Retail 2024: ROBERT S. ‘BOBBY’ UKROP

Ukrop’s family started a Virginia grocery chain in 1937, which became Richmond’s dominant supermarket brand before it was purchased in 2009 by Dutch retail conglomerate Ahold. The family retained its beloved prepared foods and bakery operations under the Ukrop’s Homestyle Foods brand.

Its baked goods and ready-to-eat meals were initially exclusively sold at Martin’s, but in 2017 they became regionally available at Kroger, Wegmans and other stores, and in 2020, Ukrop’s Market Hall opened in Richmond. In April 2023, Ukrop’s launched its first nationally distributed product with Kroger: a cinnamon crumb cake. Ukrop and his team have plans to launch more products with Kroger in the future.

Ukrop is heavily involved in supporting regional athletics. In the early 1980s, he helped build The Diamond, Richmond’s baseball stadium. These days, he is focused on swim access and safety in association with SwimRVA, which launched Learn to Swim programs in school systems. In 2019, the University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business inducted Ukrop into its Alumni Hall of Fame. The 1969 graduate has served on UR’s board of trustees and the business school’s executive advisory council.