An era will come to an end in a few weeks when Reids Super Save Market will close its doors for the final time as a nonprofit group seeks to purchase the property.
“Twice is Nice intends to move out of the two Preston Avenue storefront locations it currently leases, where it faces space constraints and uncertainty about future development plans, and consolidate its operations into a single larger store at the current Reid’s site,” reads a press release sent out this afternoon.
One of the owners of the grocery store said the decision to close was not made lightly.
“We tried everything, but we just couldn’t make it work,” said Sue Clements who owns the building with her sister Kim Miller. “The hardest thing for us is the impact on our employees, who we’ve always thought of as family.”
A GoFundMe campaign last spring raised over $21,000 to try to keep the operations afloat but the store continued to struggle with keeping items in stock. Clements said she would rather the building at 600 Preston Avenue be repurposed rather than demolished and redeveloped.
The building is currently owned by the Brooks Family LLC and had an assessed value of just over $2.7 million in 2024. No details were included in the press release about the terms of the purchase. The structure dates back to 1948.
Twice as Nice will move out of one of two locations on Preston Avenue it operates, keeping the other open while the building is refreshed to serve as its single location.
“While we are as sad as anyone to see an iconic local business like Reid’s close its doors, we are excited to carry on the Reid’s tradition of serving the surrounding neighborhoods by providing high quality goods at affordable prices,” said Gordon Walker, the chairman of Twice as Nice’s Board of Directors.
In December, Twice as Nice announced the distribution of $270,000 in grants to area nonprofits.
At one point, Twice as Nice was slated as a tenant in the development at 501 Cherry Avenue but that possibility fell through. The Music Resource Center is still slated to be a tenant and community engagement work continues to find someone to create and operate a small community grocery store. A steering committee to bring about that reality will meet for the first time on January 14, 2025.
Here are some articles from other information outlets:
- Reid Super-Save Market to close, Jessie Higgins, Charlottesville Tomorrow, January 6, 2025
- Long-struggling Reid’s supermarket to close, Emily Hemphill, Charlottesville Daily Progress (paywall), January 6, 2025
- Free market: Community and customers rally to save Reid’s, Carol Diggs, February 16, 2024
Do you have a memory of Reid’s that you’d like to share? Thoughts on what this means for the neighborhood? Leave a comment or drop me an email.
Before you go: This article was originally sent out as part of the Charlottesville Community Engagement newsletter in the January 6, 2025 edition. Both are functions of Town Crier Productions. You can support the work by purchasing a paid subscription or contributing monthly through Patreon. You can also send in a check or send an email, but drop me a line first.
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The headline and story originally had the incorrect name for the store. It’s Reid Super-Save Market and not Reid Super-Save Mart. I regret the error.