RICHMOND, Va. — His family is Richmond royalty, the former owners of the beloved grocery store chain that bore their last name for decades.
But Rob Ukrop found his calling on the pitch, not selling produce, though he still preaches the value of customer service.
“That's one of the things that we really stress, you know, we're gonna make sure it's a positive experience for everybody,” said Ukrop, the chairman and CEO of the Richmond Kickers and Ivy soccer clubs. “Just interact with people, you know, just say ‘hi.’ A smile goes a long way.”
Ukrop, a college soccer star who later played 12 years professionally, sat down with Catie Beck for the most recent episode of ‘Untold – A WTVR Podcast.’
The conversation focused on goals, both literal and metaphorical, and the importance of family and the community. And Ukrop talked about the efforts to make Kickers and Ivy crowds in Richmond more reflective of their surroundings.
“If you came to a Richmond Kickers game in 1995 or 1996, quite frankly it was white suburbia. You come to a Kickers game now, I mean it looks like this incredible, beautiful city that we have of Richmond that's just so diverse and unique,” said Ukrop. “It just brings people from all walks of life.”
Beck and Ukrop also discussed the legacy of the Ukrop’s supermarkets that so many in the Richmond area grew up shopping at.
“I think Ukrop’s, the experience at a Ukrop’s supermarket was about the relationships,” said Ukrop. “I do get a lot of people come up and say my experience at Ukrop’s taught me to be friendly and kind and warm… that I think that's the cool legacy of Ukrop’s to me at this point.”
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