NORFOLK
Linda Hester and Randi Ferraro are not in the supermarket business, despite their plastic name tags.
Those they made themselves. It’s just one quirky thing about the friends that shows how obsessed they are with food shopping.
They call themselves the “grocery girls,” and if you forget, well, it says so right there on their pins.
The two neighbors in Freemason have launched a grassroots movement to recruit a grocer for downtown Norfolk. Their goal is to attract 7,000 followers to their Facebook group, Wanted Urban Grocer, and meet with grocery chains, real-estate agents, local elected officials and mom-and-pop businesses to help bring a market back to the center of their city.
That number, by the way, isn’t arbitrary, Hester says. They estimate that more than 7,800 people live in downtown now, a sizable uptick in the past few years.
Frank “Buddy” Gadams and other developers have built new apartment projects, taking advantage of tax credit opportunities for historic buildings and betting on people’s interest in walkable neighborhoods close to the waterfront. More mixed-use developments, such as a plan to add apartments, entertainment and a hotel to MacArthur Center, are in the pipeline.
Even with that rise in residents, though, downtown hasn’t had a grocery store since a Farm Fresh in the ground floor of Harbor Heights condominiums closed in 2011. Since then, the city and economic development authority have tried to bring a new operator into the area.
“We’re the temperature; we’re the gauge of enthusiasm for a grocer,” Hester said. “I think (the city) is getting exhausted from it, and they need to see the demand is here, and the enthusiasm has not left.”
Lori Crouch, a city spokeswoman, said staff have been working on it for a while but have been unsuccessful because the grocery sector is “highly competitive” in Hampton Roads. Online grocery-delivery services are also changing the game. Amazon, for example, offers free two-hour delivery from Whole Foods to downtown for its Prime members, she said.
“The industry is quickly changing, and many of the larger commercial stores have space and parking requirements that don’t currently exist in downtown,” Crouch said.
That’s why Hester and Ferraro have shifted their strategy to include grocers that specialize in urban areas. While large cities have offered corner-store markets and bodegas for decades, that model is only beginning to spread to smaller cities around the country.
“Urban grocers,” as the organizers call them, tend to focus on supplying smaller quantities in their packaged goods, fresh produce and on-the-go meals. Their customers buy less in bulk but shop more often. Hester and Ferraro want to target operators expanding with these formats in Washington and Richmond.
Since launching their social media campaign last Thursday, the pair has received more than 500 followers for their Facebook group. (They also have Twitter and Instagram accounts.) They met with the Downtown Norfolk Civic League on Monday to discuss their plans and were to meet with the Freemason community on Wednesday. Then, they will go to City Council on Tuesday to give a brief presentation.
Aside from talks with constituents and key local players, Hester and Ferraro are planning a trip to Richmond to meet with management of Ellwood Thompson’s, an independent grocer. They’re also encouraging a letter campaign directed at Trader Joe’s.
It’s unclear whether the former Farm Fresh location, at 260 Boush St., is a viable site. The grocery chain closed the 35,000-square foot location seven years ago.
Property owners didn’t immediately return calls from The Virginian-Pilot regarding the space. A spokesman for SuperValu, the parent company that recently divested its Farm Fresh brand, also didn’t return calls and emails. But Crouch said SuperValu continues to hold the lease.
The Wanted Urban Grocer organizers said the vacant space could be subdivided to accommodate a smaller floor plan and is only one of a handful of potential sites.
Whether Hester and Ferraro have the expertise and clout to recruit remains to be seen. Hester, 70, is retired from a career in marketing; Ferraro, 67, is retired after working as a real estate manager for the city.
With extra time on their hands, they call this campaign their new volunteer work. It might be more comparable to an unpaid internship: Hester said they expect to work 10 to 12 hours per week on communications, road trips and research.
They aren’t trying to substitute the city’s effort, but rather to supplement it.
“We’re the cheerleaders,” Ferraro said.
Elisha Sauers, 757-222-3864, elisha.sauers@pilotonline.com
