HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY) — Talk about a supermarket sweep.
On Wednesday, Supervalu Inc., which owns Virginia Beach-based Farm Fresh, announced it’s selling 21 of its 38 Farm Fresh locations for $43 million.
10 of the stores were purchased by Kroger Mid-Atlantic and eight by Kroger’s Harris Teeter brand. Three other locations will be converted into Food Lions.
Supervalu says it’s working to make sure current Farm Fresh employees receive support in the transition, adding that it’s planning to offer severance pay for eligible employees. The company expects current employees to be offered positions at the new stores. Prescriptions at 17 Farm Fresh pharmacies will be be transferred to other pharmacies in the area — ten to Rite Aid and four to CVS Pharmacy. The company says customers at those locations will receive detailed information on the change in the next 7-10 days.
“We are thankful for the tremendous service our employees have delivered at Farm Fresh through the years, and are grateful for the opportunities we’ve had to share in the lives and special events of our customers and employees across the Hampton Roads, Richmond, Williamsburg, and Elizabeth City communities,” said Anne Dament, Supervalu’s executive vice president for retail, marketing and private brands.
Eight Farm Fresh locations will turn into Kroger stores:
- 1401 North Main Street, Suffolk
- 2190 Coliseum Drive, Hampton
- 309 South Battlefield Boulevard, Chesapeake
- 6500-C George Washington Memorial Highway, Gafton (York County)
- 1464 Mt. Pleasant Road, Chesapeake
- 1282 Smithfield Plaza, Smithfield
- 230 East Little Creek Road, Norfolk
- 7254 George Washington Highway, Hayes (Gloucester County)
Kroger Mid-Atlantic said it will invest more than $30 million to renovate the stores and convert them to Krogers, bringing the total number of Kroger locations in Hampton Roads to 18.
10 Farm Fresh locations will be transitioned into Harris Teeters:
- 2110 Great Neck Shopping Center, Virginia Beach
- 227 Fox Hill Rd, A01, Hampton
- 4511 John Tyler Highway, Williamsburg
- 3675 Bridge Road, Suffolk
- 1400 Kempsville Road, Suite 109, Chesapeake
- 179 West Ocean View Avenue, Norfolk
- 521 Laskin Road, Virginia Beach
- 1069 Independence Boulevard, Virginia Beach
- 730 W 21st Street, Norfolk
- 2129 General Booth Boulevard, Virginia Beach
Three others will be Food Lions:
- 1615 General Booth Boulevard, Virginia Beach
- 683 Hughes Boulevard, Elizabeth City
- 608 East Mercury Boulevard, Hampton
Supervalu says it’s considering selling the remaining 17 Farm Fresh locations to Farm Fresh employees and its wholesale customers.
Jeff Swanson with Supervalu issued the following statement on the sale:
We gave store employees a 60-day notice as required under WARN. For stores not sold as part of the three transactions we announced this week, it’s important to note that we are continuing discussions and exploring potential transactions to current and prospective SUPERVALU wholesale customers and interested Farm Fresh employees.
Farm Fresh, once a giant in the grocery store market in Hampton Roads, fell on hard times in the past two decades. The company filed for bankruptcy in 1998 and had been treading water ever since, finding itself stuck between stores with lower prices and high-end grocery chains.
Two more of those higher-end locations, Wegmans and Publix, are coming to the Hampton Roads area in the coming years. A Wegmans is scheduled to open in Virginia Beach in 2019 near the intersection of Virginia Beach Boulevard and Independence Boulevard.
A Publix is set to take the vacant spot of a former Martin’s on Monticello Avenue in Williamsburg. The company hasn’t set a date for the store’s opening at this time. Another location recently opened in the Outer Banks.