What’s coming, what’s expanding in Richmond-area grocery market

Here are some recent developments in the area’s grocery industry:

Wegmans: Perhaps the biggest news, at least in terms of pent-up demand and social media response, was the announcement in April that Wegmans will put two stores in the area — one in Henrico County west of Short Pump Town Center and one in Chesterfield County west of Chesterfield Towne Center.

These would be the upstate New York-based chain’s southernmost stores.The upscale chain, which has a reputation for exceptional customer service, didn’t say when the new stores would open. But it is deliberate in its store construction schedule, so it likely will be 2016 before the stores are up and running.The stores will be 120,000 to 140,000 square feet, which will make them among the largest grocery stores in the area.

Aldi: The German-based chain with the superfrugal format isn’t saying how many stores it will have in the area.So far, the company has filed plans for a store in Colonial Heights and two in western Henrico — one on Parham Road north of Regency Square mall and, most recently, one on an outparcel of Staples Mill Square, a shopping center on Staples Mill Road between Parham and Hungary roads.

At a February meeting of the Henrico Planning Commission, Aldi official Josh Walls said the Parham Road store could open as soon as January.The chain, he said, hopes eventually to bring a store to each of the county’s five magisterial districts.Billing itself as a select assortment discount grocer, Aldi limits its selections to about 1,400 of the most commonly purchased grocery items. The stores also assess a nominal charge for bags and have a rental system for shopping carts.

Walmart: The retail giant is expanding its grocery business in the region.Walmart, which has 13 Supercenters in the area, so far has confirmed that it plans to build two of its smaller Neighborhood Market grocery-only stores in the region.

One of the Neighborhood Market stores will be in the Meadowbrook Plaza shopping center in Chesterfield, and the other is at 5521 Brook Road in Henrico just north of Interstate 95.Walmart has been mum about plans filed by developers for as-yet unidentified grocery stores in Chesterfield and Hanover counties — plans that are nearly identical to those for the Brook Road store.

Kroger: The nation’s largest traditional supermarket retailer opened its 17th Richmond-area store in April — and its second Kroger Marketplace store.At 123,000 square feet, the Marketplace stores are bigger than traditional Kroger stores.

The first area Marketplace store opened in December 2012 in the Stonebridge development in Chesterfield. The second is at 9000 Staples Mill Road in western Henrico.The chain has two more of these superstores under development in the area — in Hanover and in Chesterfield.Kroger is expanding its Rutland Commons store in Hanover to a Marketplace size. The expanded portion of the store will open in July, but the completion of the entire remodel/expansion is targeted for early December.Construction is slated to begin in September for a Marketplace store on Iron Bridge Road in Chesterfield. The store should open in July 2015.

Kroger also has plans for a 90,000-square-foot store in Colonial Heights — its first Tri-Cities store. The Temple Avenue store should open late next year.And the company is expanding its Village at Swift Creek store off Hull Street Road in Chesterfield, enlarging it 53,625 square feet to 88,097 square feet.

Martin’s Food Markets: The chain, part of Dutch supermarket conglomerate Royal Ahold NV that bought the Ukrop’s stores in 2010, is building its first newly constructed area store. It should open this fall.The 74,000-square-foot store on Midlothian Turnpike at Charter Colony Parkway in Chesterfield will replace a smaller store in the nearby Sycamore Square Shopping Center.

Looking ahead, a developer has proposed a new shopping center at the former Azalea Mall site on Brook Road straddling the line between North Richmond and Henrico. If that becomes a reality, plans include an 84,100-square-foot Martin’s grocery as the center’s anchor.In October, Martin’s closed its store in the Gayton Crossing Shopping Center in western Henrico.

Whole Foods Market: The natural foods grocer is adding a second Richmond-area store.Whole Foods has signed a lease for a 40,000-square-foot store to be part of The Sauer Center, a proposed urban mixed-use development on West Broad Street near Hermitage Road. No opening date has been set.The retailer opened its first area store in September 2008 in West Broad Village in western Henrico.

Southern Season: The high-end gourmet food store/restaurant/cooking school opens July 31.The 49,000-square-foot store, the company’s third, will be part of the Libbie Mill development that’s taking shape on Staples Mill Road south of Interstate 64 in Henrico.Based in Chapel Hill, N.C., Southern Season Inc. sells kitchen wares, specialty groceries, candy, meats, wines, cheeses and takeout foods.

Food Lion: With nearly 50 stores in the Richmond area, Food Lion has more locations than any other traditional grocer in the market.The North Carolina-based chain remodeled most of its area stores about four or five years ago.As part of Food Lion’s “Easy, Fresh and Affordable” strategy announced last month, the company plans to extensively remodel its stores, add more varieties and train its employees in a more customer-centric way of doing business.The timetable for remodeling Richmond-area stores has not been set.

The Fresh Market: The Fresh Market, the North Carolina-based specialty grocery retailer with 158 stores, entered the Richmond market in 2005 with one store.The chain now has three area stores — the latest opened in the Carytown Place development at Nansemond Street and Ellwood Avenue in September 2012.