The Ukrop’s Market Hall has tweaked its sales floor and expanded its loading dock as part of an improvements project that’s nearly completed. (Jack Jacobs photos)
Entering its fifth year in business, Ukrop’s Market Hall is closing out 2024 with a round of upgrades intended to improve its operations.
The West End market earmarked more than $500,000 for a variety of upgrades to its building at the corner of Horsepen Road and Patterson Avenue. Projects ranged from tweaks to the sales floor to cosmetic changes at the market, which sells a variety of prepared foods, fried chicken and pizza, baked goods and other items.
Registers were relocated and the retail area was rearranged in an attempt to improve the flow of shoppers as they move throughout the store. Also added was a new self-service coffee station as well as more refrigerated cases.
Those changes within the store were completed by the fall in phases that started mid-year. Still to come is new interior signage.
Other projects included an expanded loading dock and additional storage constructed in the building. The overall project is expected to be completed in late January. The upgrades didn’t change the size of the 6,000-square-foot building, of which 3,700 square feet is retail sales floor.
The Ukrop’s Market Hall, which is entering its fifth year of business, sells prepared foods, baked goods and other items.
Ukrop’s CFO John Zeheb said the project is an attempt to address various issues the market has encountered during its tenure in the space, which is a former church at 7250 Patterson Ave.
“We’ve learned a lot in the last four years,” Zeheb said.
The nearly complete project is the first major change to take place at the market hall since it opened in December 2020.
The market, which has nearly 60 employees and is part of the Ukrop’s Homestyle Foods company, is a successor of sorts to the Ukrop family’s grocery stores, a fixture of Richmond’s retail scene for decades until they were sold to Martin’s in 2010. Ukrop’s also sells its food through grocery stores like Publix, Kroger and other major chains.
As Ukrop’s invests in fine-tuning its operations, fellow West End market Supper Club is planning to add a new location south of the river in 2025.
Glad the Market Hall is flourishing. Love this little place!