A W. Grace St. property which sat empty for 2 years will soon be the home of the newly-named Ram City Market. What was once a campus Walmart, closed in July 2019, will now be a small grocery store, open to serve VCU students, locals + visitors.

Ram City Market is expected to open in late fall, early spring. | Photo via Brian McNeill

This ground-floor spot will be located in the Grace Street Center building, just below VCU’s procurement and university relations offices. That’s in the Monroe Park Campus area, right across from the campus Barnes & Noble.

The market will feature fresh produce, dry grocery items, as well as to-go coffee and made-to-order sandwiches. It’s expected to open in late fall to early spring of 2022.

According to VCU News, students will be able to use their dining plans to purchase anything in the market, as well as cash or credit options. The market’s name and logo was actually chosen by students through a survey this month. That survey also found most students wanted a smaller grocery store, within walking distance, which had Kroger-like prices.

The student-chosen logo of Ram City Market

The market was conceived through a partnership with VCU Dining, its food service provider Aramark, and VCU Business Services. The Ram City Market will employ about 7 to 8 Aramark workers. There’s no word yet on when the store’s hours or exact opening date will be available.

Ram City Market is only one of several markets opening up across the city of Richmond this year. We told you about the collaborative 3-business Market on Meadow which had its grand opening last month, the Sen Organic Farmer’s Market which started up in Carytown earlier this year, plus last week the Supper Club market announced it is planning to open in the Tuckahoe Shopping Center in late fall.