Monday, March 11, 2013
More than 600 people are asking the grocer to fill an empty storefront on Maple Avenue
It's been two months since Magruder's Supermarket — a family grocery store that had anchored the corner of Maple Avenue and Courthouse Road for decades — shut its doors. And now a group of residents is asking Trader Joes to take its place. As of Sunday night, 610 people had signed a change.org petition called "Trader Joe's: Come to Vienna, Virginia, to fill in the void left by Magruders." They're hoping it will attract the attention of the specialty grocery store There are 14 Trader Joe's in the Washington, DC area — including locations in Reston, Falls Church and Fairfax. But those that signed the petition argued traffic often makes them rethink the trip to those locations, or avoid them all together. The Magruder's space, on the other …
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Closing of Vienna grocery store is "the end of an era," customers say, but sale could reopen it under a different name.
Magruder's in Vienna was buzzing hours after the company announced it would close its remaining four locations across the Washington, DC region — a chaos marked by customers eager to take advantage of the half-off closing sale but also by a distinct sadness from longtime employees and customers, who have worked or shopped the store's aisles for decades. Mid-afternoon Wednesday, the grocery store ran out of carts; customers carried goods in woven wooden baskets or empty produce crates. Items like paper products, wine, beer, canned vegetables and cleaning supplies were all but wiped off the shelves; dairy products, frozen foods and produce items were still in stock. Cars lined up waiting for parking spots outside the store that anchors the …
The supermarket in Vienna is selling all goods at half price, but it may re-open under new ownership in the future.
Magruder's is closing all of its supermarket locations, including the one here in Vienna. Large signs promoting a 50 percent off sale lined the store's windows Wednesday morning. Shelves normally lined with goods were half empty, as people made a run on discounted items—particularly non-perishable things like paper towels. Magruder's has been in Vienna since at least 1970, one employee told Patch. Multiple calls to Magruder's corporate office by Patch still have not been returned. However, a letter provided at the customer service desk in the store's Alexandria location said "We are currently in negotiations to sell the remaining four locations to a group who wishes to purchase the individual stores and reopen them as quickly as possible…
Longtime Vienna supermarket will close "when everything's gone."
Update 5:33 p.m.: Employees and customers said the grocery store has become "like an old home" since it opened in Vienna in 1970. The store's manager said it would be open through 8 p.m. Wednesday. Employees anticipated having enough produce to open again at 8 a.m. Thursday morning. For more employee and customer reactions, click here. Update 12:22 pm: Magruder's is closing all of its locations, according to a letter from the company. They could reopen under a new name, but details of the sale or the future of the chain are not available. Original 11:34 a.m.: Magruder's Supermarket in Vienna hasn't formally announced its closing, nor its plans for a 50 percent off closing sale. But late Wednesday morning, just hours after it had opened, …
Erica R. Hendry
2:46 pm on Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Just so folks know, we are on a (continuing) battle to get more information about Magruder's and if their previously-reported possible sale went through. We'll keep you posted! Thanks for reading, Erica more ›