An Ode to Ukrop’s
Phil Riggan and his blog Richmond on the James pens a thought provoking post on what he feels the Ukrop’s buy out means to Richmond. I have whined more than once about Ukrop’s being closed on Sunday and the lack of beer but as he points out I think the positives outweigh the negatives. Also something to think about there is at least one local H&H business directly affected by this change. Blanchard’s Coffee currently sells their freshly roasted bean at Ukrop’s as of this posting no agreement has been reached with Giant. We will keep you posted on this development. I will highlight from his post my biggest concern with Ukrop’s leaving.
Ukrop’s sponsors so many Richmond events, like the Monument Avenue 10K, the Easter and Christmas parades and the Richmond Folk Festival. Ukrop’s brought us the Richmond Kickers and has propped up the (very successful) soccer club for years.
Don’t like those events? You must be tough to please. I-95 North.
We won’t likely find a company that is so out-going and generous in its promotional efforts to replace Ukrop’s. At least not one singular entity.
It is more than passing bothersome that one of the first acts of this new chain was to ban the girl scouts and their cookies form the stores.
While they quickly back pedaled in the face of negative public reaction, the action does indicate a certain negative mindset that bodes ill for organizations like the SPCA that depend so heavily on Ukrop’s generously.
I suspect we’re going to find the price we pay just to have another place to buy beer on Sunday’s a very steep one as far as community involvement goes.
P.S. Check out the signs on the front of some stores banning photographs and videotaping. While this was also the policy at Ukrop’s they never felt the need to get in your face about it…. hummmmm.
It might be useful to keep in mind that Ukrop’s was really just a go-between of sorts, charging consumers a little extra for products, and benefiting from the deduction for it’s charitable contributions.
The public is free to garner those tax deductions for themselves by ‘cutting out the middle man’ and donating directly to charity those $$ saved on their groceries when they shop elsewhere.
Stuffa should stuff it.
The real story is we had something most cities don’t have,a major grocery business that was not part of a national conglomerate.People got spoiled by that.The no vending policies etc are common with large national chains who prefer to do charitable work on a national level rather than show favoritism to any particular local entities.It is likely most of the activities and sponsorships by Ukrop’s will not be taken over by Martin’s.That is one change among several both good and bad that will come with the change as Richmond joins most localities who do not have large locally based retail businesses.
Oh please, it’s a for profit supermarket chain. And you forget that Richmond barely qualifies as a city (population-wise): that comparison is hardly appropriate.
The Ukrop family is who you should be upset with: they are the ones who sold out, right? Within just a couple of generations, too. If they were that committed to the community they would have found a local buyer, even if it meant splitting the company up into a few pieces or not making the same profit on the sale…
Stuffa sez [#]
“Oh please, it’s a for profit supermarket chain.”
Sure it is, as was Ukrop’s. But you’re missing the BIG picture here.
Many of us in Richmond like myself would actually drive past other stores like Food Lion and Wally World in order to shop at Ukrop’s.
The REASON we did that is because of their commitment and their service to the community.
Maybe people in the South are suckers, but it’s a fact that they care more about their communities than their more self-absorbed Northern cousins( or in my case, aunts and uncles).
So even though MARTIN’S® Food Markets is a pure bottom line company as you say, it might not be to their best financial interest to completely ignore the needs of the community that they’re serving.
Using myself as an example, I will shop at MARTIN’S® Food Markets but I’m no longer going to drive past that Food Lion to do so.
I’ll either have to be in the neighborhood anyway, or they’ll have to have the goods I need cheaper (not likely in THIS neighborhood with Wally World just around the corner and Food Lion right next door).
Even a pure “for profit” company can take it too far and end up cutting off their nose to spite their face.
We saw that with MARTIN’S® Food Markets when they banned the girl scouts and their thin mints from their stores.
Just plain stupid. Did these kids cut into their own cookie sales THAT much? Not hardly.
All that negative PR just to increase the bottom line by a couple of bucks.
.
My friends and family from Ohio who made a stop or two at Ukrops part of any visit to Richmond were sad to hear of the sale. They live in an area where the grocery stores are foreign-owned, expensive, and often grubby. I will miss Ukrops, but I think as several have mentioned, the local causes and events sponsored by Ukrops may miss them more.
As an aside, I am already noticing changes. For example, Full Circle milk is no longer carried at the store. And, I’ve noticed several items “clearance priced” probably never to be seen in Richmond again.
Well, at least Food Lion is a Southern chain.
Yeah, Ukrop’s has been sold out of 1% and 2% organic milk (all brands) for like 2 weeks now. C’mon, Martin’s. This is a staple, keep it stocked.
I’ve noticed the changes too and it’s sad.
Among the things I’ve seen.
Lights burned out on the outdoor signage at Stoney Point.
Empty soup bars, dirty counters, empty fruit bins and marginal rest rooms and empty sanitizer containers at one store I won’t name.
Cutback in prepared food staff at Chesterfield Courthouse ( one poor woman covering the whole thing while customers lined up for chicken and pizza and sandwiches).
Staff members openly at odds with each other at several stores.
A manager at one Ukrop’s overheard complaining to an associate about the near empty store at 7pm, saying the only time they get business these days is when it snows.
It’s a very odd and depressing scene, more like the last days of Circuit City than simply a store in transition to another owner. Very strange.
“Maybe people in the South are suckers, but it’s a fact that they care more about their communities than their more self-absorbed Northern cousins( or in my case, aunts and uncles).”
Interesting, if wildly inaccurate perspective. Massive Resistance anyone? Southerners have a long illustrious history of cutting off their noses to spite their face.
Cheer up,everyone, maybe the Ukrop’s will eschew pocketing the cash from the sale and instead endow a foundation to fund/sponsor community oriented programs.
I for one never saw them as so very community oriented, unless of course one inserted the unspoken but implied descriptor: WHITE community oriented.
Cities evolve. Maybe Richmond will take a step forward now instead of looking to the past.
I’m a newcomer, having moved to Richmond in 1982 from Tidewater. There’s simply never been a day when I did not appreciate having Ukrops as our grocer of choice. I also have had the occasion to know both Ukrops brothers. The implication of racism above is simply despicable. My market of choice will still remain the South of the James Market, opening May 1st, but I will miss the commitment and community involvement of the Ukrops family, and I appreciate that I will still be able to buy their prepared foods at Ahold/Giant/Martin’s.
Stuffa sez
“Cities evolve. Maybe Richmond will take a step forward now instead of looking to the past.”
And Richmond certainly needs to move forward in many ways, as does every other city, North and South.
But the question becomes how do you define “moving forward”. What do you use as your model?
You’ll find that folks who use that term just throw it out and never have any clear concept of what it means.
In this case, for example, the author is defining replacing a food chain known for it’s community service with one that is only concerned about the bottom line as “moving forward”.
Maybe it’s just me, but all other things being equal, I don’t how any rational person can call replacing a store that allows innocent little girl scouts to sell their cookies on store property with one that tells them to “hit the road” as “moving forward”.
Innocent little girl scouts? I guess you just ignore the aggressive, overzealous parents hawking the cookies and ‘earning’ those badges for their little princesses, LOL.
It’s good for kids to learn that they can’t always do whatever they want, to learn to cope with a little ‘adversity’. Builds character. Helps kids move forward towards maturity. Finding out that a big business can call the shots is a good learning experience for the youngsters.
Moving forward in this case means not living in the past. Given the arsenal of jokes about Richmonders’ propensity for revering the past, it will be an up hill slog for many natives.
Stuffa, I’m not really sure whether you have a problem with Richmond or if you’re just trying to be antagonistic for the sake of antagonism. Between your implication of racism and your putdown of Richmond as “barely a real city,” it’s tough to tell.
Where on earth do you think you live, Hoboken? This may not be Los Angeles, but I can assure you that this doesn’t qualify as the sticks. According to your opinion the only “real city” in Virginia must be Virginia Beach, because every other city (including Norfolk, Chesapeake, Arlington, Richmond) have roughly half the population. Of course, if you’re so familiar with the state in which you live, you might try and bear in mind that that every other state in the country uses consolidated city-counties, which tends to prop their numbers up quite a bit. The Richmond Metro Area, has a population of about 1.2 million, which isn’t by any means insignificant.
Also, seriously? White community-oriented? So without argument or justification, you start off with a divisive statement. Was their involvement with the Community Pride chain racist and purely profit-motivated as well?
Look, I’m never for mindless kowtowing to local business simply because it’s local. That’s a bad attitude and it can lead to a lot of bad things (nepotism, redundancy, anti-competitiveness), but you clearly have chosen to take the polar opposite and I’m not quite sure why.
Yes, Ukrop’s like any business was motivated to pursue charity for tax breaks, but they did do quite a lot for local merchants that wasn’t necessary. They maintained community involvement and sponsored local events regularly, which are things you likely won’t see with the national chains.
Moving from a moderately-sized metro chain to a national conglomerate isn’t going to help Richmond “move forward” anymore than anything else. Do you consider all local business to be so outmoded, or is it just the ones you don’t like? Having yet another huge chain that isn’t all that interested in our community isn’t going to make anything better, unless you as a consumer cheer “great! Now we can be just like Fairfax!” when you hear of it.
No antagonism here, just unvarnished facts.
I was referring to the fact that Richmond’s population hovers around 250k. Not so long ago it was in danger of losing it’s ‘city’ status due to a population drop to below 250K. So, in other words, it isn’t my opinion, but fact that Richmond barely qualifies as a city.
And please remember that Ukrops did not exactly jump to open stores in lower income or minority neighborhoods. Inner city neighborhoods are notoriously underserved by supermarkets. Pent up demand that was ignored. Just ask us folk who live in Woodland Heights and have to drive 5 miles to the nearest Ukrops, which happens to be located about one mile from the county line and two miles from, you guessed it, another Ukrops.
Or look at the fact that they closed the VCU store (really the only ‘downtown’ store): shortly afterward Kroger opened around the corner and appears to be thriving, BTW. So yes, it is a statement of fact that they were more white suburban community oriented.
The majority of their stores are in the counties, and the city locations are near county lines. Same with corporate offices. More facts.
Community Pride was left in the lurch by Ukrops. And ask the owner of Good Foods grocery how he really feels about Ukrops.
So while I’m sure that many Richmonders have pleasant memories of Ukrops, I choose to maintain a little perspective on the situation, and to move forward.
Here, this might help illustrate a point:
http://ukrops.gsnrecipes.com/StoreLocator.aspx
Please note the conspicuous absence of stores within the city limits.
In danger of losing its city status? When? According to whose standards? The definition of a city is a matter of state law, and in Virginia the smallest independent city has about 3,700 people, so I can’t imagine that it would be in any danger of losing its official status as a city according to state law. The U.S. Census Bureau lists the incorporated places in the U.S. with a population of 100,000 or more, and in the 2008 list Richmond is ranked at 105. Bearing in mind that there are about 19,000 cities in the entire country, this is a pretty good indication that Richmond is doing just fine. Of course, all this means that you are referring to opinion, not fact. I wouldn’t be surprised if you got this from some op/ed piece somewhere–this practically shouts the myopic view that a lot of people from larger metro centers have, that anything smaller than where they’re from isn’t a “real city.”
Also, the argument that not opening stores in inner city neighborhoods is tantamount to racism does not hold up. Anecdotal evidence of “pent up demand” is meaningless and does not account for actual cost-benefit of placing a location in such neighborhoods. Did you ever consider that the demand you tout might not have been as high as you think? It is not good business to open up a location in a struggling area when it comes at the cost of doing business.The VCU store never did particularly well for the area’s demands, either. That was an old Community Pride (that also did quite poorly) that was renovated and recrested. Of course, it was hampered by the fact that it was a much smaller location and had an awkward and sometimes dangerous parking lot. Kroger did very well with its large parking and easy-to-access parking lot, much larger location and stock, availability of alcohol, and longer hours.
These “unvarnished facts” you talk about don’t really mean much, although you’re reading a great deal into them. More of the stores happen to be located in suburban areas which happen to have a higher concentration of white people than in the inner city. And yet this is not representative of some form of institutionalized racism, but rather reflects where the commercial hotspots more frequently are. Last time I checked, there weren’t many Starbucks or Best Buys or Sam Goodys or Barnes & Noble stores in inner city areas, either. Yet you aren’t going after them, and you’re also not going after the Kroger folks even though the vast majority of their stores are in Henrico, Chesterfield, and Hanover–not, once again, inner city Richmond.
How did Community Pride get “left in the lurch” by Ukrop’s? Johnny Johnson blamed his business problems on Supervalu (who he also sued), not Ukrop’s. Not to mention the fact that CP in its heyday also sported three suburban locations.
Way to go on throwing me a link to a website anyone could have found, just to drill an already tired argument into the ground. Funny thing is, if you do it with Kroger, the results aren’t much better. Is Kroger pandering to the white establishment? I sense a headline!
Enjoy your heavily skewed perspective, there–I can’t wait to see how many of the national chains choose to place retail parks in those inner city areas you’re so keen on.
So, what exactly do you consider a “struggling area”? Struggling in what way, and why?
There was a lot of press (not opinion, mind you) given to Richmond’s population slump back in the 90′s, and whether or not it could still be considered a “city”. I guessed you missed that kerfuffle. It was taken very seriously by city officials who were looking down the barrel at reduced federal funding and grant opportunities.
I’m merely stating facts about Ukrops that some have chosen to ignore or gloss over: this is about them after all, and not about Starbucks, Barnes & Noble, Kroger or any other business, for the simple fact that they are not the ones being glorified for their community involvement.
I don’t think that Kroger staked it’s reputation in Richmond on how much it euphemistically “supports” the community. They opened a store (VCU) where Ukrops wouldn’t, and they use a business model that keeps them alive and well. Kroger employs and serves a lot of inner city residents who can walk or take public transportation to that location. THAT kind of community involvement goes a long way toward making a city livable.
If the unvarnished facts that I’m putting forward don’t add up to much it comes as no surprise to me: they merely represent the flip side to the Ukrops legacy.
BTW, to term neighborhoods like Westover Hills, Woodland Heights and half of the Fan and a chunk of Church Hill, Bellevue and Ginter Park (many suburbanites would consider these neighborhoods too expensive)as “struggling areas” indicates to me that the myopia is not mine. LOL
Lighten up. Move forward.
To be fair to Stuffa, he might actually have some good points.
The problem is that he relies on tired old clichés to advance his arguments and never offers much of substance in terms of discussion beyond the clichés.
Example, it’s always been a point of controversy that Ukrop’s had no stores in the black communities but to focus on that alone does not tell the whole story.
Before we accuse the Ukrop’s family of racism, we should also consider the opportunities to make a better life they have provided to ALL citizens of the area through their employment, management training, scholarship, and community service programs.
It’s fair to say they did a FAR greater service with those programs than opening a couple of token stores in low income areas would ever have done.
They gave people a real future and not just a place to buy a loaf for bread.
This is where the tired old clichés fall short.
They try to take one thin slice that may or may not at some point had a grain of truth to it and try and make you think it’s the whole pie.
And unless you swallow it, you’re not “moving forward”.
Love the use of the word “token”! And the use of euphemistic terms like “low income”, “struggling areas”. What’s next: “Urban”? “Underprivileged”? Aren’t these terms a little, well, cliched?
It’s funny how some will latch on to one thin little element in my opinion and distort it beyond recognition.
The point that you continue to MISS is the fact that Ukrops left the actual City of Richmond under served in substantive ways, and instead focused on the suburbs (thereby reinforcing and rewarding white flight and sprawl)and then lobbed a few crumbs back to the City and called it community service. This is, as I stated previously but I guessed you missed it, the flip side to the much vaunted Ukrops generosity.
Having a store where residents can buy basic food stuffs (like loaves of bread and not just junk food) without paying convenience store (AKA rip-off) prices, stores withing walking distance or a short bus ride, stores that could actually *employ* neighborhood residents, these are, again, amenities that make cities livable.
White myopia is alive and well in Richmond. Which must be why some can’t seem to grasp the notion that moving forward can be and usually is a very positive thing.
The alternative is stagnation or regression. Maybe that’s what you want?
Your moderator jumping in with a friendly reminder to keep the debate civil. Opinions and debate are good, trying to humiliate and belittle are bad. If anyone crosses the line I’ll address it directly until then carry on.
Here is something that so many locals seem to miss about downtown revitalization.
You need people living there. And staying there, and making a community for themselves.
Having basic amenities like real grocery stores is one big way to boost this process.
I personally think that Ukrops did the City a huge disservice by not having another supermarket or two closer to the middle of downtown. You don’t revitalize an inner city by compelling residents to shop in the suburbs. You do it by actually being there.
Did Ukrops boost plenty of local charities and events? Sure, no question. But they did it from the safe distance of suburbia. They didn’t make the REAL commitment.
Stuffa sez
“Having basic amenities like real grocery stores is one big way to boost this process.”
That’s true as far as it goes but why do you think it’s Ukrop’s and ONLY Ukrop’s responsibility to provide that store?
Look what I just found:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/02/24/taking-food-deserts
Oh, and I don’t think that it’s just Ukrop’s responsibility…that’s a false assumption and you continue to miss the point.
If Ukrop’s, as a local business, wants to talk the talk of community involvement, they should walk the walk by actually having stores in under served communities. They don’t.
So, I have not changed from my point of view that their reputation for giving back to the community is largely overrated.
Stuffa sez>
“If Ukrop’s, as a local business, wants to talk the talk of community involvement, they should walk the walk by actually having stores in under served communities. ”
This is where you miss the point.
The Ukrop brothers have never been the ones to “talk the talk of community involvement”.
In fact, they’ve downplayed it if anything.
It’s the people they’ve served so well that are singing their praises.
As far as the of lack inner city stores goes, that’s just a red herring used for years to divert attention from the overall positive contribution the Ukrop family has made to this community by folks who resented their influence in area political circles.
The bottom line is that from a business stand point Ukrop’s had no more responsibility to build inner-city stores than any other grocery chain.
From a “community service” stand-point, they had the same right and responsibility as you or me or any other individual to direct their support where they felt it would do the most good.
I’m not missing my point at all. Red herrings abound in this exchange but they’re not coming from me.
The suburban community that used much of the Golden Gift $$ for suburban schools, the involvement in the suburban programs, etc., etc. Those are the people that the Ukrops have served so well.
The “your just jealous” undertone of your defense is kind of funny.
The fact remains that so many area residents speak of “Richmond” when they mean “greater Richmond”, i.e. they include suburbia in to the equation.
I’m making an effort restrict my comments to what this business has done for the actual City, which is not as much, in my opinion, as many area residents think.
Unless you are prepared to compare apples to apples with me, then this discussion has outlived any semblance of usefulness it may have had.
But don’t take my word for it:
http://www.ukrops.com/AboutUs/PressReleases/8-19-09.asp