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Shoppers flock to closing Martin’s for wine, beer at 50% off

Posted at 11:46 PM, Jul 30, 2017
and last updated 2017-07-30 23:50:35-04

RICHMOND, Va. -- Shoppers flocked to the few Martin's grocery storesin Central Virginia that are offering deep discounts on wine and beer before they close their doors this week.

Shoppers were lined up outside the  Brook Road location before the store opened Sunday morning.

Shaneka Charles said customers were also lined up outside the store on Forest Hill Avenue.

"I was there around 4 a.m. in the morning," she wrote. "I got 12 bottles of wine."

Charles lamented the loss of her store, which is not being purchased by Publix.

Customers at the Forest Hill Avenue store on Sunday morning.

Customers at the Forest Hill Avenue store on Sunday morning.

The locations closing Wednesday, Aug. 2 will have wine at 50 percent off starting Sunday. Beer will be 50 percent off on those stores' last day of operation, Aug. 2.

Stores closing Wednesday: 

  • 12601 Jefferson Davis Highway in Chester
  •  200 Charter Colony Parkway in Midlothian
  • 7045 Forest Hill Avenue in Richmond
  • 5700 Brook Road in Richmond

Additionally, the Ashland store closing on Saturday, Aug. 5 will have wine at 50 percent off beginning Wednesday, Aug. 2. Beer will be at 50 percent off starting Friday, Aug. 4.

Store closing Saturday: 

  • 253 North Washington Highway in Ashland

When three Martin's locations closed earlier this month, there was a run on wine and beer.

Customers at the Brook Road store on Sunday morning.

Customers at the Brook Road store on Sunday morning.

Officials said the locations with fuel centers will remain open until the stores close. According to signage at the Charter Colony location, any remaining Fuel Perks will be honored at existing Martin’s and Giant locations through Sept. 30.

There are some Martin's stores outside of Richmond in Virginia that will remain open.

For example, there is a Giant store in Charlottesville (1900 Abbey Road, Charlottesville, VA 22911) and a Martin's location in Harrisonburg (2035 E Market St, Harrisonburg, VA 22801).

Company officials said customers can continue to use their Martin's Bonus Cards at those locations.

These latest locations closing are the final Martin's stores in Central Virginia that were not purchased by Publix.

The Florida-based grocer is in the process of renovating or redesigning ten former Martin's stores it purchased.

The flagship Publix store, which sits on land originally readied by Ukrop’s before the family-owned Richmond grocery stores were sold to grocer Martin's parent company, opened earlier this month at Nuckols Place in Glen Allen.

The first fully renovated former Martin's location, at The Shoppes at Crossridge at 10250 Staples Mill Road in Glen Allen, will reopen as a Publix at 7 a.m. Saturday.

Then the White Oak Village Publix,  at 4591 South Laburnum Avenue in eastern Henrico County, also a former Martin's location, will open Saturday, Aug. 5 at 7 a.m.

Get inside look at Richmond’s first Publix grocery store

Full list of Martin's stores sold to Publix:

  • Martin’s 3460 Pump Road Richmond
  • Martin’s 3522 West Cary Street Richmond
  • Martin’s 10250 Staples Mill Road Glen Allen (Opening July 29.)
  • Martin’s 2250 John Rolfe Parkway Richmond
  • Martin’s 10150 Brook Road Glen Allen
  • Martin’s 13700 Hull Street Road Midlothian
  • Martin’s 7035 Three Chopt Road Richmond
  • Martin’s 3107 Boulevard Suite 15 Colonial Heights
  • Martin’s 9645 West Broad Street Glen Allen
  • Martin’s 4591 South Laburnum Ave. Richmond (Opening Aug. 5)

Publix first announced plans in February of 2016 to build their flagship store on Nuckols Road in Glen Allen. Then news broke in July of 2016 that the chain was buying some of the Martin's locations, mainly in the West End.

In addition, the chain announced a 12th location in Mechanicsville, which will be built at Brandy Creek Commons on Mechanicsville Turnpike and Brandy Creek Road.

A Fredericksburg location is also slated for Cosner’s Corner along Route 1 and Spotsylvania Parkway.

Ukrop’s Pecan Pies at a MARTIN’s grocery store.

Ukrop’s Pecan Pies at a MARTIN’s grocery store.

Ukrop's Super Markets

The Ukrop family sold their 25 iconic grocery stores for $140 million in December of 2009 to Giant-Carlisle, a subsidiary of Royal Ahold.

Since then the Dutch supermarket giant has shuttered under-performing stores in the area.

Additionally, when news broke in 2015 that Royal Ahold was merging with Delhaize, Food Lion's parent company, federal regulators required the conglomerate divest some of its stores.

As a result, those companies opted to close their Central Virginia Martin's locations in favor of continuing to operate Food Lion stores across much of the Commonwealth. Food Lion stores have a large footprint in the southeast while Giant and Martin's stores were favored in the northeast.

One Ukrop's store, a specialty market concept in Richmond's Westhampton neighborhood, was not part of the Royal Ahold sale and remains open today. Two Ukrop's employees purchased Joe's Market, which was later renamed Libbie Market, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.

In the sale to Giant-Carlisle, the Ukrop family retained their grocery store's bakery plant and supplied their Ukrop's Homestyle Foods products, including their famous rainbow cookies, White House Rolls, decorated cakes, Ukrop’s branded sandwiches and more, to Martin's.

Since the sale and closure of the Martin's stores, Ukrop's Homestyle Foods was able to expand to additional stores.

The baked goods are now available at Kroger, Wegmans, Publix, Libbie Market and Hudson News at RIC Airport.

Will you check out the sales at Martin's before they close? Weigh in on the WTVR CBS 6 Facebook page.

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