Welcome to the Shoppes of Battery Mill, where you get to see all sorts of retail stories! Whether it's the everyday humdrum or some of the most exciting moments one may come across in a supermarket, we've got it here. This particular post belongs to the former category, and that is because...
Photos taken on July 20, 2025 by BatteryMill
...it happens to be a common sight at Shoppers. Whether in 2011, in 2015, in 2019, or in 2024, store closings have become the norm for this UNFI-owned grocery chain. In my last post, we explored the store as it stood in 2023, back when Shoppers was having a slight resurgence. Their Dumfries location had made it through so much and was in a viable location, so I had my doubts that the chain wanted to let go of this one. Yet, just chain seemed stable enough, closing sales popped up again. This store was no exception. Despite doing well in certain ways, I will admit that from my last few visits, it wasn't drawing that many crowds as it used to.
Still, there is no clear answer as to why Shoppers is closing up shop here. I was told by an employee that it was that Shoppers opted not to renew the lease, but they did not state why exactly Shoppers opted to do so. Posters on Retail Watchers have theorized it was due to distribution issues or the chain focusing on blue collar areas unlike the Dumfries/Montclair vicinity. As I later postulate, it could also be that another wind down period is imminent for Shoppers. Otherwise, it's definitely a closing caught me by surprise, not only that this store was stable, but that it was quietly done.
What is also commonplace in retail is the process of a "quiet" closing. In contrast to the bombastic closing lists associated with the retail apocalypse (and Shoppers), these often fly under the radar where local news is unable to cover these stories. Instead, word-of-mouth takes over and only locals speak about such a supermarket shuttering. It was only through a search result directed to a TikTok that I found this store's days were numbered. The quiet closing phenomenon is most prevalent with smaller storefronts, but no doubt big-box stores like this one get the same treatment for a variety of reasons.
As I arrived, the closing sale was well underway, with hordes of empty shelves. Therefore, let's see what a Shoppers store looks like in its final weeks.
Store tour
Our tour starts with a normal, but actually innocuous, sight at any supermarket. Here we have a bunch of carts lined up next to the vestibule, ready for the taking like ever.
In recent years, it appears Shoppers has ditched their Technibilt Renaissance cart models implemented throughout the 2010s, and exchanged them for something akin to what they were using before then. This return to wireframe-form is interesting for Shoppers, and I don't know what kind of sign that is.
For the cart-savvy, I have this to ask. Who would like to identify the model present here, and if it really has been used at Shoppers in the past?
In this shot, it appears the classic Shoppers entrance logo continues to watch over the store. The vestibule remains the same as ever, perhaps a little more plain with only white walls and the faux wood/stone wallpaper below. Several papers advertising reduced store hours have been taped on as well.
Let's step in and see how far along Shoppers is in, shall we?
Entering in from the left side of the store, we also have the choice of picking up baskets. One basket, that is. It does, however, happen to be a classic - one made of a bright orange finish and classic "SFW" cart logo!
I'm not sure as to the exact vintage of this basket, as Shoppers has used several designs throughout their history. Judging by the trash bins we saw previously, this could have been unearthed from the store's early days.
As we make our way towards the right of the store, the first things we see beyond the entrance are the Saving Zone and Floral departments. There, it is evident just how far this store is into its liquidation. The Saving Zone (f.k.a. Wall of Value), once home to masses of bargains and closeouts, has itself closed out. The floral department, previously strewn with flowers and vinyl balloons, has revealed its framework and cabinets (as well as yet another original relic, reflective slatted walls). Here to block off most of the section are a litany of random shelving fixtures.
Assembled upon the front of what was once a marketplace for fresh food, the Saving Zone itself has scattered its belongings within these coolers. While just about everything here is now off-limits, a small passage still exists for the Dumfries Cafe seating area and the restrooms.
Beyond the column of coolers, we turn our attention to the open-concept produce department. Obviously with the shelf life fruits and vegetables have, as well as their ubiquitous presence on shopping lists, it's no wonder they'd sell out fast. The bakery rests far in the background, as well as the packaged seafood wall coolers. What I also found interesting about this section is the cooler wire being drawn directly to the ceiling, as well as the lighting contrast within the produce/international divide.
Next, we take a look at the vacant bakery/lunch meat domain. This is yet another store department devoid of life, save for a trio of wet floor markers and an array of spring-based displays in the coolers.
Considering the coolers that blocked off the entire prepared foods department, I needed to take a detour through the international aisles to reach this destination. These are also blocked off by fixtures, albeit ones that once showcased cakes and cookies.
Unlike last time, there was sadly no way to grab a Colossal Donut.
Aisle 6, standing closer to the front end, is up next. While there are no more salty snacks to choose from, one may still see the difference between various gondola types designed for what products were once available here.
Now on to aisle 7! Thankfully, some greeting cards are still available here. Whether it's a birthday in the family, or a love letter, the Dumfries Shoppers is at your service!
Let's also read some magazines, or grab all the latest novels... wait, nevermind. The Dumfries Shoppers seems to be all out today.
I am personally unsure of how these can sell out so fast in these day and age, but I'm sure that people bought in somehow. On the bright side, it's nice the header serves as a time capsule of what was in 2010's pop culture zeitgeist!
From the dairy department's corner (where it intersects with Frozen), we see a straight shot back down to Bakery. It is here where you get to see the extent of the store's emptiness.
To the left is the emergency exit, and to the right is the employee lounge. The lounge brings out yet another relic original to the store's opening, with a retro Shoppers sign and orange color scheme to match!
Then there are also a few vitamins reduced for quick sale inside an outpost of the Saving Zone. I hope someone bought these out - it looked like a solid deal to me!
Looking back to frozen, it is also interesting that it is designated as one aisle (per the aisle marker) despite consisting of two separate pathways.
We turn around for a little bit to capture the rest of beer and wine, as well as the pharmacy "box". This has to be the most stark contrast I've seen in all of the store. These wine bottles are stocked up enough that it's just another day at Shoppers!
The pharmacy, meanwhile, appears more fallow than ever before. The pill bottle signage may remain, but the "family planning center" is no more, and all that is left is the usual liquidation-era jumble of products on the leftmost shelves.
As we head to checkout, let's take one final look at the store's front end. I do recall some of the front end checkouts being walled off with shelving like this before, but this is clearly something that would be present in the store's endgame. I do find the checkout lights being wrapped up to also be a curious touch. Christmas in July, perhaps?
I'm also surprised that for something that's in the heart of the store, the light fixtures here were never replaced.
that Shoppers never cleaned up, especially as we see here.
Behind the customer service desk is this brilliant cornucopia. This appears to be something present at at least one other Shoppers location, but still, I must give props to the architects that etched this design onto a seemingly average supermarket!
Here we take a look at the Shoppers Cafe from the outside, still bearing the stickers we took a look at last time. More carts are stockpiled here, too. I find it interesting how this late in the game, so many are still lined up here and not trucked off elsewhere.
I also like the scaling of the architecture here and how the gabled roof rests adjacent to the Shoppers Cafe. Really drives home the humble appeal of the seating area, at least in my view!
Stepping out of the store's bounds and into the parking lot, we spot an empty cart corral. This has to be a more recent replacement, deviating from the plain roofless design original to the store's opening.
The building at the back is the vacant former Rite Aid. That store, like all Rite Aids in the Washington metropolitan area, was a casualty of the failed Walgreens merger and subsequent buyout of over 2,000 RA locations. With no tenants swooping in since its closing (circa 2019), the space has been approved for a Sheetz gas station/convenience store. This would serve as a great complement to what the Fortuna Center Plaza has to offer, though it is a pity that building would need to be knocked down to fit the Sheetz prototype. As of this visit, though, I've witnessed "for lease" signs still up in the windows of the Rite Aid building.
Faded by sunlight, this cart corral holds within it one lone cart. Target, a retail standby (with some grocery offerings, and a CVS-licensed pharmacy inside) solders on.
This will conclude our store tour. Barring a better situation for the chain, farewell to the Dumfries Shoppers!
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| Source: shoppersfood.com |
Conclusion
When I made my visit on July 20, the store was evidently vastly empty already, with service departments and perishables having all but disappeared. From what I've read on Facebook, the store's scheduled closing date was on July 31. Such likely held true, as an auction has been scheduled for this week. This is another trend in retail, in that store closing dates are never as ceremonial and predictable as openings are.
With this closing, Shoppers departs Prince William County, where it has operated just shy of 40 years. Only two locations remain for the UNFI-owned grocer in Virginia: one to the south in Stafford, and one in the Hybla Valley area of Alexandria. This figure is down from ~23 locations in the state during the chain's 2000s peak.
Besides this closing and their failure in Southern Maryland (Charlotte Hall, Leonardtown, and the reopened California all having shuttered), things have been largely quiet at Shoppers since 2023. There have been no mass closings, but neither are there any remodels, in-store experience shakeups, or expansion plans in motion. This roaring silence might change with this store's closing, but it is also likely that the recent shuffling of retail CEOs at UNFI would represent a pivot in a new direction, for better or worse.
What could possibly be next for the site, and the chain as well? Who will set up shop here next? Is Shoppers planning to trim down their store base and keep going, or are we finally seeing the end as leases expire? Only Father Time is able to tell us the answer, but he'll wait a second while he prepares the answer for us.
I would also like to wish all the store's employees well as they embark on their next chapters. It's definitely a sad sight to see a store close down like this though, that's for sure.
June 5, 2005 - July 31, 2025
20 years, 1 month, 26 days (give or take) of operation
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