to the City of Roanoke, if any?
Current and projected total taxpayer gain/loss on this entire affair?
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Ok now back to propane vs charcoal….
We can only express sincere sadness about the passing of Ukrops. It had a short troubled life thanks to the City and some absolute poor decisions made by them and a handfull of consultants. If employees have to stay here I sincerely hope they find a position at Krogers and soon. The new store on Brambleton is the antithesis of Ukrops. Try it sometime and recall your experiences at Ukrops.
I need to preface by saying that I like Ukrops very much, I enjoy their prepared foods and am very sad to see them go.
However, I think they have made several bad business decisions and their failure is their own fault and not a bad consumer base in Roanoke.
They market themselves as leaders in Customer Service. My own personal experience tells me that isn’t true. That beautiful brand new building has a leaky roof. Sure, you can stay dry in the garage but beware the puddles in the aisles. I slipped twice in one shopping trip, made a complaint in the store with very little sympathy or corrective action that I could see. I went on to their corporate website and made a formal complaint, the only response I received was that they were aware of the problem, they had already notified the building owner, and to watch my step. I’d rather have a safe store than somebody to carry my three grocery bags to the car for me. I still shop there, but never when it is raining.
Another service issue for me has been the time of day that I shop. If you are there during lunch or dinner, it is great. But have you ever tried buying specialty cheese at eight o’clock at night? Customer service is hard to come by when you can’t find an employee.
While I certainly appreciate saving a buck or two, that isn’t the only factor in where I choose to shop. They have excellent selection in prepared foods and a wonderful salad bar. But for me, a company’s commitment to its community is also important. Most companies make it a priority to benefit their communities in some way, even Target and Wal-mart. I have volunteered at the Rescue Mission and I know that Ukrop’s makes very large food donations to them. Especially in meats and baked goods that are marked 33% off. But I also know that there are large segments of our community that won’t shop there for some of Ukrop’s beliefs. They have been asked to sponsor several events, in particular the Old Southwest Holiday Parlor Tour, and they declined for apparently homophobic reasons (which doesn’t have anything to do with Christmas Trees in old houses…but that was the reason they supposedly gave). In my opinion, Family Values that promote prejudice aren’t about family or about any values that I hold. I don’t think that a company that alienates a large section of a community has any grounds to complain about not having enough customers. And sadly, the rumor mill is effective advertising for good and bad qualities.
I’m a Christian and I fully support not only allowing time for employees to spend time with their families on Sunday, but I also proudly support a company that publicly lives up to it’s Christian beliefs. However, they could have promoted their beliefs more effectively by being a truly competitive enterprise. The fact is that most grocery stores are open on Sunday and many people do their grocery shopping at the start of the week. They could have had limited hours on Sundays and greatly enhanced their customer base while still holding to their values.
Ukrop’s has offered us a great product at not inexpensive but reasonable prices. But I believe their failure isn’t a result of who we are but rather how they have treated us. If it is a sunny day, if you don’t care about social equality, if you want an awesome salad, and if it’s between the hours of four and seven – there is an awesome grocery store on Franklin Rd. for about another month. But if you want a successful business – that is an awful lot of IF. Ukrop’s, I will miss you and your imperfections, but please don’t blame Roanoke for your failure.