Union launches petition to keep Charlottesville’s third Kroger store open

This week, Charlottesville learned that the Kroger store at 1904 Emmet Street will close on August 22, 2025.

Some of the people who work there are seeking to reverse the decision and have launched a petition.

“As the union of Kroger workers in Charlottesville, we won’t take this sitting down,” reads a petition making the rounds on the UFCW Local 400 website.

UFCW Local 400 is also arranging petition campaigns in: Abingdon, Virginia; Kingsport, Tennessee; and Gassaway, West Virginia.

“Our communities rely on Kroger to provide fresh groceries and good union jobs,” reads further information on the website. ”If these stores close, our customers will have fewer choices of where to shop and what to buy.”

The petition claims that the moves will favor investors and argues that the closure is the result of a failed merger with rival grocery chain Albertson’s. That deal was announced in October 2022 but faced legal challenges from the Federal Trade Commission as well some state-based legal action.

Kroger has two other stories in the community with one in the Barracks Road Shopping Center and the other in the Rio Hill Shopping Center.

The 9.37 acre parcel is zoned Node Mixed Use-10 under the city’s new development code.

Before you go: This story was first published in the June 26, 2025 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement and then published here two days later.