Meanwhile, at the Ukrops........

.....so I end up at Ukrops on Staples Mill tonight, again on the family run. Specifically told to go to Ukrops and not Martins.

It felt like I was at a viewing at a funeral home. I expected the employees to be on morphine drips.

Sad. Stripped walls. Signs gone. Lots of half-empty shelves, some completely bare. And this store doesn't close until May 1 for its "transformation".

Those of you who think, "get over it, it's JUST a grocery store!", I don't know what to tell you. Maybe you haven't lived in Richmond 42 years like me, I dunno.

But after spending some time in a Martins last night and a Ukrops tonight, all I can say is something "definitive to Richmond" is dying. And it will be a sad day come May 8 when the final doors close.

Don't get me wrong; Ukrops is NOTHING like it used to be, in its high point of 20 years ago, but I've seen the future, and so far, I'm not impressed.