Former Shoppers - Manassas (West), VA: The Aftermath (Part 5)

Welcome to the Shoppes of Battery Mill, a blog at the corner of happy and healthy! Today, we are finishing up a series covering the former Bull Run Plaza Shoppers, located in Manassas, Virginia.

Photos taken on August 7, 2020 by BatteryMill (except where otherwise noted)

In the last installment, we covered the store closing sale as it neared its end. This time around, with seven months removed from the store shuttering, some items have remained intact, while others barely hang on or are long gone. What items, exactly? Well, you shall see in a moment.

For the duration of the post, we will be moving from left to right across the storefront. Now that we've covered the basics, let's take a gander at what time has done to this store.

In the distance, you can see one of Shoppers' newer competitors, Lidl. Small discount grocers like Lidl and Aldi have been thought to be spiritual successors to Shoppers, adapting the deep discount strategy from their warehouse days. They take on a different approach, however, opting for smaller store sizes, no service departments, and a store brand emphasis among other things. 

Moving on to one of the entrance canopies, we get to see the best of this store's architecture one more time. This display stands here, inviting customers into a store that no longer exists. I'm amazed this pharmacy sign has stuck it out so long!

 Here we look at the inside through one of the store's front windows. To the left of the photo, we see the half-wall which once divided the front end from the pharmacy. In the background, the dairy and darkened bakery/deli sections remain fallow after Shoppers bid this space 'adieu'. The register area bears the tile pattern of the previous (2009) package, of which dubbed this area the "Saving Zone". 

All in all, we can see the stained marks of gondolas and register setups remain on the linoleum floor following all the closing procedures and associated auctions. 

Next, we move over towards the middle of what once was perhaps the most bustling part of the store. From here, we can see the scale of the store come to life. To me, the ceiling appears lower than it does when shelves, overhead signage, and other fixtures populate the salesfloor.

The last of my three photos of the interior, we look here where the customer service desk, floral departments, and kitchen shop were before closing. The railing for the right entrance is also still affixed to the floor. Looks like the floor is mighty dusty here, eh?

Leaving the interior behind, we move on over to the right side of the store. The Saving Zone and Produce departments once stood directly behind this wall. 

One thing I'll note here is that I really like the diamond pattern. The entire facade has a Shoppers-exclusive exterior design that made these stores appear upscale even before SuperValu's changes were made. I also find the retro wooden ceiling also an interesting choice for a shopping center design. Not to mention, the pattern was continued where the fire exit door would have marked a gap.

Another classic Shoppers sign, the "Please Pick Up Cart Here before Entering" survives the store closing here, too. The big question here is, where are those carts now?

Slowly moving away from the ex-Shoppers space, we catch a glimpse of the very right side of the store, as well as to adjacent tenants. In this time, the Dress Barn space went from its own GOB sale to quickly becoming a Five Below.

Bonus photo

Photo taken on September 21, 2021 by BatteryMill

For today's bonus picture, we jump forward to a year after this photoset was produced. Not long after taking my previous photos, Shoppers' rival Giant Food announced they would be occupying most of their old space here at Bull Run Plaza. The building would soon be gutted, with its exterior realized in the chain's current image. 

Giant opened here (left side of photo) on November 19, 2021, relocating from their longtime location at nearby Westgate Plaza. Party City joined soon after, occupying the right side of the former Shoppers space (former produce/seafood area). Since then, Giant has done brisk business here, while this Party City location became a victim of the chain's 2024 bankruptcy.

Conclusion

With this post, we have officially wrapped my photo journey through a gradual closing of a Shoppers Food store, and the subsequent status of the location after shuttering.

 

Anyways, join me next time for more Shoppers content! You'll never know what to expect next.