Ukrops becomes Martin's

After years of serving the local Richmond community, the Village Ukrop's will re-open as Martin's Food Market on Monday, April 26, following a week-long, multi-million dollar renovation.

Since the announcement of the sale of the 25 Richmond and Williamsburg area Ukrop's stores to Ahold's Giant-Carlisle division, which operates Martin's, at least five Ukrop's stores have been temporarily closed in waves so that they can be renovated.

"We are making a significant and a multi-million dollar investment in each of the stores to improve the overall shopping experience," Martin's spokeswoman Tracy Pawelski said.

Pawelski said the new amenities would vary by store, but that all the stores would be upgraded with new decor, improved lighting and new technology. She added that the customers would still be able to find their old favorites from the Ukrop's Kitchen and Bakery as well as the same employees.

Martin's will still maintain the Ukrop's Cafe and plans on upgrading all of the stores with Ukrop's Cafes with free Wi-Fi Internet access, Pawelski said.

But two of the biggest changes when Martin's opens will be that the store will be open on Sundays and sell beer and wine, Pawelski said.

"I'm excited about the prospect of more beer sales competition," senior Erik Stofberg said. CVS managers at the Village store were not able to comment on the new competition that Martin's would provide.

Even with all the new improvements, students still expressed disappointment with the closing of Ukrop's.

"When I first heard about Ukrop's being bought by Martin's, I was disappointed because Ukrop's has really been a big part of life at Richmond," senior Behnaz Varamini said. "Now that the bank's name has changed, they're repainting things and are making changes in the store, I'm even more disappointed."

Freshman Meredith Ritko, who has lived in Richmond her whole life, said, "I will probably miss the hometown pride most about Ukrop's. It was great to have a family from Richmond start such a great, local chain of supermarkets."

One of the biggest things that students mentioned they would miss about Ukrop's was the family atmosphere and Ukrop's commitment to the community.

"I'm really upset about it actually," junior Emma Hines said. "I really hope it stays the same because I love the atmosphere. And I love how well they bring in the local community."

Pawelski said Martin's would continue to be a large presence in supporting family friendly events that are important to the Richmond community. She said Martin's recently signed a partnership with the Richmond Flying Squirrels baseball team and would continue to support Ukrop's relationship with the Richmond SPCA by donating cat and dog food and kitty litter.

While Pawelski said she couldn't guarantee that specific events like the Monument 10K would be continued in the future, she said the new owners had every intention of staying involved in the community.

"I think people who had Ukrop's while they were here will miss it but it'll just become something of the past to the newest classes who enter, which is kind of sad since it has been such a big part of our experience as students," Varamini said. "You can't go into Ukrop's without seeing someone from Richmond and though Martin's won't necessarily change that, the hometown feel will be gone."

Contact reporter Elise Reinemann at elise.reinemann@richmond.edu