Fred Meyer & Target changes - 2021

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Re: Fred Meyer & Target changes - 2021

Post by storewanderer »

Romr123 wrote: April 5th, 2021, 4:03 pm I beg your pardon--it WAS indeed Coos Bay that I saw. We were driving north on Hwy 1 and stopped at the Safeway for a restroom...saw the FM (which was the first we'd encountered) and was shocked.
You saw what is easily the most run down Fred Meyer building in the entire chain. But the interior of the store looks quite a bit better than the outside. Outdated yes, but not like the outside. They were trying to do a demolish and rebuild on Coos Bay but last I heard they were just settling on doing a major remodel. Looks like that hasn't even happened yet...

The interior of the Coos Bay Fred Meyer likely dates to about 1990 and looks about on par with the usual Meijer. It is the last use of that interior anywhere that is still left. Lots of white- white floors, white walls, some high exposed ceilings (some drop ceilings though in Coos Bay). Departments are definitely smaller and oddly laid out.

What is funny is Coos Bay had a Kmart, a proper 70's like Kmart, that sat on a big lot with a big parking lot. That closed a few years ago but it hung on longer than many Kmarts in the Pacific Northwest. Wal Mart also has a proper large Supercenter somewhere around Coos Bay or North Bend. I never understood why Fred Meyer had such an irregular substandard store in Coos Bay.

The Safeway there that you went into was built in the early 90's as a Ray's Sentry (now doing business as Ray's Food Place).

As for the Newport Fred Meyer (which got a very nicely done remodel in the past decade), the reason the building is a triangle shape is so the building is aligned with the street (not the Highway 101) in front of it. Also Fred Meyer Stores of that era were built in a way to have parking positioned close to the store's multiple entry points so customers could easily enter/exit the store in the rainy season.
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Re: Fred Meyer & Target changes - 2021

Post by Super S »

storewanderer wrote: April 5th, 2021, 6:49 pm
Romr123 wrote: April 5th, 2021, 4:03 pm I beg your pardon--it WAS indeed Coos Bay that I saw. We were driving north on Hwy 1 and stopped at the Safeway for a restroom...saw the FM (which was the first we'd encountered) and was shocked.
You saw what is easily the most run down Fred Meyer building in the entire chain. But the interior of the store looks quite a bit better than the outside. Outdated yes, but not like the outside. They were trying to do a demolish and rebuild on Coos Bay but last I heard they were just settling on doing a major remodel. Looks like that hasn't even happened yet...

The interior of the Coos Bay Fred Meyer likely dates to about 1990 and looks about on par with the usual Meijer. It is the last use of that interior anywhere that is still left. Lots of white- white floors, white walls, some high exposed ceilings (some drop ceilings though in Coos Bay). Departments are definitely smaller and oddly laid out.

What is funny is Coos Bay had a Kmart, a proper 70's like Kmart, that sat on a big lot with a big parking lot. That closed a few years ago but it hung on longer than many Kmarts in the Pacific Northwest. Wal Mart also has a proper large Supercenter somewhere around Coos Bay or North Bend. I never understood why Fred Meyer had such an irregular substandard store in Coos Bay.

The Safeway there that you went into was built in the early 90's as a Ray's Sentry (now doing business as Ray's Food Place).

As for the Newport Fred Meyer (which got a very nicely done remodel in the past decade), the reason the building is a triangle shape is so the building is aligned with the street (not the Highway 101) in front of it. Also Fred Meyer Stores of that era were built in a way to have parking positioned close to the store's multiple entry points so customers could easily enter/exit the store in the rainy season.
I wonder what is keeping Target from the Oregon Coast. At one time they didn't really seem like a good fit, but with Walmart having a presence, Kmart gone, and Fred Meyer having varying conditions/layouts, I think there could be room for Target in some of those areas. But then again, Fred Meyer has largely avoided Eastern Oregon which I never quite understood.
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Re: Fred Meyer & Target changes - 2021

Post by kr.abs.swy »

Super S wrote: April 5th, 2021, 7:20 pm
storewanderer wrote: April 5th, 2021, 6:49 pm
Romr123 wrote: April 5th, 2021, 4:03 pm I beg your pardon--it WAS indeed Coos Bay that I saw. We were driving north on Hwy 1 and stopped at the Safeway for a restroom...saw the FM (which was the first we'd encountered) and was shocked.
You saw what is easily the most run down Fred Meyer building in the entire chain. But the interior of the store looks quite a bit better than the outside. Outdated yes, but not like the outside. They were trying to do a demolish and rebuild on Coos Bay but last I heard they were just settling on doing a major remodel. Looks like that hasn't even happened yet...

The interior of the Coos Bay Fred Meyer likely dates to about 1990 and looks about on par with the usual Meijer. It is the last use of that interior anywhere that is still left. Lots of white- white floors, white walls, some high exposed ceilings (some drop ceilings though in Coos Bay). Departments are definitely smaller and oddly laid out.

What is funny is Coos Bay had a Kmart, a proper 70's like Kmart, that sat on a big lot with a big parking lot. That closed a few years ago but it hung on longer than many Kmarts in the Pacific Northwest. Wal Mart also has a proper large Supercenter somewhere around Coos Bay or North Bend. I never understood why Fred Meyer had such an irregular substandard store in Coos Bay.

The Safeway there that you went into was built in the early 90's as a Ray's Sentry (now doing business as Ray's Food Place).

As for the Newport Fred Meyer (which got a very nicely done remodel in the past decade), the reason the building is a triangle shape is so the building is aligned with the street (not the Highway 101) in front of it. Also Fred Meyer Stores of that era were built in a way to have parking positioned close to the store's multiple entry points so customers could easily enter/exit the store in the rainy season.
I wonder what is keeping Target from the Oregon Coast. At one time they didn't really seem like a good fit, but with Walmart having a presence, Kmart gone, and Fred Meyer having varying conditions/layouts, I think there could be room for Target in some of those areas. But then again, Fred Meyer has largely avoided Eastern Oregon which I never quite understood.
I think that the towns on the Oregon Coast just don't have enough people to get on Target's radar. Astoria-Warrenton totals less than 20,000 people and Coos Bay-North Bend totals less than 30,000 people.
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Re: Fred Meyer & Target changes - 2021

Post by kr.abs.swy »

Romr123 wrote: April 5th, 2021, 4:03 pm I beg your pardon--it WAS indeed Coos Bay that I saw. We were driving north on Hwy 1 and stopped at the Safeway for a restroom...saw the FM (which was the first we'd encountered) and was shocked.
Thanks Romr123

That store truly has to be seen to be believed. They must have started with a fairly standard ~1960s-era grocery store with an exposed, peaked roof. At some point, probably in the 70s or early 80s, they bolted on a generic rectangular box that now has the general merchandise departments (if you look at the satellite view on Google Maps, it is fairly obvious what happened). The connection is awkward (the only way to get between the grocery section and the rest of the store is at the front), and a few of the grocery departments have been moved into the general merchandise box, which makes the discontinuity even more frustrating. The general merchandise box itself doesn't feel terrible (fairly standard drop ceiling) but the building is horribly cheap (sheet metal walls that are visible in numerous places inside) and in need of a remodel. They have blocked off one of the entrances, again awkwardly, and the building looks atrociously dated from the outside (really old Fred Meyer sign, really old signs on the food section, and cheap sheet metal exterior everywhere). The whole thing probably hasn't been meaningfully remodeled since the 1990s. But the Fred Meyer is right along the main highway and the Walmart is across town (technically in North Bend), so the Fred Meyer probably does OK. It certainly had decent traffic when I was most recently in it (a summer Sunday afternoon a couple of years ago). It does manage to have the standard Fred Meyer departments, just in a ridiculously disjointed way. This store never should have been built this way in the first place, but certainly should have been bulldozed 20+ years ago.
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Re: Fred Meyer & Target changes - 2021

Post by kr.abs.swy »

Storewanderer, do you happen to know the story of why Safeway ended up with this store from Ray's? I remember that there were elements of that store that do not feel original to Safeway.
storewanderer wrote: April 5th, 2021, 6:49 pm
Romr123 wrote: April 5th, 2021, 4:03 pm I beg your pardon--it WAS indeed Coos Bay that I saw. We were driving north on Hwy 1 and stopped at the Safeway for a restroom...saw the FM (which was the first we'd encountered) and was shocked.
You saw what is easily the most run down Fred Meyer building in the entire chain. But the interior of the store looks quite a bit better than the outside. Outdated yes, but not like the outside. They were trying to do a demolish and rebuild on Coos Bay but last I heard they were just settling on doing a major remodel. Looks like that hasn't even happened yet...

The interior of the Coos Bay Fred Meyer likely dates to about 1990 and looks about on par with the usual Meijer. It is the last use of that interior anywhere that is still left. Lots of white- white floors, white walls, some high exposed ceilings (some drop ceilings though in Coos Bay). Departments are definitely smaller and oddly laid out.

What is funny is Coos Bay had a Kmart, a proper 70's like Kmart, that sat on a big lot with a big parking lot. That closed a few years ago but it hung on longer than many Kmarts in the Pacific Northwest. Wal Mart also has a proper large Supercenter somewhere around Coos Bay or North Bend. I never understood why Fred Meyer had such an irregular substandard store in Coos Bay.

The Safeway there that you went into was built in the early 90's as a Ray's Sentry (now doing business as Ray's Food Place).

As for the Newport Fred Meyer (which got a very nicely done remodel in the past decade), the reason the building is a triangle shape is so the building is aligned with the street (not the Highway 101) in front of it. Also Fred Meyer Stores of that era were built in a way to have parking positioned close to the store's multiple entry points so customers could easily enter/exit the store in the rainy season.
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Re: Fred Meyer & Target changes - 2021

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kr.abs.swy wrote: April 5th, 2021, 10:40 pm Storewanderer, do you happen to know the story of why Safeway ended up with this store from Ray's? I remember that there were elements of that store that do not feel original to Safeway.
Not sure when or why this store ended up with Safeway. Ray's built a few stores like this in the early 90's that did not do so well. Another was in Medford and closed after a few years, was some other non grocery stuff, but is now Natural Grocers.

Clearlake, CA closed fairly recently: https://www.gorays.com/StoreLocator/Sto ... =&From=&S=
Cloverdale, CA is still open: https://www.gorays.com/StoreLocator/Sto ... =&From=&S=
Eureka, CA was built around the same time but looked slightly different. Possibly Crescent City too (both closed).
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Re: Fred Meyer & Target changes - 2021

Post by storewanderer »

kr.abs.swy wrote: April 5th, 2021, 10:38 pm
Thanks Romr123

That store truly has to be seen to be believed. They must have started with a fairly standard ~1960s-era grocery store with an exposed, peaked roof. At some point, probably in the 70s or early 80s, they bolted on a generic rectangular box that now has the general merchandise departments (if you look at the satellite view on Google Maps, it is fairly obvious what happened). The connection is awkward (the only way to get between the grocery section and the rest of the store is at the front), and a few of the grocery departments have been moved into the general merchandise box, which makes the discontinuity even more frustrating. The general merchandise box itself doesn't feel terrible (fairly standard drop ceiling) but the building is horribly cheap (sheet metal walls that are visible in numerous places inside) and in need of a remodel. They have blocked off one of the entrances, again awkwardly, and the building looks atrociously dated from the outside (really old Fred Meyer sign, really old signs on the food section, and cheap sheet metal exterior everywhere). The whole thing probably hasn't been meaningfully remodeled since the 1990s. But the Fred Meyer is right along the main highway and the Walmart is across town (technically in North Bend), so the Fred Meyer probably does OK. It certainly had decent traffic when I was most recently in it (a summer Sunday afternoon a couple of years ago). It does manage to have the standard Fred Meyer departments, just in a ridiculously disjointed way. This store never should have been built this way in the first place, but certainly should have been bulldozed 20+ years ago.
I remember the first time in Coos Bay seeing that store and comparing it to the other Fred Meyer Stores it was like... huh what is this. But once inside the general merchandise part was pretty usual and the food side was clearly undersized and did not have nearly the space for fresh departments they usually have. But even up to the mid 00's the stores on the OR Coast were very dated. Safeway still had 80's interiors in Myrtle Point(now closed), Reedsport, that Coos Bay Store had a 90's interior, Coquille was just getting a lifestyle remodel.

But if you look at other Fred Meyer Stores on the OR Coast they are quite nice facilities. Brookings, Tillamook, and Warrenton are all quite nice inside and out.

And the experience Romr had is a classic example of why you just can't keep stores like this in your store fleet. Especially in Coos Bay right along the highway, which I would call a tourist area since it is on a major thoroughfare to the OR Coast from I-5. As much as I like old stores, this store... beyond the classic Fred Meyer signs, doesn't do it for me. Ugly pre-fab building. No design elements whatsoever for a retail store (maybe someone who is into airplane hangers would like it).
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Re: Fred Meyer & Target changes - 2021

Post by Super S »

Seeing some of the more recent Fred Meyer remodels, where in some cases the stores look worse after the remodels, perhaps it's not a bad thing that Coos Bay hasn't been remodeled. I remember visiting the Salem Lancaster store about 2 years ago and they took out all of the drop ceilings and didn't even repaint anything above. Then you have the polished concrete fad and other Kroger features they are implementing. What surprised me though is how Warrenton escaped polished concrete in their recent remodel and got all new tile...it looks much nicer.
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Re: Fred Meyer & Target changes - 2021

Post by bryceleinan »

Funny thing about the Coos Bay store... I was following the saga on Oregon's e-permitting site. Coos Bay was basically going to get a full remodel to make it more closer to a Marketplace store than a full-line Freddy's... however, the Coos Bay store is not only in a flood plain - it is in a local / distant tsunami inundation zone, which triggers all sorts of requirements if you do a remodel over a certain percentage of the building's value. (I think it's 50%, but don't quote me on that.) The original remodel for Coos Bay was going to be well over that percentage - they were going to paint the store and basically gut the inside. However, with all the changes the City of Coos Bay required, they might as well have bulldozed the building because that's what they were facing. As an example, one of the changes was going to be a 4' tall concrete wall around the building, similar to how newer Costcos are constructed with brick on the bottom and metal up top.

My understanding was that Freddy's was going to relocate to be closer to The Mill Casino, however, that didn't work out because of the same issues - too expensive to build a flood-proof building. About the only design they could get away with would be putting a parking garage on the bottom floor (similar to the old Campbell Fry's Electronics.) Instead, it looks like the remodel will either be done in more phases - or what is done is all Coos Bay is going to get, which is too bad considering how odd that store is. When I was there in October, the pharmacist was telling me that they were supposed to be moved up front and get a walk-up window (similar to Bi-Mart) - and that was off the table due to the city's requirements.

I thought Fred Meyer should have bought the old K-Mart property (before Cascade took over and FedEx built in their parking lot) and built a new store there. No, you wouldn't be on 101, but Ocean Blvd. isn't that bad either considering its proximity to Walmart and the Newmark corridor. My family has been in Coos Bay for decades, and my family members have always mentioned how odd Fred Meyer was. I remember when the Safeway across the street was a Ray's and how nice it was compared to Fred Meyer.
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Re: Fred Meyer & Target changes - 2021

Post by bryceleinan »

storewanderer wrote: April 6th, 2021, 12:19 am
kr.abs.swy wrote: April 5th, 2021, 10:40 pm Storewanderer, do you happen to know the story of why Safeway ended up with this store from Ray's? I remember that there were elements of that store that do not feel original to Safeway.
Not sure when or why this store ended up with Safeway. Ray's built a few stores like this in the early 90's that did not do so well. Another was in Medford and closed after a few years, was some other non grocery stuff, but is now Natural Grocers.

Clearlake, CA closed fairly recently: https://www.gorays.com/StoreLocator/Sto ... =&From=&S=
Cloverdale, CA is still open: https://www.gorays.com/StoreLocator/Sto ... =&From=&S=
Eureka, CA was built around the same time but looked slightly different. Possibly Crescent City too (both closed).
It was opportunistic. Ray's couldn't gain a lot of traction in Coos Bay - McKay's and Safeway are basically institutions in town. Coos Bay's Safeway used to be off 4th street where Bi-Mart is now (I remember going in there with my grandfather as a kid). If I remember correctly, the box was vacant for a bit before Safeway moved in - they expanded (and moved) both the Coos Bay and North Bend stores around the same time. Safeway in North Bend was where Big 5 and Dollar Tree are now at Pony Village Mall.
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