New Midlothian store latest shot in RVA’s grocery wars

MIDLOTHIAN — From the lines wrapped around the building at 6:30 Sunday morning, and the parking lot of the Stonehenge Village Shopping Center full to capacity, with some having been camped out since 8 p.m. Saturday, you might be forgiven for thinking Black Friday sales had come early this year, rather than the opening of a new grocery store.

An estimated 24,000 people came out Sunday for the opening of the Midlothian Wegmans, and with healthy crowds continuing over the week, it looks like Wegmans entry into the already crowded local grocery market will be a competitive one indeed.

The 115,000-square-foot Wegmans in Midlothian will sell more than 60,000 products and employ 550 people once fully staffed, and will include a full-service restaurant and a 250-seat Market Cafe.

In spite of the overwhelming crowds, the store ran smoothly throughout the day. Customers wandered the aisles offering everything from local craft beer to imported candy bars, snacked on samples of wines and cheeses served throughout the store, and swarmed the seafood section to watch a freshly caught swordfish being chopped into steaks for sale.

That these amusement store-style festivities - complete with crowds to match — aren’t just part of the grand opening, but expected to become a part of the everyday routine at Wegmans, highlights that a very different grocery store has entered the fast-growing and very competitive local marketplace.

Central Virginia has had one of the most competitive grocery store markets ever since local staple Ukrop’s Super Markets closed in 2010 after operating in the region for 73 years, with the chain ranked No. 1 in local grocery market share from 1986 to 2009. The Ukrops chain was sold in 2010 to Dutch supermarket conglomerate Royal Ahold NV, which converted the stores to Martin’s, a move that has left many longtime Ukrops customers unsatisfied, and Martin’s local market share shrinking every year since.

Ever since then, with the local expansion of national chains like Kroger and Aldi, and others like Publix eyeing entry, the region has had one of the most competitive market shares in the country for grocery stores. That level of competition is what drew Wegmans to Richmond, according to Wegmans CEO Danny Wegman, providing that local touch that has been missing in the area since the closure of Ukrops.

“We were very good friends with the Ukrops, and so we never wanted to come in and compete with them at all,” said Wegman. “So when their situation changed, then we said, ‘Well, we ought to come to Richmond.’ We always loved the Ukrops because they were a family business, and we’re a family business too, and we think that that makes a difference.”

Wegmans reputation precedes it - the grocery chain has been recognized as one of the best in the nation, according to surveys of both consumers who praise its customer service and products, and in employee satisfaction. One highlight of this is that several employees and managers at the Midlothian Wegmans are former Ukrop's employees.

Time will tell if Wegmans can fill the void left by Ukrops. If the crowds of shoppers are any indication, they’re already well on their way to creating a local reputation of their own.

The Midlothian store will be the eighth Wegmans in Virginia, with a ninth opening in Short Pump on Aug. 7. The Rochester, NY based chain also operates stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Massachusetts, and is already scouting for possible additional area locations.