The Padow family has a long tradition in the deli, grocery and ham business. In 1936, George Padow opened his first grocery and retail outlet in the historic Jackson Ward area of Richmond, Virginia. The Company quickly became a household name and established its reputation as a purveyor of delicious quality hams and meats at reasonable prices; a tradition the family has maintained for over sixty years.
A generation later, George's sons Sidney and Eddie, had the vision and determination to adapt the Company to meet the changing needs and demands of its customers and the marketplace. In the mid-80s, they decided to leave the grocery store format behind to establish specialty retail food shops to go along with their international mail order business.
In 1988, they opened their first Padow's Hams & Deli serving a variety of sandwiches, home made soups, and salads in Willow Lawn Shopping Center in the West End of Richmond. A second shop was opened in the Stein Mart Festival Shopping Center on the city's Southside in 1990. A third shop opened in 1992 on East Main Street in the heart of the downtown Richmond financial district.
In September 1994, the first Padow's Deli Shop was licensed in a Convenience store on Route 10 (Ironbridge Road) in Chesterfield County, Virginia. That store was later closed when the original owner passed away and the new owners did not want to continue to run the Padow's Deli in the store. Today, there is a Padow's Deli Shop operating just two blocks away from the original in the Courthouse Commons West Shopping Center at Beach Road and Route 10.
The first two Hams & Deli Franchises opened in November 1996. They are located in Barracks Road Shopping Center in Charlottesville, Virginia and Southgate Shopping Center in Colonial Heights, Virginia. Townside Shopping Center in Roanoke, Virginia opened in the spring of 1997. The Stein Mart Festival Padow's Hams & Deli, originally a company owned store, was sold as a franchise in July, 2000. Another Padow's Deli opened in June 2003 near Chesterfield Courthouse Virginia. In September 2004 Spotswood Valley Square Shopping Center in Harrisonburg, Virginia joined the network of stores. The City Hall Deli, originally a company owned store, was sold as a franchise in March 2004. The Main Street Padow's Hams & Deli, originally a company owned store, was sold as a franchise in September 2004. The new flagship Padow's Hams & Deli opened in the West End of Richmond in Circuit City Plaza in January 2005.
Today there are twelve locations open including the newest deli in the Colony Crossing Shopping Center at Charter Colony and Old Hundred Roads near Brandermill in Chesterfield, Virginia, under new management.
Future expansion plans include Norfolk, VA Beach, Fredericksburg, and Northern VA, along with North & South Carolina, and Tennessee markets.
