THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 26, 1995 TAG: 9510240169
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 05 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT McCASKEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines
The recent flip-flopping of Ghent's Farm Fresh locations has pleased some patrons while confusing and angering others.
And more moves are coming.
The store on Colonial Avenue was closed Oct. 8. The community's original Farm Fresh on 21st Street was reopened the following day, after being vacant for 2 1/2 years.
In addition, Gene Walters' Marketplace, also on 21st Street and owned by Farm Fresh, is scheduled to be renovated after Christmas, during which time the Colonial Avenue site will be reopened as the Marketplace. After renovations are completed, sometime in the spring, the original Marketplace will be reopened and the Colonial Avenue store closed.
Many shoppers welcomed the closing of the Colonial Avenue location and the reopening of the 21st Street site. For others, the move was a minor inconvenience. But for one group, the shuffling has made shopping problematic.
``I went to the store on Colonial Avenue, but I always liked the 21st Street location better - it's more accessible,'' said Patrisha Thomas, who lives off Tidewater Drive. ``Now that they're open again, hopefully they'll stay here.''
Ghent resident Christine Charlton used to walk to the Colonial Avenue site. After it closed, she started driving to 21st Street.
``I've always shopped at Farm Fresh, but this new store is kind of a production,'' Charlton said. ``It's not as easy or convenient as the other store.''
But for some elderly and handicapped residents of the John Knox Towers, the change has altered their lives. The federally subsidized high-rise is adjacent to the former Colonial Avenue location. The walk-to proximity was important to the residents, many of whom now find shopping difficult.
``I had thought of writing a letter to the store owners to let them know what a hurtful thing they've done,'' Knox Towers resident Sara Schapiro said. ``A lot of people moved here because of the location next to the supermarket. Most people here don't have cars, and it's going to be hard for them to get their groceries.''
For Dorothy Copley, confined to a wheelchair, the store offered an escape.
``I could get out of my apartment and go over there and see people,'' Copley said. ``I felt like I'd been smacked in my good teeth when I heard they'd closed. . . . No one there even told me, and I'd been shopping there for years.''
The closings and relocations are business decisions, said Michael Julian, Farm Fresh's chairman and chief executive officer. The plan is to operate only two of the three stores and to provide a better and larger facility at the 21st Street location. The 2 1/2-year delay was due to protracted lease negotiations between the three sites.
To compensate Knox Towers dwellers for the loss, Farm Fresh is providing free daily van rides to the 21st Street store and Gene Walters' Marketplace at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. For those bound to their apartments, or in wheelchairs and unable to ride on the vans, the company is providing free delivery and hoping to purchase a wheelchair-friendly vehicle in the near future.
``The residents were concerned about us moving but seem to be satisfied with the services,'' said Jim Jansen, Farm Fresh's director of marketing.
Schapiro said the services are fine and that she is looking forward to the Colonial Avenue store reopening. But she is concerned that it is just a short-term reprieve.
``Rumors have been flying - we're pleased to have it back for a while, but it's only a temporary deal,'' Schapiro said. ``We'll be back in the same boat eventually.''
Knox Towers residents said they hope another grocery store will be opened in the Colonial Avenue site after it closes. But Farm Fresh holds a lease on the property, and a new supermarket doesn't look to be on the table.
``We're going to put something suitable on the property,'' Jansen said, ``but I think it's safe to say another grocery store won't be going in there.''
Company officials expect the remodeled 21st Street Farm Fresh to draw shoppers from Ghent, downtown and other nearby neighborhoods. The store looks similar to the original Farm Fresh there but with some differences. The 40,000-square-foot site has new windows, improved lighting and a noticeably brighter interior. A buffet-style restaurant will open in the building's west wing sometime around Christmas.
For some Ghent residents, safety concerns from the old 21st Street Farm Fresh still linger. Martha Poindexter was a loyal customer at the Colonial Avenue site but has reservations about going to the remodeled location.
``I was always concerned about safety at the store on 21st Street,'' Poindexter said. ``I still think there could be an element of danger.''
Julian anticipates no security problems at the new site.
``We have the same amount of security in place here as at Gene Walters','' Julian said. ``And there is longstanding feeling of customer satisfaction and security there.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff map
by CNB