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As it stands, Cumberland County will have a grocery store as of Sept. 1, 2025. That’s when Travis Harris and his co-owners plan to open their Cumberland grocery project on Anderson Highway. Speaking to the Economic Development Authority on Tuesday, March 18, Harris answered questions and laid out more of the details about the operation. 

“Me and one of my good friends are going into partnership to start a grocery store, which the county desperately needs,” Harris said. The lifelong Cumberland County resident also owns a tree service and landscaping operation in the area. “We’ve been asked for a couple years now to see if we can support it.” 

The building in question is located at 1481 Anderson Highway, that’s across Route 60 from the County Administration building. It was the old Marion’s Bi-Rite and has also been the old Cumberland Hardware store. For anyone not familiar with the property, the building is roughly the size of a Dollar General store. Now grocery stores are zoned by right in the Cumberland Courthouse district, which is where this falls in. That means they don’t have to go through the process to get a conditional use permit. The group can just start working on renovations. And they’re in the development phase right now. 

“We’ve already started some of the work there,” Harris said. “We’ve cleaned the inside of the building out. We took out a lot of the drop ceiling tile. They will be replaced. We cut the power on, power washed the entire outside of the building.” 

They’re waiting on engineers to draw up the final plans for the inside, which will include three new bathroom stalls. One of those will be larger, for handicap accessibility. Once that’s finished, Harris said, they can start painting and getting things for the inside.  

More about the Cumberland grocery store

Yes, Harris said, he’s heard the comments people have made online and what they’ve been asking for. The new grocery store will have a system set up for online ordering. The store will have people who can deliver orders to local homes. They’re also putting in a system, both online and at the store, to require IDs for alcohol and tobacco sales. It’s not a case of possibly forgetting to ask for the ID. The system won’t move forward on either type of sale without an ID. 

Harris said the group has had conversations with Coke and Pepsi about selling their products. They’ve also talked with Budweiser and are working on getting their ABC and tobacco license. 

Harris said they don’t have a set time yet. Right now, the group is considering either 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. or 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Neither of those are set in stone, it’s just part of the ongoing conversation. 

In the middle of a food desert

Cumberland County is identified as a food desert, meaning that residents have limited access to healthy food options. That’s accurate, as a foodbanks.org map shows 13%-17 of residents labeled as “food insecure.” 

Now, to be clear, food insecurity doesn’t mean no options exist. It does however mean there are obstacles in the way. After all, it’s hard to plan on a weekly grocery run if you have no vehicle and no one to give you a ride. At that point, you just take what you can get. It’s also harder to eat healthy when there’s no grocery store in the county. 

Residents in the center of the county have the farthest to travel, in order to get food. Most travel to Powhatan, Buckingham, Goochland, or Farmville to get groceries or they pick them up on their way home from work. Over the last couple of years, the arrival of a Dollar General Market and Pine View Bulk Foods have helped some, but there are still challenges. If you live in the Cartersville or Columbia area, for example, you wouldn’t often make the trip to Pine View, as it’s close to Farmville. 

The hope is that a new grocery store will help drive those numbers down. 

So what can be done? 

EDA members asked how they or the county overall could help. Harris said any grant funding or help in learning how to file those applications would be appreciated. Overall, he said, the biggest expenses are going to be stocking the shelves, then coolers, freezers and a 24-hour generator, in case the power goes out during or after a storm. 

Harris said the group would be offering fruits, vegetables, meats, canned goods and dairy, but they can only make it so big, because the building is so big. The main thing the group asked for is getting the word out, especially as Sept. 1 comes closer. 

“I think we’ve made some good progress so far,” Harris said, asking for patience as they work through everything needed. “We’re getting into this. It’s new for us. But this stuff is going to start moving pretty quick.”