VCU’s Ram City Market is at 912 W. Grace St. and sells produce, dry grocery items, to-go coffee and prepared meals, among other items. (Photo courtesy Kevin Morley/VCU)
Virginia Commonwealth University has expanded its dining services program with a new grocery store on campus.
The university-owned Ram City Market at 912 W. Grace St. sells produce, dry grocery items, to-go coffee and prepared meals, among other items. The store does not stock alcohol or tobacco products.
A grocery store is new ground for VCU, adding to its lineup of services to fill the gap left when Walmart vacated the space in 2019.
When that happened, university officials felt there was still a need for a similar concept on campus. That desire helped to inspire Ram City Market, which was also influenced by a similar concept at an Arizona college operated by VCU’s dining services contractor, Aramark.
“We put our heads together to see if we could make it happen,” VCU Director of Campus Services Stephen Barr said.
VCU surveyed students about the idea and found there was demand.
“We really wanted to be able to provide students fruits and vegetables and shelf-stable items at grocery store prices,” Barr said. “One thing we’re learning now is what is the right mix of products for our campus. The first order of food and products was based off sales data in Arizona.”
Barr said that the market seems popular with students so far, and that VCU has encouraged shoppers to suggest additional items to put on shelves. He said customers have requested over-the-counter medicines and vegan and vegetarian options, among other ideas.
A school-backed grocery store is a relatively new kind of offering for colleges, Barr said. Aramark manages and staffs the market, while VCU owns it and the building.
“To have a grocery store is something kind of unique. I think we’ll see this continue to grow in the next decade,” he said.
The market is situated in 4,100 square feet on the ground floor of the same building that’s home to VCU’s global education and procurement offices.
VCU announced plans for the grocery store in summer 2021. It had hoped to open the market the following fall or spring, but was delayed because of shortages of building material and equipment, Barr said. The market ended up opening without all the planned shelving being installed.
“It was like construction chess,” he said.
Ram City Market held its grand opening in late January, after kicking off with a soft launch late last year.
The store is open 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. on the weekend. The grocery is open to the general public and accepts VCU dining dollars and RamBucks in addition to cash, debit and credit.
VCU’s Ram City Market is at 912 W. Grace St. and sells produce, dry grocery items, to-go coffee and prepared meals, among other items. (Photo courtesy Kevin Morley/VCU)
Virginia Commonwealth University has expanded its dining services program with a new grocery store on campus.
The university-owned Ram City Market at 912 W. Grace St. sells produce, dry grocery items, to-go coffee and prepared meals, among other items. The store does not stock alcohol or tobacco products.
A grocery store is new ground for VCU, adding to its lineup of services to fill the gap left when Walmart vacated the space in 2019.
When that happened, university officials felt there was still a need for a similar concept on campus. That desire helped to inspire Ram City Market, which was also influenced by a similar concept at an Arizona college operated by VCU’s dining services contractor, Aramark.
“We put our heads together to see if we could make it happen,” VCU Director of Campus Services Stephen Barr said.
VCU surveyed students about the idea and found there was demand.
“We really wanted to be able to provide students fruits and vegetables and shelf-stable items at grocery store prices,” Barr said. “One thing we’re learning now is what is the right mix of products for our campus. The first order of food and products was based off sales data in Arizona.”
Barr said that the market seems popular with students so far, and that VCU has encouraged shoppers to suggest additional items to put on shelves. He said customers have requested over-the-counter medicines and vegan and vegetarian options, among other ideas.
A school-backed grocery store is a relatively new kind of offering for colleges, Barr said. Aramark manages and staffs the market, while VCU owns it and the building.
“To have a grocery store is something kind of unique. I think we’ll see this continue to grow in the next decade,” he said.
The market is situated in 4,100 square feet on the ground floor of the same building that’s home to VCU’s global education and procurement offices.
VCU announced plans for the grocery store in summer 2021. It had hoped to open the market the following fall or spring, but was delayed because of shortages of building material and equipment, Barr said. The market ended up opening without all the planned shelving being installed.
“It was like construction chess,” he said.
Ram City Market held its grand opening in late January, after kicking off with a soft launch late last year.
The store is open 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. on the weekend. The grocery is open to the general public and accepts VCU dining dollars and RamBucks in addition to cash, debit and credit.
Ahhh yes. The Commonwealth of Virginia goes into the grocery store business. Because they “did a survey” and found “there is demand.” Yet private enterprise doesn’t see the profitability. But I am certain that the Commonwealth won’t lose money on this (not that anyone will ever know about, that is).
Funny part is article does not mention that this was a Campus Walmart that was there for several years but never caught on. The Walmart did have a lot of items that seemed more the general public then students. I wonder why VCU thinks its students won’t use Kroger.
“A grocery store is new ground for VCU, adding to its lineup of services to fill the gap left when Walmart vacated the space in 2019.”
Mentioned as in the space/building is owned by VCU, the Walmart Express went in under Aramark management of leased retail space, and the concept of small grocery markets on college campuses did not work well for the national retailer. But a few years later the local Rams Market is a good financial idea?
Rao’s VCU has been first and foremost a real estate developer. Now the interest rates are up, vacancies are up, retail is down, the boom times appear to ending, and VCU is hoping they can fill their own vacancies to staunch the bleeding.
Things change I’m guessing.
The entire VCU/Fan area is fortunate to have Kroger nearby.
Really? If this is sarcasm, then fine. If I lived in that area, I’d avoid that Kroger at all costs unless you like being harassed by the homeless!
With a $50 million plus budget deficit this is the last thing that VCU should be promoting.
Why are all of the comments so negative? I cannot see this market doing too well, it if VCU wants another shot then it’s not going to impact me. Kroger is a half mile away, which sounds close, but college students might not want to cross Broad St and they can use Ram Bucks at this market. The biggest loss is they won’t have an on campus pharmacy like the Walmart provided.
FYI checked VCU site (and use is temporarily down at the stores) but Kroger Carytown and Lombardy do take Ram Bucks but that might be changing.
Could you blame them for not crossing Broad St.? That Kroger has gone downhill over the years, so this new market hopefully would be a welcome change to them. As far as a pharmacy not being provided, you ever hear of getting medications through the mail?
State supported groceries. Uh, no thanks
It is not “state supported.” The building is owned by the VCU Real Estate Foundation which is not exempt from property taxes. The store is run by Aramark through their contract with VCU Business Services. Business Services receives no state funding and is supported by revenue from sales at it’s dining locations, bookstore etc. Walmart used this site as one of several others in college towns to test the concept. They decided not to continue the concept and my understanding is that this location did well. I have been there several times and it is always busy and seems to… Read more »