RICHMOND, Va. – At a meeting held Tuesday with store managers, at the White Oak location, MARTIN’S representatives discussed the closing dates for three local stores.
The impacted stores and closure dates include:
- 3330 South Crater Rd., Petersburg which closes on July 16
- 7324 Bell Creek Rd., Mechanicsville which closes on July 23
- 3000 Stony Point Rd., Richmond which closes on July 30
A total of 257 associates will be impacted, according to company representatives who said that all associates will be offered the opportunity to transfer to nearby stores.
The announcement of a pending sale for the grocery chain is expected to be done by mid-June, as ordered by the Federal Trade Commission. A year ago Delhaize and Ahold, the parent companies of grocery chains Food Lion and MARTIN’S respectively, merged into one company.
The FTC did not want one company to possess a larger than normal share of an area through a merger. The newly-formed company had to sell over 80 stores along the east coast, and the list included 19 local MARTIN’S stores.
The sale of the MARTIN’S properties follows a 2010 acquisition of Ukrop’s and was likely seen as a better sale option than area Food Lions in Richmond, which are typically smaller than MARTIN’S and few have pharmacy locations.
The stores Food World identified as “overlapping” include:
- 253 N. Washington Hwy Ashland, VA
- 12601 Jefferson Davis Hwy Chester, VA
- 6401 Centralia Rd. Chesterfield, VA
- 3107 Boulevard #15 Colonial Heights, VA
- 10150 Brook Rd Glen Allen, VA
- 9645 W. Broad Glen Allen, VA
- 10250 Staple Mill Rd Glen Allen, VA
- 13700 Hull Street Rd. Midlothian, VA
- 200 Charter Colony Pkwy Midlothian, VA
- 3522 W Cary St, Richmond, VA
- 10001 Hull St. Rd. Richmond, VA
- 3460 Pump Rd Richmond, VA
- 2250 John Rolfe Pkwy Richmond, VA
- 7045 Forest Hill Ave Richmond, VA
- 5700 Brook Rd Richmond, VA
- 7055 Three Chopt Richmond, VA
- 11361 Midlothian Tpke Richmond, VA
- 4591 South Laburnum Ave Richmond, VA
- 5201 Chippenham Crossing Ctr. Richmond, VA
- 1015 Richmond Ave. Staunton, VA
GIANT stores in Fredericksburg area have also been targeted for sale.
Since the news broke, dozens of frustrated workers have been anxious to know the real ramifications and have rallied to keep their jobs amid any sale. With nearly 4,000 full-time employees, Food Lion was ranked among the Top 10 local employers, according to a list compiled by the Richmond Times Dispatch. Martin’s was not on the list.
Publix announced plans in February 2016 to build the company’s first Central Virginia location, off Nuckols Road in Henrico. They are widely rumored to be the purchasers of MARTIN’S.
Publix officials have previously told CBS 6 that they “do not comment on potential locations, only those with a signed lease or when we close on a site.”
We will update as soon as new information is available.
