Alexandria and the rest of the region may be losing its Shoppers grocery stores.
Shoppers grocery stores are owned by United Natural Foods, and that company has decided to get out of the retail grocery store business, according to reports. That means some Shoppers stores in the D.C. metro area may be closing — but whether and when is to be determined.
A statement received from UNFI said: "What we previously communicated was that UNFI plans to thoughtfully and economically divest its retail operations and the company is making progress on that front. As this is an ongoing and fluid process, we don’t have any specific updates or timing to share. When there is something to communicate we will do so. But, most importantly, we want to be clear that UNFI has not announced any plans for store closures."
Washington Business Journal first reported the news that Shoppers planned to close, saying that UNFI is working to sell store locations to other grocery store companies. Some Shoppers locations have already turned into Giant food stores, according to WBJ.
Here in the Alexandria area, there are three Shoppers – one at Potomac Yard, one in the Hybla Valley area and a third in Franconia.
There’s no word yet on the fate of those specific stores or a timeline. There is also a Shoppers at Seven Corners.
Shoppers began in 1949 as Jumbo Food Stores. According to its website, "Shoppers offers a full service supermarket with everything consumers have come to expect from a grocer while never forgetting our 'Everyday Low Warehouse Pricing' roots."
The grocery store is credited with many innovations common in supermarkets today, including selling produce the pound.
United Natural Foods acquired Shoppers in 2018 primary for the chain's wholesale operations and started closing retail stores shortly after its acquisition.
Shoppers food stores are located in the following areas of Alexandria (map from Shoppers.com):
Shoppers
