Photo by Jesse Chambers.
The exterior of Village Market in East Lake. Formerly owned by Western Supermarkets, the store was purchased in late March 2019 by an unnamed group of local grocers who promised to keep the store in operation.
Village Market, one of the few grocers left in eastern Birmingham, will continue to operate.
An unnamed local ownership group bought the store from Western Supermarkets in March and began operating it April 1. Western, a long-time independent grocer in Birmingham, announced in January it was discontinuing operations.
The new owners “want to keep [Village Market] in operation to serve the community,” said Jeff Gentry, a grocer and distributor who is one of the investors.
The new owners planned to retain the existing employees and make some minor store renovations, according to Gentry.
The group also bought Organic Harvest in Hoover in 2017 and recently renamed it Harvest Market. At press time, they planned to open a Harvest Market downtown in May and another Hoover location in August.
The group’s ownership of Harvest Market will allow them to “provide healthy food alternatives” at Village Market, Gentry said.
Gentry believes the city of Birmingham can attract more grocers.
“We’ve been working hand in hand with the city, and they have been extremely helpful in seeing this vision for what we want to do for Village Market,” he said.