Saars Marketplace

[storewanderer]

I read on an older thread that Saars bought some stores from QFC that were a discount/limited service format.

I went into a couple of Saars and wonder if either were such stores in the past.

I went to the one in Renton (which had old Lucky looking ENTER and EXIT signs hanging above the doors, but seemed way too big for an old Lucky). It had no interior decor at all and was marginally busy.

I also went to the one out in Port Orchard. That one, looked like a WinCo or Cub inside. Same colors, same wall signage. Far different layout. That one looked like it was really struggling; way too much refrigeration filled with water/sport drinks/soda and too many frozen cases filled with low cost frozen meals and other random fillers. Very few customers in that store yet the Albertsons and Fred Meyer out there were really busy; the QFC was quiet but not as quiet as Saars. This Saars also had real old registers with ink printers, they didn't even have a swipe on the customer side for credit/debit, you had to hand your card to the clerk to swipe on a small machine attached to the counter that wasn't even hooked into the register.

[VibeGuy]

I think Port Orchard was a former Market Basket Foods and I believe the transfer substantially predates the Kroger acquisition of Fred Meyer. I *believe* the transfer predates the Ralphs/Hughes transactions, but I could be way off. The Rainier Beach location in Seattle was purchased from Post-Kroger QFC

I live within a mile of the Saars in PO. It is...um....fascinating to me that it limps along like this. The giant infills of dollar store merchandise, the mystery store brands, the open freezer/fridge bins filled with, one one memorable day, sixteen running feet of Western Family margarine.

I have my suspicions (SNAP funds being used to buy prohibited items, perhaps?), but all in all, I keep going there every so often because they have decent/cheap produce (not the strong suit of the adjacent Albertsons, QFC has no depth, etc) and surprisingly good prices on Bob's Red Mill and Spectrum ORganics items, which I really like (20% lower than Fred Meyer, on average).

[marshd1000]

The Saars Marketplace in Renton was indeed formerly a Lucky store that also had a Skagg's Drug Center next door. The Skagg's later did become a Osco and then Paylesss Drugs. But before Saar's, when Lucky's Seattle Division was sold to Associated Grocers, this location became a Thriftway. After being Thriftway, then at some point it became Saar's.