Ellwood Thompson’s, the popular Carytown natural foods grocery store, was sold earlier this year for $1.5 million. The purchase price was recently revealed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing by the store’s buyer.
Rick Hood sold it in October, 34 years after he and a partner opened a grocer that later became Ellwood Thompson’s.
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Hood said he was ready to retire.
The buyer was Healthier Choices Management Corp., a publicly traded company that owns 15 other health-focused grocery stores in Florida, New York and New Jersey.
The sale did not include any real estate. The shopping center located at the intersection of Ellwood Avenue and North Thompson Street is owned by Hutchinson Real Estate Inc. Within the parcel are the grocery store and a row of shops on the opposite side of a parking lot, which includes The Mantu restaurant. The 2-acre plot was assessed by the city for $5.8 million.
Healthier Choices assumed the store’s lease obligations and renewed lease for one year through October 2024. The company has hired a firm to asses the store’s assets and liabilities, but that accounting hasn’t been completed.
Jeff Metzger, president of the trade magazine Food World, estimated that Ellwood Thompson’s generates significantly more than $1.5 million in annual revenue. Food World tracks revenue for grocery chains in the Richmond area but not single-store brands like Ellwood.
Rick Hood, owner of Ellwood Thompson’s Local Market, said he is ready to retire “and move on to something new.”
Healthier Choices said it aims to buy successful businesses and largely leave them untouched. Christopher Santi, the company’s president, said the sale wouldn’t affect the store’s name, its roughly 90 employees and or its local products.
In the three-month period that ended in September, Healthier Choices reported $12.7 million in total sales and a net loss of $2.9 million. The company noted an increase in operating expenses due to the purchase of another store, Green’s Natural Foods in New York, for $3.2 million.
31 photos from The Times-Dispatch archives
Air Force Women
In August 1952, WAC-WAF recruiting officer Lt. Eileen M. Toomey swore in four newcomers to the Women in the Air Force program. Taking the oath (left to right) were Vida M. Burton of West Virginia and Richmonders Doris Cannon Davis, Mary Lou Keck and Joyce Dodson.
Broad St.
In April 1966, Mrs. Arch Clegg inspected newly planted flowers on a median along Broad Street in Richmond. Two varieties of holly and more than 1,000 petunias were being planted on Broad that week between Adams and Eighth streets. The displays, sponsored by Downtown Retail Associates, were to stay in the planters until fall.
Broad St.
In June 1947, Richmond officials put up warning signs near the city limits on West Broad Street to limit speeding, which was a top traffic concern at the time.
Central State Hospital
In August 1969, airmen John McGinnis (center) and Ronald McGurn entertained a deaf youth at Central State Hospital near Petersburg. They were two of several servicemen from nearby Fort Lee who volunteered regularly at the hospital’s children’s unit. McGinnis, once a manager at a supermarket that employed several deaf workers, knew sign language and was teaching it to youths as well as McGurn.
Cloverleaf Mall
In November 1972, the Sears store in Cloverleaf Mall featured new coat and dress styles as well as furs. The Chesterfield County mall opened in August of that year; it closed in 2008, and the building was demolished in 2011.
Country Club of Virginia
In July 1953, tennis players Cliff Miller (from left), Al Dickinson and Bob Figg Sr. discussed the Country Club of Virginia’s annual tennis competition, which began the day before. Only Dickinson survived the first day of the competition.
Dogwood Dell
In August 1965, the All American Touring Band and Chorus performed the finale at the Festival of Arts in Richmond’s Dogwood Dell. The ninth annual festival, sponsored by Federated Arts of Richmond Inc. and coordinated by the city parks department, lured about 52,000 people to 13 concerts and eight stage productions during the summer.
Folk Dancing
In April 1970, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth J. Lee demonstrated the steps for classmates H.G. Shaw and W.W. Foster in a local folk dancing class.
Hull St. Station
In October 1982, Hull Street Station in South Richmond was vacant and boarded-up — the last regular passenger train to Danville had left 25 years earlier. The Southern Railway donated the station to the Old Dominion chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, which planned to convert the space into a museum and library. Today it houses the Richmond Railroad Museum.
Jackson Ward
In October 1986, preservationist and author Jim DuPriest led a tour of Richmond’s Jackson Ward neighborhood for 45 students from Luther Memorial School. The school was founded by German immigrants in 1856 at a time when the neighborhood had a notable German population; Jackson Ward later became one of the nation’s leading African-American communities.
Jackson Ward Reunion
In July 1979, Shirley McCoy performed a gospel number at a Jackson Ward reunion. The gathering at the Empire Theater brought together several hundred former residents and business owners of the Richmond neighborhood for a night of performances and community recognition.
Mail box
In June 1949, Carl A. Throckmorton (left) showed Richmond Postmaster Fergus McRee one of the 100 new mailboxes that would be installed at city street corners. The additions would bring the total number of receptacles to about 680, meaning no city resident would have to walk more than three blocks to deposit a letter.
Mailboxes
In October 1951, Mrs. R.L. Mattox showed off the unique mailbox at her home in Prince George County. The mailbox post was made using an old log cabin chain and required an hour’s worth of welding. Mattox and her husband were inspired by a design they saw in a magazine.
Monroe Park
In May 1969, an informal folk gathering brought a crowd to Monroe Park in Richmond. Composer Dan Riddick and a group of guitarists from Washington performed; guests were asked to bring toys and clothing for needy residents in Washington.
Mooer’s Field
In April 1949, Richmond Mayor W. Stirling King threw out the first pitch at the Richmond Colts home opener at Mooers Field. At right, wearing the new home uniform, is Colts manager Vinnie Smith. At left is Ray Schalk, manager of the Newport News Dodgers. The Colts won the Piedmont League game 6-5.
Noldes Bread
In July 1967, members of the Nolde family — Henry (from left), George, Carl and Arthur — watched bread roll off the assembly line at the Nolde Bros. Bakery in Church Hill in Richmond. Their relatives started a small baking operation in the 1890s, and by 1950, three area Nolde plants produced almost a million loaves per week to be sold nationally. Nolde closed in 1977.
O.K. Foundry
In April 1954, P.R. Webb, a worker at the O.K. Foundry, loaded small castings into a cleaning machine at the company’s new location at 1005 E. Ninth St. in Richmond. Established in 1913, the foundry made machine castings for the tobacco, paper and agricultural industries.
Piccadilly Cafeteria
In August 1972, William A. Richards, president of the Piccadilly Cafeteria chain, donned a chef’s cap and apron for a restaurant opening in the new Cloverleaf Mall in Chesterfield County. It was the second Piccadilly in the state; the first was in Norfolk.
Remote Controlled Cars
In March 1983, Tommy Ferguson prepared his entry for a race hosted by the Richmond Radio-Controlled Car Racing Club. Nearly 30 cars raced on a small-scale 275-foot asphalt track, buzzing around at nearly 40 mph for an audience of more than 200 people in the parking lot behind Valle’s restaurant.
Reynolds Metals
In June 1958, Reynolds Metals Co. employees Ethel Blue (left) and Bonnie Foy enjoyed some sun at the company’s new office space in Henrico County. The $10 million complex sprawled over 40 acres on a 160-acre property. Reynolds spent more than $150,000 on landscaping, including more than 10,000 trees, shrubs and plants as well as a greenhouse that supplied fresh flowers for the building.
Richmond Day
In May 1953, shoppers crowded downtown streets for Richmond Day, a promotion that began the year before. Like Black Friday, the event lured shoppers to stores with deals, such as $1 televisions, 2-for-1 car deals and $1 dresses. Merchants reported strong sales.
Richmond Symphony
In April 1972, Mrs. Peter B. Bahler (left) and Mrs. Jay J. Levit showed off “Vive la Symphonie” buttons that were given to season ticket subscribers for the Richmond Symphony’s upcoming concert season, which would have an international flavor and be led by French conductor Jacques Houtmann. Bahler designed the blue, white and red buttons; Levit led the season ticket campaign.
Salt
In February 1966, a front-end loader moved a new batch of salt that would be used to melt snow on Richmond streets. The stockpile, which had been severely depleted during the first part of winter, was kept at a railroad trestle in the Public Works Department area near Parker Field.
Sobles
In October 1977, Bruce Buhrman (left) and Paul Soble stood in front of their soon-to-be restaurant, Soble’s, in Richmond’s Fan District. The building previously housed Cavedo’s Drug Store, which opened in 1916 when the area was sparsely settled. Soble had been a physical education teacher at Tuckahoe Junior High School but resigned so that he and Buhrman, who had tended bar together, could develop the restaurant.
South Side Health Center
In September 1950, ground was broken for the South Richmond Health Center at 14th and Bainbridge streets. Members of the Richmond public health community and South Richmond Community Nursing Service participated in the ceremony. The clinic, which opened in January 1952, was staffed by volunteer nurses.
The Diamond
In April 1985, Cammie Joyce, a daughter of Dr. William H. Parker for whom the former Parker Field was named, threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the new Diamond on opening night for the Richmond Braves. The new baseball stadium on the Boulevard replaced Parker Field.
VA State Capitol
In March 1974 at the state Capitol, Virginia first lady Katherine Godwin (second from right) unveiled a painting of the Virginia Declaration of Rights. The work, by Jack Clifton (front), was presented by the Virginia Daughters of the American Revolution. Assisting Godwin were state Sen. Edward E. Willey Sr. of Richmond and DAR official Mrs. John S. Biscoe.
VCU Gym
In October 1989, two Virginia Commonwealth University students played racquetball in the school’s new gymnasium on Cary Street in Richmond. The brick building with glass cupola had been a farmers market in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and then became the City Auditorium, which hosted conventions and other events.
Westhamtpon School
In September 1961, students entered Westhampton School in Richmond. That fall, Daisy Jane Cooper became the first African-American student to integrate the junior high school; the following year, she made similar history at Thomas Jefferson High School.
YWCA
In May 1968, Andrea Queen and Betty Tenser attended a class sponsored by the Richmond YWCA to learn about basic auto mechanics, maintenance and on-the-road repairs. Their instructor was Bill Ferguson of Ferguson’s Garage.
Eric Kolenich (804) 649-6109