BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

WARFIELD — Warfield Market welcomed customers back Monday after being shuttered for nearly seven months following devastating river flooding in February. To celebrate, the longtime supermarket is holding a grand reopening sale through Sept. 14.

For shoppers like Christian Williams of Kermit, the closure meant long drives to Williamson for groceries.

“It was really hard for a lot of people,” Williams said Monday. “I’m very happy that the store has reopened. It’s where everyone around here goes. It looks beautiful. I really like it.”

Estella Smith of Crum has shopped in Warfield “for years.” During the closure she had to travel much farther for essentials.

“We’ve missed it,” Smith exclaimed. “Especially the employees. It’s wonderful. Everything looks really nice.”

The store’s return follows a complete rebuild after February’s floodwaters reached more than 5 feet inside the building, destroying floors, walls and equipment. Owners stripped the structure to its exterior walls before installing new insulation, walls, ceiling tile, produce tables, deli and meat equipment and refurbished coolers. They also reconfigured the layout to create a more efficient shopping space.

Once branded under IGA, Warfield Market now carries the Best Choice label. Its deli, bakery, butcher shop and produce departments are all back at full capacity.

The store has been a fixture in Warfield for more than 70 years. The Walker/Pack family took ownership in 1991, when Derle Walker purchased the business from longtime grocer Dan Copley. Walker, a veteran grocer who had operated a supermarket in Inez since 1959, guided the company until his passing in 2015. His grandson Brad Pack and daughter Judy Ousley have since continued the family tradition of service.

Store hours are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.