Was just in Magruders in Vienna by suprise they are closing in 2 weeks a old legend grocery will be gone I don't know about the Rexall although...

It will be missed by Vienna Shopers !!!

Once Weggmans became the destination grocery I think the writing was on the wall.

Missed? I think not - that place is filthy and I'm shocked that it has stayed in business as long as it has.

Maybe a useful retail operation will move into that space. Anything except another bank, grocery store or mattress store or manicure salon.

Something like a mini Kohl's? Vienna has no place to buy everyday items like, for instance, a pair of jeans or a jacket. And before you say head on over to Tyson's Mall, I mean there's no general goods store in Vienna proper. So frustrating!

Wow, Magruders has been there forever!! I can remember it was always catching on fire. Rexall is probably still owned by the Borgati family, its been there forever also!

That place had great prices on produce. You have to wash those items anyway, so who cares about the filth!

How about a trader joes?

For the demographics of that area, I think a Dean and Deluca would be nice.

@eesh - not a bad idea

@grh, everybody - can anybody tell me how many times Magruders caught on fire - it DOES seem like at one point in time, it happend like every other week or something LoLz

Vienna Mom Wrote:
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> Missed? I think not - that place is filthy and
>

Agree, the place was a slum. It always smelled in there, like rotten meat or something.

Good riddance.

A new rub-n-tug spa will be opening in that space soon!

There was a rumor two years ago about Magruders' closing their doors.

Management wrote a public letter saying that the rumor was false and that the rumor did nothing but hurt employee morale.

Is this round #2 of the same?

I remember it catching fire a few times back in the 80's. It smelled like rotten meat back then too.

__________________________________
That's not a ladybug, that's a cannapiller.

Filfthy? I think it was more a matter of it being poorly lit. At least, that it what I told my kids. It will be missed. Now I'll have to go to H-Mart in Merrifield for a store as cramped and odd and different from the hegemony of Giant/Safeway/Wegemons.

Gerald Hanrahan Wrote:
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> Filfthy? I think it was more a matter of it being
> poorly lit. At least, that it what I told my
> kids. It will be missed. Now I'll have to go to
> H-Mart in Merrifield for a store as cramped and
> odd and different from the hegemony of
> Giant/Safeway/Wegemons.


Ever take a look-see at Magruder's public bathroom, located just behind the wall where the refrigerated aisle of chicken parts intersects with the loose potatoes?
Yeah, go in there sometime. Leave the lights off. Make yourself comfortable and stay a piece.

When you emerge from that lovely piece of heaven, walk out and turn right. Now, go all the way to the end of the deli counter nearly to the egg aisle and look down. See the filthy floor with missing tiles and a perpetual residue of some disgusting goo? Now, if you haven't vomited, raise your head and look behind the counter and see the old, gray drippy mop and bilgey rinse water bucket, cloudy food windows and ancient wash basin. Would you buy anything unpackaged from this store?

Good riddance, yucky ol' Magruder's. You stink. Literally. It is disgraceful and if you eat from here, you either have a cast-iron stomach or low standards, or both.

I'm hoping for a Trader Joe's if it's another grocery store.

twidancer Wrote:
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> I'm hoping for a Trader Joe's if it's another
> grocery store.


With Fresh Market and Whole Foods right down the street and a Trader Joe's only a few miles away, is another one really necessary?

TheMeeper Wrote:
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> twidancer Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I'm hoping for a Trader Joe's if it's another
> > grocery store.
>
>
> With Fresh Market and Whole Foods right down the
> street and a Trader Joe's only a few miles away,
> is another one really necessary?


Is it necessary to have 15 banks and 12 mattress stores? This is the sort of saturation Vienna loves.

__________________________________
That's not a ladybug, that's a cannapiller.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/10/2013 07:51PM by Warhawk.

Warhawk Wrote:
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>
> Is it necessary to have 15 banks and 12 mattress
> stores? This is the sort of saturation Vienna loves.

I find myself over in that little strip quite often. Great burgers, a good Pho shop, awesome kebab, a decent breakfast dive, Chipotle, the new Walgreens, nearby grocery stores, etc. Trader Joe's would just be overkill. The mini-Kohl's might be alright, but the excruciating traffic around that little area is already bad enough. I wouldn't mind a good BBQ restaurant like Rocklands or (laugh all ya want) Red Hot & Blue. Anything's better than TJ's or Magruders.

TheMeeper Wrote:
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> I find myself over in that little strip quite
> often. Great burgers, a good Pho shop....





I miss the Thai restaurant that was where the Pho place is now. It was one of the few places that knew what Tiger Cry steak is.

Seriously - a Kohl's? Hasn't Panera jacked up that parking lot enough for you Soccer Moms?? We need more Mom & Pop shops - Cottage industy, not Big Box. If you love commercialism so much - pack your mini-van and move to Tysons Corner already.

The greatest asset Vienna has is its small town vibe despite its proximity to the urban sprawl. Keep Vienna small - VIVA VIENNA!!!

how about just plant trees and grass there for like a community park?

nature boy Wrote:
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> how about just plant trees and grass there for
> like a community park?


This, and take out a few traffic lights while you're at it.

I loved the one in Falls Church. It was replaced with a Spanish market. Now my choices are Giant and Safeway, I hate both of them. I'd shop at the Spanish market or a Korean one if I could get most of my usual groceries there.

Very sad they are closing. We need to fight for a Trader Joe's in Vienna.

TheMeeper Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> twidancer Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I'm hoping for a Trader Joe's if it's another
> > grocery store.
>
>
> With Fresh Market and Whole Foods right down the
> street and a Trader Joe's only a few miles away,
> is another one really necessary?

Given the popularity of Traders, I think the answer would be a resounding yes.

Out west, you do have Trader Joes locations that are two or three miles apart - in area with less income than Vienna.

This area is loaded and has instant draw.

no proof of closure....heresay

.... Wrote:
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> no proof of closure....heresay


you mean hearsay

Magruder's is like a bit of local history frozen in time. Yes it ts filthy and disorganized in there but it's also quite charming at the same time. Now that stalcups is gone the next thing to go will be the Vienna inn and the wolf trap motel.

grocery consumer Wrote:
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> Magruder's is like a bit of local history frozen
> in time. Yes it ts filthy and disorganized in
> there but it's also quite charming at the same
> time. Now that stalcups is gone the next thing to
> go will be the Vienna inn and the wolf trap motel.


Vienna inn will have to burn to the ground for it to go away. That place is an institution. Shoot, I still go there from time to time.

__________________________________
That's not a ladybug, that's a cannapiller.

I'm sad to see Magruder's go. It had great prices and kept Giant from jacking up prices even higher. Plus the shoppers at Giant are rude and self-important. We need a grocery store for those of us who aren't overpaid and represent the true shrinking middle class.

Before it converted to Magruders that location was one of the few Kroger stores that opened in the NOVA area. Krogers came to the DC market and failed big time in the 1960's. When they realized they couldn't compete with Safeway / A&P / Giant they quickly pulled out and another chain called Consumers Co-op Markets opened in that space. It too failed by the late 60's becoming Magruders. No idea what might take the spot. Don't think a spanish or korean market would want Vienna because of so many weird regulations. who knows?

Sigmund Wrote:
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> Before it converted to Magruders that location was
> one of the few Kroger stores that opened in the
> NOVA area. Krogers came to the DC market and
> failed big time in the 1960's. When they realized
> they couldn't compete with Safeway / A&P / Giant
> they quickly pulled out and another chain called
> Consumers Co-op Markets opened in that space. It
> too failed by the late 60's becoming Magruders.
> No idea what might take the spot. Don't think a
> spanish or korean market would want Vienna because
> of so many weird regulations. who knows?

Guy at the ABC told me they are tearing down that whole shopping center and a extended stay motel and a cracker barrel are going in. Demolition could start this summer.

its official now: http://vienna.patch.com/articles/magruder-s-closing-with-half-off-sale#c

Everything in the store is 1/2 off, go now!!!

https://www.change.org/petitions/trader-joe-s-come-to-vienna-virginia-to-fill-in-the-void-left-by-magruders?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=url_share&utm_campaign=url_share_after_sign

none of you sleuths know what's going in there?

Rohan Wrote:
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> https://www.change.org/petitions/trader-joe-s-come
> -to-vienna-virginia-to-fill-in-the-void-left-by-ma
> gruders?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=url_s
> hare&utm_campaign=url_share_after_sign


That would be awesome if it became a Trader Joe's. It is on my commute home and going to the one on 236 or out in Centreville sucks.

I currently keep my money in my mattress. If we had a bank in Vienna I could then make convenient deposits. Or if a mattress store was close by I could actually buy a new one with my money.

I loved the one in Falls Church. Good prices, and some exotic mustards and things you can't get elsewhere.

Now, choose between Safeway and Giant. Meh. Yes, and Harris Teeter is coming, son of meh.

Oh well.

Urgent Care is moving there from across the street.

A funeral home and carwash are across the street.

There is a Trader Joe's in Reston that was built with a little "postage stamp sized" parking lot; this store pulls in everyone for tens of miles. I used to run into friends from Centreville on weekends (shopping there in Trader Joe's Reston, (before they built the one in Centreville)! As some of you may well know, a couple of banks and a diner are their neighbors. The diner next to the Trader Joe's has a 1/2 acre- sized parking lot that sits empty most of the time, each empty parking space emblazoned with horrific warning signs of what will befall your car if you dare park in their empty lot and trot off down the hill to the Trader Joe's! So, as a result of the size constrictions and the swarming hordes trying to get in at all times of the day, Trader Joe's parking spaces were scrunched down with the result that they will comfortably accommodate a Smart car; Stick around and watch the fun when the soccer moms in their Honda Odysseys and Dodge Journeys all try to squeeze in and out of there without hitting each other from 9 AM opening to 9 PM closing time, while hopeful customers circle the lot like vultures for hours awaiting someone to please leave so they can fight each other at 35 mph for the motocross squeeze play into the vacated spot!

A few years ago, I asked them (Trader Joe's) why they didn't build more stores, especially one out in Ashburn to take care of the flocks of customers coming in from points west. A store was closing--Food Lion or Blooms--in Ashburn, with a bigger building and much roomier parking area. A checker told me that the customers had petitioned them to move out there, but in the same breath, indicated that the at area did not fit the demographics profile they were looking for.
It is possible that Vienna might not fit their preferred profile either.

They seem to like to locate in places that have a large population of older folks on fixed incomes, students on small incomes, and generally poorer people with educated eclectic tastes, and progressive views. The demographics of the areas around the northeastern New England universities comes to mind. Ashburn is filled with moneyed foreigners and yuppies who don't flinch at paying $4.50 for an 8 ounce box of spaghetti at Harris Teeters, or $5.00 for a good but small loaf of bread at Wegmans.

Over time, as Trader Joe's has begun increasing the number of stores in the area, they might have had a change of mind over the demographics, it it seems to have come at a price--their prices are appearing to increase as well to better reflect the new demographics. I would have quit going there long ago had it not been for the awesome quality and one of a kind source of many things I like there. Lately, though, a trip to Trader Joes runs the same as a trip to Wegmans.

So there is hope, but they really need to plan these stores better and provide larger parking areas commensurate with the big crowds thy invariably attract. If they take over the Magruders strip mall, there better not be anything else located there next to them, as the traffic conditions will be awful--the only solution is to bring along a driver who circles the block endlessly in queue with all the rest of the would-be shoppers while you go in and shop!