In Memoriam: Manassas (East) Shoppers

As of late, the most Shoppers stores since 2011 have closed, with the third installment this year being the Manassas location along Liberia Ave., a store that succumbed to low traffic and an expired lease. The store was a more modern example of Shoppers, opening its' doors in the summer of 2004 and remaining open for around twelve years (including a 2011 remodel).

Former Shoppers - Manassas (East), VA (Store #2380)

Credit: Shoppers/SuperValu

Store Info

• Location: 9540 Liberia Ave, Manassas, VA 20110
• Opened: Summer 2004
• Closed: August 21, 2016
• Remodeled: Yes (2011, "Fresh & Healthy" package)
• Interior packages: Mid-2000s theme (original "Real People. Real Value. Real Smart" variant), SuperValu "Fresh & Healthy" theme
• Features: Pharmacy (closed in June 2016), Deli, Seafood, Shoppers Café, Bakery/Colossal Donuts, International, Health & Beauty, Beer/Wine, Frozen, Provident/M&T Bank (2004-2012)

After experiencing a wild ride with SuperFresh and Metro Food takeovers in previous years, Shoppers was ready to return to building more new stores, first expanding on some and then starting to place new locations in new areas, such as Gainesville (closed as of 2011), Dumfries, Laurel, and Baltimore. With a growing commercial area (starting with a Walmart) and an older store nearby to replace, Shoppers turned to this locale to build an upgraded modern store, which opened with several other shops and services/restaurants in 2004 in the Signal Hill Shopping Center.

A remnant that made its' way back into the store in 2015.

The store opened with the "Real People. Real Value. Real Smart." interior design and package, which was inspired by the classic Shoppers principles (slatted walls, orange/gray/black band, etc.) but with a more mid-level aesthetic, larger open spaces and multicolored wall signage.
About a year after opening, the Liberia Ave. store superceded the Maplewood store on Route 28 around 2 miles away, which became a unique El Primero Mercado location run by Shoppers. A classic warehouse-era store, the store had not seen major updates since opening in 1991 and market changes had been conducted during its tenure. The store briefly returned to the Shoppers name (albeit with an "International" byline) in 2008, only to back out entirely in the following year.

The store initially had a decent run as the first major grocery store in the area. Unfortunately, it was not long before the tides started to turn on the store. A host of competitors soon comprised the Liberia Ave. retail corridor. Aldi opened doors only four years later in 2008 (catering to a discount market as with Shoppers), Harris Teeter followed in 2010 and potentially the biggest blow to the store, Walmart across the street expanding into a Supercenter in late 2011. These three slowly took away market share along with other nearby trends, leading up to the closure. It was already evident in late 2012 when rival Giant closed their long-standing Manassas Junction store up Liberia Ave. about their effects into the consumer base of these stores.

The store, pictured here in the January 2016 blizzard.

According to certain sources, a closure for this Shoppers location was already planned early into the year alongside the Woodbridge store (which closed in February 2016). Also at the time was the $22.6 million acquisition of the center by the JCR Companies from the original owner, Regency Centers conducted that April. JCR likely may have decided to interrupt the Shoppers lease in favor of what was to come, though this is only a rumor.  Though the final verdict of the Liberia Ave. Shoppers came with their own lease loss, likely as they did not make enough profit and a more suitable tenant arrived in Fresh World.

The pharmacy department a month after closing, with shelves emptied ouut inside.

Preceding the closure, the pharmacy quietly closed sometime in June 2016. While a few Shoppers stores continuously operate without pharmacies inside, some pieces of the fate were already clear. I personally believed the store would continue to operate to an extent, however the store still showed signs of decline afterwards.

August came and the store closing sale finally had begun.  The store had initially benchmarked a closing for September 2 (according to a SuperValu paper), however pushed it forward to August 21 possibly due to selling out stock before anticipated. This concluded the run of the Liberia Ave. Shoppers, once a bustling store fallen to the waning grocery business of SuperValu among other factors.

The Aftermath

Despite no tenant announced during the closing, this store did not stay empty for long. Only a month after the closure, Fresh World, a small international grocer with two other locations around Northern Virginia announced they would be opening a new branch here. Only a month later, on November 18, 2016 they had finally set up shop and had opened doors. Despite installing fixtures in the store to their specifications and modifying the layout slightly, the store retained the general Shoppers decor package and some occasional logos and signs. As of 2018, Fresh World has done decent business and seems to have done several additions featuring various restaurants and the like.

That being said, this concludes the retrospective on this short-lived Shoppers store. I might likely make an entire store tour composed of all store photos from both Shoppers and now Fresh World. Stay tuned!