It hit me today. I'm going to miss Ukrop's. For those of you not from the Richmond-area... Ukrop's is something of an institution here. It probably ranks right up there with my mom's stories of Miller and Rhodes. People look at you funny if you've never been to Ukrop's. It's probably one of the last family run local grocery stores. So when they announced they were going to sell to another company a few months ago you can imagine the outcry. Some people were upset, some people were angry and some people were straight up hating on Ukrop's. I was sad, another local store gone but okay with it. Ukrop's and two other grocery stores are within minutes of my house. I would live.
But today it hit me. I stopped by after work because I need milk (and not because it's going to snow but for the sheer fact I drink a ton of milk - we're talking at least 2 gallons a week)... anyway, so I ran to Ukrop's. I figured I'd stock up on some good lunch meat, a Ukrop's pizza (I got the last one), and some of their fried chicken (I'm not a huge fried chicken person but theirs is amazing). Walking in the store I got a little sad. I'm going to be my mom one day telling my children about the days when we would go to Ukrop's and get dinner or the bakery lady who always gave away free rainbow cookies. I'm not sure when the sale is final and I'm a little rushed on time right now so I'm not googling it, but I'm always sad when something you know and love is changing.
I'm sure the new store will be nice and they claim they are going to try to keep a lot of things the same but you have to think that they want to make their mark on the Richmond market too. So I'm sure eventually things will change and people will start talking about the good old days when the Ukrop's guy would take your bags to your car.
So this post is for Ukrop's. I'm sorry for all the haters - who claim service is going down, things aren't the same, that you're over-priced (I haven't found this to be the case), etc. I'm sorry you're leaving - you'll be missed. But I'm also sorry for myself because I'm going to miss you. I may not have been the most loyal shopper (I shop on convenience and whichever of the three grocery stores is closest to where I am usually wins) but I always came back. And years from now I'm pretty sure I'm going to be telling my kids about going to Ukrop's the same way my mom talks about the tea room at Miller and Rhodes.
I know!! This made me sad! I don't do my regular shopping at Ukrops, but I do my special bakery and when I want a take out dinner. Although, I did hear they're keeping the bakery open. To be a separate store. I really didn't know what I was going to do without the frosting I love! I wish something more gourmet was coming in. (I think this company owns Giant, so it's no different than Kroger, Food Lion, etc.) We'll see. But regardless, I am going to miss them too!
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