Farm Fresh Food & Pharmacy is a

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...

chain with four independently owned stores, all of which are in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. At its peak, Farm Fresh called itself "Virginia's Grocery Store" because it had stores spanning the state. Its headquarters were located in

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

and its largest presence was in the surrounding

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

/Virginia Beach (

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

) metropolitan area. The company was a wholly owned subsidiary of

Eden Prairie, Minnesota Eden Prairie is a city southwest of downtown Minneapolis in Hennepin County and the 16th-largest city in the State of Minnesota, United States. As of the 2020 census, it has a population of 64,198. The city is adjacent to the north bank of th ...

-based SuperValu. On March 14, 2018, it was revealed that parent company, SuperValu, would be selling 21 stores to

Kroger The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company that operates (either directly or through its subsidiaries) supermarkets and multi-department stores throughout the United States. Founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cincin ...

(under

Mid-Atlantic and

Harris Teeter Harris Teeter Supermarkets, Inc., also known as Harris Teeter Neighborhood Food & Pharmacy, is an American supermarket chain based in Matthews, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte. , the chain operates 261 stores in seven South Atlantic states ...

) and

Ahold Delhaize Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize N.V. (in Dutch literally "Royal Ahold Delhaize"), commonly known as Ahold Delhaize, is a Dutch multinational retail and wholesaling company. Its name comes from a merger between Ahold (Dutch) and Delhaize Group (Belgia ...

(under

Food Lion Food Lion is an American regional grocery store chain headquartered in Salisbury, North Carolina, that operates over 1100 supermarkets in 10 states of the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States (Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, North ...

). Currently, three Farm Fresh stores remain in operation under different ownership. The owners of the store in Richmond announced in November 2021 that they were re-opening Farm Fresh #299 In Poquoson, Virginia and doors would open to customers by April 2022. This would bring the total to 4 stores, two owned by one owner and two by another owner.

History

Early years and growth

Farm Fresh was founded by David Furman in 1957. The name 'Farm Fresh' was chosen from entries submitted by local residents. Farm Fresh merged with competitor Giant Open Air Markets in 1986 and acquired its 26 full line grocery stores and 43 of its "Tinee Giant" convenience stores. After that merger, Farm Fresh added the arch in its logo that Giant Open Air used at its stores. Also, in the mid 1980s, Farm Fresh purchased Lou Smith Supermarkets, which had a strong presence on the

Virginia Peninsula The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, USA, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay. It is sometimes known as the ''Lower Peninsula'' to distinguish it from two other peninsulas to the ...

and Gloucester areas. Beginning in the early 1990s, Farm Fresh expanded into several new brands, including Food Carnival, Rack & Sack, and The Market. Rack & Sack was a bulk purchase style store similar to BJ's but no membership was required. The stores were like a warehouse and customers bagged their own items. The Market was a very high end store, beautifully designed interiors with an actual chef on duty daily preparing hot meals and specials. There were two locations, downtown Norfolk and Richmond, Va. Rack & Sack stores and Food Carnivals closed by 2003, while The Market closed in 2011.

Financial troubles and SuperValu acquisition

In 1997, Farm Fresh made local headlines due to financial problems, which led to filing of bankruptcy. In March 1998, Farm Fresh was purchased by Richfood Holdings, Inc., which also owned

Shoppers Food & Pharmacy Shoppers Food & Pharmacy, also known as Shoppers Food Warehouse, is a chain of 22 supermarkets located in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., metropolitan areas. Shoppers has fresh produce, Swift Angus beef, Smithfield natural pork, all-natural c ...

. The company would have closed but the purchase by Richfood (Farm Fresh's biggest vendor) kept the company alive. In August 1999, Richfood Holdings was purchased by SuperValu Inc. On November 4, 2009, longtime executive Gene Walters died at the age of 86. Farm Fresh president Ron Dennis retired and was replaced by Gaelo de la Fuente, vice president of retail operations support for SuperValu Inc., as of March 10, 2010. On September 11, 2012, Gaelo de la Fuente retired as President "to pursue other interests". Bill Parker, senior vice president of merchandising for Farm Fresh, took over as interim president as of September 15, 2012, and was promoted to President on March 4, 2013. Only a couple of months in his new position Bill Parker also left, "pursuing other interest." In August 2013, Micky Nye, Vice President of

, entered the position becoming the first female president of Farm Fresh. Since then Supervalu, parent company to Farm Fresh, has created a secondary company titled "Retail East" which has removed much of the Farm Fresh upper level management. Micky Nye has taken the position of Regional VP of Operations within this company leaving no president in Farm Fresh. Marc "Theo" Theophelakes, Vice President of Farm Fresh, has taken a position in Supervalu, Senior Director of Operations, based out of Eden Prairie, MN. The company that has boasted being run locally and enveloped itself in community affairs is no longer run by individuals with local ties to those communities. These shifts in leadership, leaving a void in upper level management, coupled with the recent news articles has shaken the company to its core. Many long time employees are being left in the dark about what Supervalu has in store for them. The recent exit of several executives along with other essential personnel from the Farm Fresh corporate office and a hiring freeze of an unknown timeframe continues to frustrate the employees hoping for a better tomorrow.

Recent developments

On March 14, 2018, SuperValu Inc. announced they are selling 21 of its 38 Farm Fresh Food & Pharmacy stores to The Kroger Co. (under Kroger Mid-Atlantic and Harris Teeter) and Ahold Delhaize (under Food Lion) for $43 million in cash. The deals closed on May 4, 2018. On May 14, 2018; two of the remaining locations in Newport News and Virginia Beach were sold to an independent grocer named Chris Lee, who announced plans to keep the Farm Fresh name and other items (including the grocery chain's popular fried chicken) as is. Similarly, a location in the

Shockoe Bottom Shockoe Bottom (also known historically as Shockoe Valley) is an area in Richmond, Virginia, just east of downtown, along the James River. Located between Shockoe Hill and Church Hill, Shockoe Bottom contains much of the land included in Colone ...

section of

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

was sold to Charlottesville-based Neighborhood Grocery Holdings LLC; which also announced plans to keep the store operating as a Farm Fresh; while SuperValu would be retained as a supplier. Meanwhile, in August Kumar Bhavanasi, president of New Jersey IT company First Tek, purchased two stores, in

Norge, Virginia Norge is an unincorporated community in James City County, Virginia, United States. Location Norge is located on the old Richmond-Williamsburg Stage Road, which is U.S. Route 60 in modern times. Interstate 64 was built through the area in the 1970 ...

and

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

on Diamond Springs Rd; also planning to retain the Farm Fresh name in those stores. Recently, the Farm Fresh store in

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...

which was store #664, began displaying signs that it could reopen as soon as November 2, 2018. That store was rebuilt and reopened in under 10 days, with workers putting in as much as 12-hour days to restore the fixtures and interior that had been partially ripped out when the closure of the store happened. Chris Lee began the process to buy store #664 which halted further work dismantling it. After much anticipation, the Portsmouth store reopened with heavy media coverage and shoppers actually dancing outside with excitement. A new Farm Fresh website and Facebook page was launched, by local Virginia Beach Agenc
Bryant Digital
to represent the three stores Lee owns: Portsmouth, Virginia Beach (Chimney Hill) and Newport News, near the airport. In September 2019, it was announced the Norge location would close, citing increased competition which left only 4 stores: Richmond, Newport News, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach. The Virginia Beach Store closed on March 6, 2020. In April 2022, the Poquoson location reopened under new ownership.

References

https://www.wavy.com/news/business/last-farm-fresh-in-virginia-beach-closes-leaving-only-one-store-on-the-southside/amp/

External links

Corporate website for the stores in Portsmouth and Newport NewsCorporate website for the Richmond store
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farm Fresh Food and Pharmacy 1957 establishments in Virginia Companies based in Virginia Retail companies established in 1957 Supermarkets of the United States SuperValu (United States) Retail companies disestablished in 2018 Agriculture companies established in 1957 Agriculture companies disestablished in 2018 Pharmaceutical companies established in 1957 Pharmaceutical companies disestablished in 2018 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1997 Defunct agriculture companies of the United States Defunct pharmaceutical companies of the United States Defunct supermarkets of the United States