Southern Season was signed on as the initial anchor of the Libbie Mill development.
Less than two years after opening as one of the anchors of the Libbie Mill development, a niche food seller is shutting down as it shifts its business model to opening smaller storefronts.
Southern Season announced this morning it was closing its 53,000-square-foot retail store and restaurant at 2250 Staples Mill Road. When it opened in July 2014, it was the third brick-and-mortar shop the North Carolina-based company had opened.
The company said in a press release the Richmond store was too expensive and too big to keep open in what it described as a “rapidly evolving retail environment.”
“Southern Season is closing its (store) on Staples Mill Road in Richmond, Virginia, to allow the company to concentrate on its smaller store formats,” the press release read. “The decision to close this store was made after careful consideration of the long-term financial performance of this location.”
The store’s in-house restaurant Sotherly, along with its deli and bakery will close today. The rest of the store will close April 24.
Included in the press release was news that Southern Season plans to open a 25,000-square-foot store in Atlanta later this year, and has plans to add another smaller North Carolina store this year. The 40-year-old company currently has three locations open outside Virginia, in North Carolina and South Carolina.
Workers at the Richmond store will have the option to transfer to other Southern Season stores or take a separation package, according to the release.
“We thank our valued Richmond customers for their loyalty,” Southern Season president Dave Herman said in the release. “We look forward to seeing them over the next few weeks at our storewide sale.”
Stay tuned to BizSense for more details on the closing.
Southern Season was signed on as the initial anchor of the Libbie Mill development.
Less than two years after opening as one of the anchors of the Libbie Mill development, a niche food seller is shutting down as it shifts its business model to opening smaller storefronts.
Southern Season announced this morning it was closing its 53,000-square-foot retail store and restaurant at 2250 Staples Mill Road. When it opened in July 2014, it was the third brick-and-mortar shop the North Carolina-based company had opened.
The company said in a press release the Richmond store was too expensive and too big to keep open in what it described as a “rapidly evolving retail environment.”
“Southern Season is closing its (store) on Staples Mill Road in Richmond, Virginia, to allow the company to concentrate on its smaller store formats,” the press release read. “The decision to close this store was made after careful consideration of the long-term financial performance of this location.”
The store’s in-house restaurant Sotherly, along with its deli and bakery will close today. The rest of the store will close April 24.
Included in the press release was news that Southern Season plans to open a 25,000-square-foot store in Atlanta later this year, and has plans to add another smaller North Carolina store this year. The 40-year-old company currently has three locations open outside Virginia, in North Carolina and South Carolina.
Workers at the Richmond store will have the option to transfer to other Southern Season stores or take a separation package, according to the release.
“We thank our valued Richmond customers for their loyalty,” Southern Season president Dave Herman said in the release. “We look forward to seeing them over the next few weeks at our storewide sale.”
Stay tuned to BizSense for more details on the closing.
Is Outherly closing also? I love their food
Meant Southerlys
I understand their closing, but I hope they do not give up on Richmond. I was worried that they were so empty when I was last there. They are perfect for finding that hard to find ingredients that foodies love. I think a smaller storefront with deli would be perfect here.
Southerly is an undiscovered gem in our restaurant scene.
Makes me sad, indeed, as my wife and I were looking at the townhouses being built around there for possible downsizing. However, I agree with Mary Lee: I, too, was worried about how long they’d last since the store was usually very empty whenever we’d visit. I agree a smaller storefront would probably do very well when the townhouse community is built out.
Yes, it is too bad. I liked the store, but the restaurant was awful. Three tries, and both the food and service was very poor.
Does that make only ONE tenant in three separate buildings now? That’s really pretty alarming.
Quite frankly, they were invisible. Not good. Never heard anyone talk about them. Kiss of death for a business.
Never saw or heard any advertising. I’ve ridden by on Staples Mill Road many times and wondered when they were going to open. I didn’t know they were.
The first thing people cut when the budget is tight is advertising, and they might as well be cutting their heart out, especially if they are retail oriented.
Hmm, you touched on something that made me think that the flaw might be in the design of the space itself. I remember reading about Southern Season opening, quite possibly on this site, and stopped by its first weekend, and it was packed. But there was little to no advertising of the store, and driving by on Staples Mill, it would be easy to miss that it was in fact open since the “front” of the store, and the parking lot, were on the opposite side from Staples Mill. I think the layout makes sense in the context of the… Read more »
Sad, but not surprising. Lousy location for what they were selling, they should have been in the city.
Also, their prices were crazy. For the specific stuff they were selling.
Breaking News: Pretentious Grocery Store Too Pretentious for Richmond
I went in once or twice.. seemed like a very odd store in a very odd location. Maybe if they had opened in stony point, or somewhere like that where their clientele already shopped.. but there ? I kept wondering how they made any money.. and now I know.. they didn’t. Sad really. That whole development looks cool but very out of place. Kind of like 6th st and Main Street station. Built before the residential foot traffic was there to support it. Be a good place for a Wegmans though in 2-3 years once they have the residential built.
Loved their location in NC. The store was smaller, inviting and had character. The Richmond location was a disappointment.
I agree with Charles, Stony Point would have been a great place for Southern Seasons. Central to everyone who can afford it. Just such an odd place…when I think of that area I think of it as industrial. West End residents really don’t go that far because they have too many choices where they are, the city people seem to stay around Cary Street and it’s definitely too far for Southside.
Seriously, this store and location was ill-conceived from day one. People in the far west are not traveling down to Libbie Mills and the demographic they required was simply not large enough to support this floor plate. With Wegmans and Publix coming to RVA the supermarket war is on and they were smart shutting it down before they spent another dime on rent. I see Libbie Mills as another West Broad Village. I commend the developer for their investment in the revitalization of this property and hope they can introduce a better line up of retail establishments to garner the… Read more »
Serious question:
Is that development in trouble?
It seems odd that there are not other tenants in the shopping center.
I used to go there for coffee because i like never having to wait in line. I assumed that early afternoon was just the slowest time for them.
They sure tore down a lot of low income housing to make room for this.
According to some posters here, developers never make mistake, know there markets, and we all need to bow down in their presence.
Developers make a lot of mistakes and are well financed by bankers making bigger ones. The bankruptcy dockets are testament to it. Good developers like Gumenick can survive their mistakes. The Libbie Mill development is just now beginning to take shape with hundreds of Class A apartments and for-sale townhouses. It’s not in trouble. Location trumps all. RetAil will return to this location.?