Former Shoppers - Manassas (West), VA: The Last 8 Days (Part 4)

Welcome to the Shoppes of Battery Mill, a blog that's fresh for everyone! (at this point, I'll just go with any retail slogan unrelated to the topic).

Today, I'm here to present the long-awaited continuation of my series on the former Bull Run Plaza Shoppers in Manassas (now a Giant Food), documenting the store's descent from business as usual to going out of business.

Photos taken on December 26, 2019 by BatteryMill

As mentioned before, this store was part of Shoppers' late 2019 closing wave, the largest in the Washington/Baltimore-area grocer's history. To exit all its retail holdings, owner UNFI set out to wind down Shoppers through a series of sales. In doing so, the Rhode Island-based wholesaler made deals with new entry Lidl and independent chains like Compare Foods and McKay's to acquire several sites. While 13 of the 17 Shoppers slated for closure went to these buyers, 4 of these would simply shutter without word on any successor. Out of each category, the Bull Run Plaza Shoppers would be one of the latter. All closing sales were the same, though the trajectory of each store would be different.

For now, though, we must take a look at what happened in the weeks following the big closing announcement. This photo set, taken the day after Christmas and in the store's final eight days, shows how the chain departed the Prince William County seat of Manassas approximately 32 years after it entered. With all that being said, let's get on with the tour, shall we?

Store tour 

Getting ready to enter the store under the canopy of the facade, we see a window into the store's front end. Much of this, however, is covered by a large banner marking the sale status of the store, only two weeks in to the closing. From most Shoppers closing sales I have witnessed online or visited, the company pastes on Shoppers-themed closing signs and leaves the rest to the employee team. This one, however, appears more akin to a "going out of business" sale where liquidation firms take over some of the duties essential to running a store. 

Let's stroll on in through the left-side doors! What we can see here, besides the omnipresent store closing signs, are a couple of typed up signs announcing the then-current store hours.

This entrance format has been common to nearly all purpose-built Shoppers, though earlier stores lacked the vestibule and had only one set of doors between the interior and the outside world.

Let's start things off inside with the Saving Zone, once home to an abundance of deals coming from nearly every corner of the store.

With the store having expanded in 1993 to become a Shoppers Club, the ceiling heights and wall alignments drastically vary. The rest of the front end appears in the distance, still teeming with customers.

Here we have two perspectives on the Floral department. Clearly, nothing extravagant would be available anymore, but you could always wow a loved one with what's left.

...and here are store closing signs to match.

Walking under the dividing wall piece hanging across the Saving Zone, we enter the produce/seafood/floral "grand aisle". Now this is a place that calls for a panorama! While it is a feature I like to play around with on my phone, I also find it fun to try it out in unorthodox settings like this one.

The Produce department, presented in three parts. With 8 days on the clock, some scattered fruits and vegetables remain on the shelves. Surprising, especially since so much of the section has already emptied out. It is also a nice place to take a look at another pre-SuperValu Shoppers staple, that being the rugged retro ceilings, akin to those found at Rite Aid.

Now we catch on to the service seafood counter. This section, along with frozen meat in the corner, is done for by this point.

As we depart the produce/floral/seafood area, we enter the lunchmeat territory. Still a few options to choose from here, but most everything else is already gone. Seems some cleaning supplies and plastic bags have been stuffed in the coffin cooler, though.

Making our way towards dairy, we witness nothing but the empty blackness of store coolers. In the background, the entrance to the restrooms is visible. The location of such restrooms is most likely original to the store's opening.

As this was the first Shoppers Club, it was more of a prototype and existed prior to the creation of the Shoppers Cafe seating area, where restrooms would be placed in from there on out. These would also evolve beyond the single-occupant models found in older supermarkets (especially competitors of the time like Giant).

The meat department. No service kitchen for it at this location.

Here's more of dairy. This department sure had a lot of stickers!

 

Every... actually, that's all I'm going to say here.

 

Here, we dip into the store's aisles, this time finding ourselves in the international aisles. This has to be the most well-stocked part of the store, by far. This expanse of the store is also where we can see the cacophony of loud "STORE CLOSING" and "NOTHING HELD BACK" signs at full volume.

One of three specialized aisle markers from this Shoppers package! Nice touch on SuperValu's behalf, I must say.

Looking towards the meat department now, of which intersects with dairy. With the length of these aisles, Shoppers usually took the time (in the Shoppers Club era, at least) to divide aisles into sections (ex. "A9A", "B9B" etc.)

Not quite Aisle 12, but I think this will do.

All the way down Dairy. Bakery/Deli is behind this image.

Now we move over into the bakery/deli "court". I prefer the previous mercury vapor lighting (before the 2009 remodel) as it felt less cheap and added a sense of height to the department.

Here's the bakery, up close. It's hard to tell whether this kitchen is closed for the night or for good, since a few cakes are still available in the coolers.

The highlight of my visit: a cooler being disassembled. Auction time, or just something gone wrong?

What a big store this must be! Once the largest in the chain, but it still holds a great title, with the aisle count going up to 20. This is the intersection between bakery and the wine aisles. Frozen foods used to roam here, too.

Cheers for beers! Beer coolers are a feature that has sporadically appeared at Shoppers stores from the Shoppers Club era onwards. I like that it shows how Shoppers grew in store size during this period, and that it appears similar to larger warehouse chains such as Costco that have dedicated coolers for cold products like produce and dairy items.

Gliding by the aisles, we finally make our way to checkout. It is worth noting that the lettered/health & beauty aisles still have a decent amount of product left.

What's that, a Kitchen Shop? This location is the first time I have seen such signage, as well as any decent selection of such at Shoppers for that matter. Prior to the last remodel in 2016, this place was a continuation of the international aisles. Still a good amount of kitchenwares to take in here, though.

Finally, we make our way to customer service, and checkouts. Plenty of signs here to remind you that all sales are, indeed, final.

We close out this tour of Shoppers with a directory sign for the entirety of the Bull Run Plaza shopping center. This center, opened in 1987 by Trammell Crow, was part of their burgeoning "Festival Centers" concept featuring dozens of tenants big and small throughout the Washington and Baltimore metro areas. It's crazy that that old Shoppers logo stuck around until the end, of course.

Bonus photo

Here's a look at what was to the right of Shoppers at the time. Dress Barn themselves was going through the same thing as Shoppers then, only they made it to closing permanently. Since then, that space has been occupied by a Five Below.

Conclusion

Thank you all for reading through! I have one more part of the series to share with you. Next time, we will be going over what happened to this location after Shoppers left in January 2020.

Until then, take care!

Former Shoppers - Dumfries, VA: Back in the Valley (Part 2)

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.

 

Rotating on over to service deli and seafood, the existent landscape adds more evidence to the assertion that the perishable "grand aisle" is all but done for. The food bars/deli grab-and-go fixtures remain bolted to the floor, with everything else carted away.

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.

The packaged meat coolers along the perimeter are not immune to having sold out already. As far as the eye can see are the nests that once carried national and local brands. One of the signage remnants remains humbly perched along the side of a wall cooler, accompanying the backroom door.

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.

 

Aisle 12 checkpoint!

Lucky Aisle 13: Where toiletries and TV dinner (used to) meet.

Turning around at the same vantage point, we see that two sets of doors make their confluence just as dairy and frozen do in the vicinity.

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!

Jumping back to the front of the store, we see the beer and wine department in its (half-)full glory. Everything in the coolers (largely beer) is gone, though some wine bottles remain on the shelves.

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.

Exiting out the store, we take in the hot July air and reflect back on what would be my final visit to this location. The "PHARMACY" labelscar remains scrubbed on the right end of the facade. 
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!

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