V. Richards grocery store is closing, and the owner hopes to be completely out of the building by the end of the first week of February.

Store Manager Rickey Little said he is shuttering his Forest Park shop because he could not agree to terms with the landlord for the property.

On Friday, the store at 3916 Clairmont Ave. S. sold all its meat, produce and grocery items for 50 percent off.

Little -- full name V. Richard Little Jr. -- opened the store after owning several smaller stores in Wisconsin, and it has been part of Birmingham's Forest Park neighborhood for more than a decade. His son, V. Richard Little III, bought the store from him.

Little III, who goes by Rickey, said he will make another attempt at food entrepreneurship in the near future, although the next effort will be "totally different" from the Forest Park grocery store of today. His next business will be located in Birmingham, he told AL.com Friday, and will include a focus on food and wine.

"I'm sad, obviously, for the neighborhood, the customers and the employees, but I'm excited to do something else," Little said. "I love this neighborhood."

Little said everything in the store is on sale, including the art and fixtures. The alcohol is still full-price.

Caroline Bolvig, 53, rushed to V. Richard's on Friday as soon as she saw on the store's Facebook page that it was closing. It's the only place in town she can buy Peppadew Sweet Piquant Peppers - so she bought six.

"It's just nice to have a local specialty grocery store," Bolvig said. "The Pig is great, but it just doesn't carry what V. Richards does."

This story was updated at 4:40 p.m. following additional interviews.