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Scanlon pulls out of grocery store location, project still on track
07/19/2017 9:21 PM by John M
The presumed operator of the proposed grocery store at 25th/Nine Mile/Fairmount has said that he will not be opening a store at that location.
Tammie Smith has the details at richmond.com:
A Jim’s Local Market grocery store will not be opening in a proposed development at North 25th Street and Nine Mile Road in Richmond’s East End.
— ∮∮∮ —
Markel said he was looking at other possible grocery operators and the overall development is still on track. […] “I don’t know if we can achieve it, but in an ideal world, we could have a grocery store up and running before the end of next year.”
No effing way. This sucks
Too bad, but not entirely unexpected sorry to say.
How about in the less-than-ideal world we all actually live in?
What were his reasons?
Elwood Thompson? Too far away from all the lofts?
Hopefully another grocer will step in. We need a grocery store here in the neighborhood.
Grand mart please!
Smh.
Seriously. What part of this is ‘still on track’? The city didn’t get the grant, the grocer has left the grocery.
What is still happening (not maybe planned to if) but actually upcoming?
Just building a larger Creighton Court across the street and asking people to pay for the privilege of being the paying 20% in a public housing community? This is a sinkhole of a plan.
If Rrha moves to all section 8 how will that change things?
@Dubois2 – You’re mixing up a number of different things that are happening in the area.
The grant that you are thinking of was for the Creighton redevelopment, which itself is still ongoing.
Markel is referring to the grocery store development as being on track, which he says “We should have a building permit to start construction in August.”
@Gretta/#5. I wonder. E-T wants parking. This would work for them, but I think they’d have to partner with Tricycle Gardens and a few other folks to work on their product mix to fit the neighborhood and price point. Working hard to get healthy in there to reduce diabetes should be job#1.
My understanding is this model isn’t working profitably in the other Jim’s so scaling it wouldn’t make since. While I like this idea, it ultimately has to make fiscal sense for an operator which is seeming very tough to accomplish.
My guess is that even though there is the demand to support a large grocery store in this vicinity, there are too many problems being so close to concentrated poverty (shoplifting, vandalism, stealing grocery carts, inability to keep product outside, just to name a few). Eliminate concentrated poverty and you will get grocery store(s) and more.
Security prices high, roi maybe low, hey step up to the plate and invest.
A grocery store is not going to happen in that area-period. The demographics are all wrong. Thinking otherwise is pure foolishness or just a lack of understanding of how a grocery store works…or doesn’t work. If it made sense, a national operator would already be there.
@Kay9 – It’s my understanding that Markel’s support for the project includes pieces that make it more affordable to open/operate – which could serve to attract an operator with a different agenda or set of expectations than the national chains.
#16 – Please explain what are the “pieces that make it more affordable to open/operate” and whether these pieces are intended just to get a store “open” or to last as long as the store does in order to make the store operable even at a loss. Thanks.
Say what you may but, a grocery store can work in this area and has worked in the past as well as in in other high crime areas. Remember Johnny Johnson and his 6 Community Pride stores in Richmond’s inner city and three RackNSack stores in the suburbs? (most opened in former Safeway stores). In 1999, he had 7% of the market share in Richmond and Petersburg. He said at the time, 90% of purchases at his stores were made with Food Stamps. Johnson had rose to owning the largest supermarket chain of any African-American in the U.S. and was even featured in Forbes Magazine. This was of course prior to his fall in 2006 after basically overextending himself.
I vividly remember when he opened The Market at Tobacco Row (now Farm Fresh) in 2002 to compete against Ukrop’s, rivaling them in Customer Service while catering to the loft people. It did and they were fully staffed with most all the registers open manned with smiling cordial clerks (if there were 3 or more in a line, they would open another register). Baggers took your grocery to the car. They, as Community Pride, had a shuttle service to take customers — and their groceries — home. They even had live entertainment for the shoppers on the 2nd floor loft above Starbucks on Thursday nights. There was a store on 25th between O & P Streets and the community became angry when Johnson closed up shop there to open the Tobacco Row store. The problem is more a Socio-Economic divide in the East End then, and still continues today.
From what I’ve understand – which is cloudy & general & simplistic – short term he’s taking on some or all of the development cost, & long term he will own the land and/or buildings and rent this back at a nominal cost.
John M… if and when it is built, will it still be in the current configuration of apartment/condo-store combination?
If anyone is interested in reading about the Socio-Economic divide concerning the lack of grocery stores in the East End, here is a 2010 “Style Weekly” magazine article link:
https://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/out-of-stock/Content?oid=1369332
@ John M. I understand that the facility may be provided by the developer of the project. That’s great- however, to sustain operations over the long haul, just about everything is working against this location. Most grocery store operate on a less than 2% margin and that factors in the sale of high margin items; ie, housewares, clothing, cosmetics, deli, bakery, organics, prepared foods, etc.
Markets serving a down market sell a small fraction of overall sales in high margin items. So, basically, a market in this condition, is left with selling low margin product. This, combined with higher than usual operating expenses, ie., shrinkage, security, challenging workforce, etc. makes this model impossible to operate in today’s marketplace. The days of the mom and pop are done and national retailers won’t touch it.
There’s a Walmart a few miles a way that is most capable of servicing this demographic and they too, will be challenged. It’s one of the few Marts in the entire metro area that is NOT a 24 hour operation. That says something folks.
@Kay9 – I dunno, not my part of the business world. I hope that you are wrong.
Eric-
You’re living in the past. The proof is in the pudding in re: Johnny Johnson. The Market (and CVS) was developed by the owners, at the time, of Tobacco Row- Forest City. Johnson was the operator and was using funding supplied by Richfood (Supervalu). He went down in flames even with special consideration from the developer and the supplier. Supervalu was left holding the bag and turned over operations to Farm Fresh.
Unless an operator can find a philanthropic supporter to subsidize daily operations of a market in this location- it won’t happen.
Indian and Asian operators may be the only answer for an area like this. They may be able to support a bodega- type operation.
#22 – From what #19 understands a grocery store there will be financially subsidized in a huge way by someone with a lot of money so as long as his money (and wiilingness) holds out such a store could operate..a charity, not a business, in today’s environment
John M.-
I got it. it’s a tough pill to swallow-huh? It is the reality of the world we’re in today. In five years, you won’t recognize the grocery store landscape of Richmond.
There is good news here though- this area would support a large scale market in the immediate area-
land, however, is an issue. The proposed Kroger development in conjuction with the Ballpark at Shockoe made a whole lot of sense for the area (except it floods)…
Maybe the most cost effective solution is to figure out transportation of the North CH crowd to the WalMart on 9 mile or Lidl on Laburnum.
Wish my ex-husband knew how to pull out.
@25 Agreed. However, simply providing the facility and subsidizing the rent still won’t be enough… the philanthropist would need to also subsidize daily operations. I don’t think the second part will come to fruition but I’d like to be proven wrong.
@15… Ok so when can we move the poor blacks out and pour in the rich folk?
All I keep hearing is the East End is good for nothing, maybe the history and the airport and nothing else. Businesses take risks all the time but it seems as though there is no hope with these demographics. Henrico funnels everything to the west, if they need it or not. They built Short Pump with nothing but cows as the surrounding population. They knew it would draw people. They don’t do that for the entire East End.
Richmond doesn’t care about its East End either. They only give enough to satisfy and then blame those people nearby.
Well get rid of them. They are hurting the entire East End. Poor poor people with no sense to stop being poor and uneducated, turning to crime and such. Those idiots! They are the very reason, why we can’t have nice things. It might be heartless to say, but get rid of them, whatever, however, just get rid of them.
I think what bothers me about some of these opinions is the lack of vision. Church Hill North is changing, houses are being rehabbed left and right, new ones are being built. The Sargeant Reynolds center is still on target on being built (check out the Richmond Dispatch where donors have raised $2 million bucks). This area is changing, despite your naysayers.
@29…sorry, but business is business. If you’re so confident that the demos of the area (9 mile) would support a full service grocery, you’re welcome to pony up your cash to open it. #buryingheadinthesand
Publix actually has an amazing urban market program…couldn’t hurt to reach out to ACTUAL grocery chains..