As plans move forward for Harris Teeter’s
arrival in Crozet, local residents are
confident the town is ready for two grocery
stores.
Harris Teeter hopes to have the store
open in the spring or summer of 2009, said
company spokeswoman Jennifer Panetta, but
she said it was impossible at this point to
predict the actual date.
The store will anchor the new Blue Ridge
Shopping Center on U.S. 250. An
11,000-square-foot retail building and a
bank are also planned for the site, which is
located next to Blue Ridge Building Supply
and directly across from the recently opened
Clover Lawn shops.
The 42,000-square-foot grocery store will
employ 140 people when it opens. Panetta
also said the company hopes to make the
Crozet location its first “green store.”
“We’re working to make sure it’s Energy
Star efficient and Energy Star approved,”
Panetta said.
The new store will have a pharmacy and
also feature plenty of fresh and organic
foods, Panetta said.
But residents think Crozet GreatValu,
which is in downtown Crozet, will manage to
stay in business once the new competition
opens.
The independent grocery store has been
serving the village under different names
for three generations, said Crozet native
David Wayland.
He has tabs from the 1930s that his
parents kept at the store.
“[GreatValu] has a very loyal customer
base, good prices and good selection,”
Wayland said.
A manager at GreatValu declined to
comment.
Rather than hurting local businesses,
Wayland and others think Harris Teeter will
make shopping more convenient for the many
residents who buy their groceries in other
towns.
“The people that will shop at Harris
Teeter are the ones who are driving to
Charlottesville or Waynes-boro now,” said
Crozet resident Barbara Westbrook.
David Wyant, who represents Crozet on the
Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, said
he thinks Harris Teeter and GreatValu serve
different grocery shopping needs.
“I think both of them will do fine,”
Wyant said.
He also said the new store would help the
county avoid losing tax revenue to
Waynesboro.
The county’s Architec-tural Review Board
approved a revised design of the shopping
center last month, and now the county
planning office is waiting for revised
drawings before the project proceeds.
Harris Teeter and the developer have not
requested a building permit for the site.
