Inge's Store

Inge’s Grocery Store (1891-1979)

333 West Main Street

The first recorded structure built on the plot of land at 333 West Main Street was a residential property constructed in 1820 and expanded sometime between 1833 and 1840. It was remodeled as a dry goods store for the first time in 1853, and in 1890 Mr. George P. Inge bought the building for $3,000 to open a grocery store at the age of twenty-eight. The store only changed hands once in its eighty-eight year history, and that was in 1946 when the senior Inge turned the business over to his youngest son, Mr. Thomas Inge. By the time Inge’s Grocery closed its doors for the last time in 1979, it had become a local landmark and source of pride for many African American residents as one of the oldest Black-owned businesses in Charlottesville. Many of them remember the store as a place where they purchased penny-candy and sodas as children.

In its prime Inge’s Grocery was the only location in Charlottesville where locals could buy fresh fish, and the store supplied this product to the Clairmont Hotel, the Hotel Gleason, the Dolly Madison Inn, the University Hospital, and boarding houses around the University of Virginia. The building was also the Inge family home, and served as a rooming house for visiting African Americans dignitaries who were not allowed to stay in other facilities due to segregation policies. Among these men were the Gloucester Country lawyer T. C. Walker, Dr. Robert R. Martin, and the most famous, Booker T. Washington.

Situated at the top of the Vinegar Hill neighborhood, 333 West Main Street was initially slated for demolition as part of the federally funded Urban Renewal project that razed the area bordered by Preston Avenue, West Main Street, and Fourth Street NW. Thomas Inge successfully fought for his family’s store and Inge’s Grocery was one of the few structures on Vinegar Hill to be spared by Charlottesville’s Urban Renewal. The store continued to operate until 1979 when Thomas Inge retired after facing increasing competition from chain supermarkets that began to appear in the 1940s and increased in numbers and influence throughout the decades.

Ownership of the property was transferred to Leslie LaFon in early 1980, who had plans to almost double the size of the building house within it an upscale restaurant and a number of small retail shops. LaFon had hoped to benefit from the federally funded Small Cities revitalization efforts focused on the Starr Hill neighborhood, but after considerable controversy over the renovations and restoration the building was not expanded. Named after the space behind Inge’s Grocery where the family had kept a milk cow, chickens, and geese, the Bull Alley restaurant opened for business in 1983.

Due to a lack of fire stops in the building’s original 19^th century construction, a fire at the Bull Alley restaurant in early 1989 destroyed much of the structure’s interior. The event was not a total loss: the façade survived and damage to the floor on the entry level was not repaired to give the space a more open feel. 333 West Main Street is currently occupied by another restaurant, West Main.

Sources

Audrey Ross, “Fire Destroys Historic Downtown Landmark,” The Daily Progress, 19 January 1989. “Businesses – Inge’s Store – West Main St.” Vertical File, Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society, Charlottesville, Va.

David A Maurer, “Neighborhood Grocery Bygone Home of Service and Trust,” The Daily Progress, 21 January 1990. “Businesses – Inge’s Store – West Main St.” Vertical File, Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society, Charlottesville, Va.

Granquist, Charles L. to Members and Friends of Old Charlottesville, 20 July 1982. “Businesses – Inge’s Store – West Main St.” Vertical File, Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society, Charlottesville, Va.

Johnson, Jack. Interview by Naomi Jacobs and Cynthia Terrell Richardson, 09 April 2010, Personal Collection, Charlottesville, Va.

Libby Wilson, “Former Slave and His Son Nurtured Thriving Grocery,” The Daily Progress, 26 February 1984. “Businesses – Inge’s Store – West Main St.” Vertical File, Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society, Charlottesville, Va.

Lugo, Alicia. Interview by Naomi Jacobs and Cynthia Terrell Richardson, 16 April 2010, Personal Collection, Charlottesville, Va.

Members of the Albemarle County Historical Society Publications Committee. “Tour F: West Main Street/Ridge Street Driving Tour.” In Historic Charlottesville Tour Book: 10 Tours of Charlottesville, Virginia, edited by Frank E. Grizzard, Jr, 43-51. Charlottesville’s Historic Resource Task Force in conjunction with The Albemarle County Historical Society: Charlottesville, Virginia, 2002.

Observer Staff, “Inge’s Faces Another of Many Changes,” The Observer, 19 November 1979. “Businesses – Inge’s Store – West Main St.” Vertical File, Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society, Charlottesville, Va.

Paul Richter, “Milk Was 7 Cents A Quart on Bull Alley,” The Daily Progress, 06 June 1977. “Businesses – Inge’s Store – West Main St.” Vertical File, Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society, Charlottesville, Va.

Progress Staff, “Jefferson’s Travelogue: Inge’s Store,” The Daily Progress, 08 August 1972. “Businesses – Inge’s Store – West Main St.” Vertical File, Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society, Charlottesville, Va.

Ray McGrath, “Inge’s Store Has a Place in Main Street’s History and Future,” The Daily Progress, 11 November 1979. “Businesses – Inge’s Store – West Main St.” Vertical File, Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society, Charlottesville, Va.

The Virginian Restaurant Company. <http://www.virginianrestaurant.com/Company/About.html> (accessed 23 April 2010).