RICHMOND, VA — Ellwood Thompson’s is celebrating its 30th birthday today.
The beloved local grocer opened in 1989 as “City Market,” a 3,000 square foot community market near Patterson and Libbie Avenue. Rick Hood and Eric Walters’ market grew quickly and just four short years later, they moved to their current location in Carytown. Some people rumor that the store is named after an actual person, and that’s almost true. An employee’s 12-year-old daughter saw the street signs outside of the store — Ellwood Avenue and Thompson Street — and was intriuged because it sounded like a person’s name. She suggested the name and owner Rick Hood loved it.
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While the Maryland based sister-store, Dawson’s Market, closed down in Fall 2018 due to under-performance, Ellwood Thompson’s has been expanding. In 2015, owner Rick Hood purchased the round office building at Floyd Avenue and Thompson Street which now serves as the company’s headquarters, just a block up the road. The store is still deciding how they’d like to make use of the former Burger Bach Building that they acquired last year.
Today’s birthday celebration goes from 10:00AM until 2:00PM with live music, raffles, yard games and free vegan cupcakes for the first one hundred people.
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