{"id":861781,"date":"2026-09-26T21:56:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T21:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/861781\/"},"modified":"2026-09-26T21:56:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T21:56:14","slug":"jim-ukrop-grocery-chain-leader-and-richmond-civic-booster-dies-at-89","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/861781\/","title":{"rendered":"Jim Ukrop, grocery chain leader and Richmond civic booster, dies at 89"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ukrop\u2019s Super Markets started with a single tiny store in South Richmond, a Great Depression-era business venture made possible by mortgaging the family farm for $1,000.<\/p>\n

After Jim Ukrop joined the family business in 1960 as a fresh college graduate, he convinced his father to open a second store. That was the first of many expansions that turned Ukrop\u2019s into Richmond\u2019s leading grocery chain with dozens of locations across the region.<\/p>\n

It also set Ukrop on the path to an influential role in the civic life of his hometown, giving him the resources and connections to shape Richmond\u2019s economic and cultural growth for decades.<\/p>\n

Ukrop died Friday evening at age 89, according to his family. His health had been declining for some time, and his passing was not unexpected.<\/p>\n

He was \u201cone of Richmond\u2019s most consequential business and civic leaders in our lifetime,\u201d according to former Venture Richmond leader Jack Berry, who asked Ukrop to co-chair his 2016 campaign for mayor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t just write checks. He showed up,\u201d Berry said. \u201cHe was personally involved in community initiatives all over town. And he did it with kindness, humility and love for this city.\u201d<\/p>\n

A graduate of John Marshall High School and William & Mary, Ukrop became the grocery chain\u2019s president in 1974, a title he kept for two decades until it was passed to his younger brother, Bobby, who also had an active role in running and growing the business.<\/p>\n

When asked to explain their grocery success over the years, the Ukrops often pointed to the Golden Rule, friendliness and a commitment to customer service. In a 1991 interview, Jim Ukrop said the goal was to make people \u201cfeel better when they leave than when they come in.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Richmonders remember the life and legacy of Jim Ukrop<\/p>\n

\u201cAt a time when many business leaders found it easier to disengage from the city and its issues, Jim believed deeply in the importance of Richmond.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Food Lion gradually gained a bigger share of the Richmond area\u2019s grocery business. Ukrop\u2019s sold its 25 stores to Giant-Carlisle in 2010 for about $140 million. The stores transitioned to the Martin\u2019s brand after the sale, but Ukrop\u2019s continued on as a smaller food manufacturing operation. Ukrop\u2019s products are still sold today by other retailers and at the Ukrop\u2019s Market Hall in Henrico County.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t just the supermarkets\u2019 famous rainbow cookies, chicken salad and White House rolls that made the Ukrops one of Richmond\u2019s most prominent families.<\/p>\n

Jim and Bobby\u2019s parents, Joseph and Jacquelin Ldevia Ukrop, were among the first businesspeople chosen for induction in the Richmond Business Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

Jim Ukrop also served as chairman of First Market Bank, a supermarket banking offshoot that started inside Ukrop\u2019s stores. In his post-grocery career, he went on to co-found New Richmond Ventures, which looked to invest in promising local startups.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a do-er. He was a risk-taker,\u201d said Ted Ukrop, one of Jim\u2019s sons.<\/p>\n

One of his mantras was \u201cactions speak louder than words,\u201d according to Scott Ukrop, another son.<\/p>\n

Outside of his business and civic work, his main hobby was golf.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe used to say, \u2018I work for fun and I play golf for tension,\u2019\u201d said Ted Ukrop.<\/p>\n

Jim met his wife, Bobbie, at William & Mary. A member of the class of 1960, he was deeply involved at his alma mater, serving two terms on the school\u2019s Board of Visitors.<\/p>\n

Jim Ukrop played several other influential roles promoting Richmond\u2019s business community and charitable causes, including support for the city\u2019s public schools and the education-focused nonprofit Communities in Schools. He was particularly focused on efforts to recruit talented teachers to work for Richmond Public Schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cJim\u2019s passion was helping other people pursue their passion, particularly urban entrepreneurs, public school kids and community builders,\u201d said Berry. \u201cHe believed in diversity and inclusion before it was generally adopted in the corporate sector\u2026 He believed in wealth creation. That was a key to the future of many people who had been left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

One Richmonder who credits Ukrop for playing a major role in her life is Zarina Fazaldin,\u00a0who was born in Kenya, educated in India and now has a real estate career with a focus on restoring historic city homes. She worked waitressing jobs after graduating from VCU, but dreamed of starting her own business. Getting advice and loans from Ukrop, she said, helped her do that.<\/p>\n

Fazaldin still keeps a handwritten note on Ukrop\u2019s stationary that she received in 1995. In it, Ukrop urged her to \u201cremember to keep focused on your dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe did a lot not only for me, he did a lot with others,\u201d Fazaldin said. \u201cBut he never talked about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of his major civic interests was the revitalization of downtown Richmond.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the early 1980s, he was involved in the formation of the downtown booster group Richmond Renaissance. He helped with the creation of the Richmond Folk Festival, one of the city\u2019s most popular annual traditions. He was also a founding director of the Richmond Performing Arts Alliance, which led an effort to fundraise for what is now the Dominion Energy Center for the Performing Arts.<\/p>\n

That wasn\u2019t an easy project, said John W. Bates III, a longtime friend of Ukrop\u2019s who worked closely with him on the theater effort. As many volunteer-led efforts do, Bates said, it could\u2019ve collapsed when things got rough. Because of Ukrop, he said, it didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe kind of has a sense for wanting to help the underdog,\u201d Bates said. \u201cIn the 70s and 80s, the city was an underdog.\u201d<\/p>\n

His forays into city issues occasionally drew pushback from critics who characterized him as a member of the white business elite seeking to use wealth to get his way. Despite that criticism, he insisted he was just trying to make Richmond a better place.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to do whatever we can do to help the city to reach its full potential \u2013 economically, socially and politically. That benefits our business,” Ukrop told a Richmond Times-Dispatch reporter in 1993, explaining why he had helped upstart David Hicks defeat controversial incumbent Joe Morrissey in that year\u2019s Democratic primary for commonwealth\u2019s attorney.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With a Baptist streak, the Ukrops were known for their morals and values. The family-owned grocery stores were closed on Sundays and didn\u2019t sell alcohol. In the mid-1990s, Jim Ukrop got into a feud with shock jock Howard Stern after he urged advertisers to boycott Stern\u2019s radio show due to its sexually explicit content.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had the courage of his convictions, maybe without always thinking about consequences,\u201d said Scott Ukrop. \u201cIt was always the hard right over the easy wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of his more recent civic endeavors was helping lead opposition to proposals to bring a casino to Richmond. He argued gambling wouldn\u2019t bring the promised economic benefits casino supporters said it would.<\/p>\n

In a 2009 interview with the RTD, both brothers said they didn\u2019t particularly enjoy the public scrutiny that came with being a Ukrop. The perception that the Ukrops were influence-wielding power brokers, Jim Ukrop said at the time, was \u201ctroublesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWould the community be better off if I just went fishing?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Contact Reporter Graham Moomaw at gmoomaw@richmonder.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcdd<\/p>\n

Send your memories of Jim Ukrop to news@richmonder.org<\/a>, and we’ll publish a selection in Monday’s newsletter.<\/p>\n

VCU, Venture Richmond and the Ukrop family, all mentioned in this story, are donors to The Richmonder, which is community funded. Our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support. Read our editorial policy\u00a0here<\/a>, and learn about The Richmonder’s funding here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ukrop\u2019s Super Markets started with a single tiny store in South Richmond, a Great Depression-era business venture made…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":861782,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[28],"class_list":["post-861781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/861781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=861781"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/861781\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/861782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=861781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=861781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=861781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}