After serving Granville for 47 years, “the last full-service, family-owned and operated grocery store in Licking County” is for sale.
Greg Ross, president and manager of Ross’ Granville Market, told The Reporting Project that he and his siblings, who own and operate the store at 484 S. Main St., are “at or beyond retirement age” and there is no heir apparent to take over the business.
Beyond that, Ross declined to say more about the sale. The listing agent, Brandon Hess, of Shai-Hess Commercial Real Estate, said the Ross family’s goal is to find a buyer who will serve the community as they have.
This photo shows the check-out counters in the Granville IGA around the time the Ross family bought the business from the Hess family in the 1970s.
And it’s personal for Hess. “The Ross family bought the store from my family in 1978,” he said, explaining that his grandfather, Cecil Hess, owned grocery stores in Centerburg, Croton, and Granville.
“The family is looking to retire,” Hess said. “They have greatly appreciated the support of Granville and the community since they’ve been in business.”
“We’re dedicated to assisting them,” he said, “and they’re dedicated to finding the right buyer.”
The nearly 30,000-square-foot retail grocery store — which includes beer and wine sales and the village’s only liquor store — and about seven acres of land are for sale for $6.5 million, according to a listing with Shai-Hess Commercial Real Estate.
The property includes paved parking, a separate building housing the Seven 4 Zero casual restaurant, and a drive-thru Chase Bank automated teller machine.
“I’m obviously heartbroken about it,” said Granville Mayor Melissa Hartfield, “but I also understand. They’re reaching retirement age. I’m sad about it, but I understand.”
She was quick to add that village leaders are eager to work with potential new owners.
“Whoever the new owner is, we’re here to help in whatever way we can to preserve the grocery store,” said Hartfield, whose family roots in Granville run generations deep.
She said the Ross family “are good people. They have just quietly served this community and asked for nothing in return. They have done that for decades.”
The Granville Shopping Center on S. Main Street includes Ross’ Granville Market, Seven 4 Zero casual restaurant and a Chase Bank drive-through automated teller machine.
And market employees are beloved by the community, Hartfield said.
“The employees are great,” she said. “You ask them to stock something, and they do it. I just hope they can find a good, responsive buyer who will protect the values they have and the services they provide.”
As mayor and a lifelong resident of Granville, Hartfield said that the entire community feels some anxiety when an anchor business goes up for sale — such as the Granville Inn a decade ago. It was sold by a local group in 2013 to Denison University, which then did $9 million in renovations to the century-old hotel. The Buxton Inn has been on the market for nearly a year. And now the village’s only grocery store is for sale.
“I’m hoping and praying for the best,” Hartfield said. “And we’ll do whatever we can to keep that store in place.”
Village Manager Herb Koehler said village officials met with leaders of the Granville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Granville Area Community Improvement Corporation on Aug. 26 to discuss ways they can assist the Ross family or prospective buyers toward a goal of ensuring that “some form of grocery resides within Granville in the long term.”
“Ross’ Market has been a respected cornerstone of this community for decades,” he said. “We’re so very appreciative of the Ross family contributions to everything that is good about Granville, and we respect their very personal decision to turn the page.”
The market’s website says that the Ross family makes “the community our focus and pride ourselves in offering specialty and hard-to-find items. From local breweries to local honey, our wide range of internal products allows a little bit of everything for everyone.”
The market has long been associated with IGA, the Independent Grocers Alliance, and is one of 46 IGA members in the state. But it is not your typical IGA store. It has a reputation for selling products from local and Ohio-based companies, and the staff listens to customers and tries to accommodate requests for items not typically found in small-town grocery stores — such as robust offerings of items used in Asian and Mexican dishes.
On Tuesday evenings during the growing season, a portion of the Ross’ Granville Market parking lot is available to local vendors who are part of the Granville Farmers Market.
It’s a popular spot to pick up fresh donuts in the morning or a rotisserie chicken and potato salad from the deli for an evening meal. And its website notes that the market is “known for our meat department. … All of our meat is cut and packaged in-store to guarantee flavor. A wide variety of fresh chicken, pork, lamb, and much more is available, and our fishmonger can help you select from our delicious seafood selections.”
The Ross family employs local residents, some of whom are teenagers working their first jobs, and the market is a community hub where neighbors catch up with neighbors and friends.
On Tuesday evenings during the growing season, the Ross family has offered local farmers’ market vendors a corner of the parking lot to sell their produce and goods.
The real estate listing describes the property as a “confidential business & real estate opportunity in Granville” and says the market is “an exceptional opportunity to acquire a well-established, locally beloved market in the heart of Granville.”
“This confidential listing includes both the thriving business and the real estate, offering a rare chance to own a cornerstone of the community,” says the listing, which Hess said has been out for about two weeks. “Ross’ Granville Market has built a strong reputation for quality, service, and local charm, with consistent customer loyalty and steady revenue.”
It notes that the property is situated minutes from downtown Granville and Denison University, “benefiting from excellent visibility, walkability, and traffic. The real estate includes a fully operational retail facility with ample parking, efficient layout, and room for growth or reconfiguration to meet future needs.”
The main building dates to 1969 and has been expanded and updated several times.
Hartfield said that in the 1950s, her grandparents owned the land where Ross’ Market is now. Her grandparents also owned Lake Hudson and the local Chevrolet dealership, which was on East Elm Street in the building where Elm’s Pizza Parlor is now.
“That land was their popcorn field,” Hartfield said. “My grandfather was planning to build a Cadillac dealership there, but his life was cut short and that never happened.”
Luther Hudson Williams opened his Chevrolet dealership in 1936 — Hud’s Chevrolet Sales — which he ran until his passing in 1963. Her grandmother sold the land on South Main Street, and soon it was sold again to the Ross family, Hartfield said.
“When I was growing up (in the 1970s), there were three grocery stores and a butcher shop in Granville,” she said. The IGA was one of them, and the other three were all downtown — Welsh’s, Fuller’s and Sargent’s, she said.
“My grandfather always felt people didn’t pay enough attention to the south end of town — that it was the entrance to the village and we needed to do more there to welcome people,” Hartfield said.
That area has come a long way since then with the addition of Station cafe, River Road Coffee House, Chipotle and several other new businesses in recent years, and Hartfield said she and community leaders want to do everything they can to support the retention of a grocery store as an anchor there.
“I hope with all my heart that whoever buys the property will maintain a grocery store with a small-town feel,” Hartfield said.
Alan Miller writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers.
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Ross’ Granville Market and land listed for sale at $6.5 million