Safeway lighting disaster comes to the northwest

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Re: Safeway lighting disaster comes to the northwest

Post by rwsandiego »

omnisuperstore wrote: August 7th, 2018, 8:00 pm
storewanderer wrote: August 7th, 2018, 7:06 pm
rwsandiego wrote: August 7th, 2018, 6:15 pm
Got it. Yeah, that tube lighting is a disaster. Dominick's stores seemed to be better-maintained than their Safeway- and VONS-branded counterparts.

I think the Dominicks Stores seemed better maintained due to being larger, higher ceilings, etc. Maybe it was also because they were brought onto the Lifestyle program a little late (since they were always on the ropes). I felt like Safeway spared no expense on the Lifestyle Store Remodels at Dominicks. I was a little surprised they closed it down to be honest. Dominicks certainly wasn't lacking in store condition/appearance.
I was quite sad to see Dominick’s close, the Lifestyle stores were quite impressive and well done. The were generally busy and injected a short stint of new life into Dominick’s. Then came Marianos which basically took over where Dominick’s left off when Safeway bought them, and Dominick’s started to hurt again. The whole Dominick’s Fresh Store design was elevated to a new realm with the introduction of Marianos. Everything Bob wanted to do at Dominick’s was done on steroids at Marianos.
IMO, the food quality of the Dominick's Fresh Stores was better than that of Mariano's. But, we are veering waaaaaay off topic (and I'm guilty so I offer my apologies).
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Re: Safeway lighting disaster comes to the northwest

Post by submariner »

rwsandiego wrote: August 8th, 2018, 7:49 pm But, we are veering waaaaaay off topic (and I'm guilty so I offer my apologies).
Pleading guilty to a forum misdemeanor? Thanks, your fine is in the mail :)
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Re: Safeway lighting disaster comes to the northwest

Post by rwsandiego »

submariner wrote: August 8th, 2018, 8:19 pm
rwsandiego wrote: August 8th, 2018, 7:49 pm But, we are veering waaaaaay off topic (and I'm guilty so I offer my apologies).
Pleading guilty to a forum misdemeanor? Thanks, your fine is in the mail :)
HA! I guess I'll have travel out to Oregon and go shopping at an unremodeled but tackily re-lit Safeway.
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Re: Safeway lighting disaster comes to the northwest

Post by storewanderer »

rwsandiego wrote: August 8th, 2018, 8:44 pm
submariner wrote: August 8th, 2018, 8:19 pm
rwsandiego wrote: August 8th, 2018, 7:49 pm But, we are veering waaaaaay off topic (and I'm guilty so I offer my apologies).
Pleading guilty to a forum misdemeanor? Thanks, your fine is in the mail :)
HA! I guess I'll have travel out to Oregon and go shopping at an unremodeled but tackily re-lit Safeway.
You can just report to 1131 East Tropicana in Las Vegas.
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Re: Safeway lighting disaster comes to the northwest

Post by rwsandiego »

storewanderer wrote: August 8th, 2018, 10:17 pm
rwsandiego wrote: August 8th, 2018, 8:44 pm
submariner wrote: August 8th, 2018, 8:19 pm

Pleading guilty to a forum misdemeanor? Thanks, your fine is in the mail :)
HA! I guess I'll have travel out to Oregon and go shopping at an unremodeled but tackily re-lit Safeway.
You can just report to 1131 East Tropicana in Las Vegas.
I have to say the lighting fits with the "Discount Lifestyle" decor.
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Re: Safeway lighting disaster comes to the northwest

Post by SamSpade »

Approximately 2 years after my initial post, Safeway brought "Colorful Lifestyle" to the Pacific Northwest / Portland area. I haven't seen it anywhere else, but the Lloyd District(Center) Safeway now has this decor.

I haven't been in the store yet to see if the ceiling is fixed from the former state it was in. I only noticed out of the corner of my eye while driving by and then Google Maps photos confirm.
Safeway - NE Portland
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Re: Safeway lighting disaster comes to the northwest

Post by SamSpade »

The Cedar Mill Safeway (NW Cornell Rd @ NW Murray Blvd) on the border of Beaverton and a well heeled portion of Washington County (unincorporated) is receiving a facelift. This store had Lifestyle 1.0 (I can now tell the difference, I think...) and after the added lighting on perimeter, it looked very tired indeed.

2004 Grand Re-opening Photos: http://cedarmillnews.com/archive/0104/safeway.html

The store might be receiving the Texas/Florida decor instead of Colorful Lifestyle. The flooring in produce is stripped down to the concrete currently and the department signs are starting to be removed. It looks much like the setup in these pictures so far: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=1049&start=80#p16784

The nearby Bales Market put in a growler and wine bar, and of course Market of Choice is nearby and seems quite successful on the prepared foods side. So, perhaps the Texas/Florida layout is on its way.
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Re: Safeway lighting disaster comes to the northwest

Post by architect »

omnisuperstore wrote: August 5th, 2018, 1:14 pm Hey fellow Grocery critiquers,

I am a lighting designer, specializing in grocery store and retail lighting. I cannot believe my eyes when I see what Albertsons has done to the Safeway stores in term of lighting. These raw tacky strip lights are a throwback to the 1970s and do not at all look appealing. Additionally they make the current Lifestyle decor look awful as those colors were never meant to be illuminated by 4000k strip lighting. Luckily here in Chicagoland there is a breath of fresh air. When Bob Mariano took over 11 of the former Dominick's, Roundy's quietly remodeled these stores to maintain the elegant lighting with the addition of some 2x4 troffers that fit right in with the former Safeway lighting. Take a look at some of the follow pics.

All I have to say to Albertsons with the remodeled strip light Safeway stores, WTF. If these were in my market, I'd never shop there, these phase out of the recessed cans and phase in of tacky strip lights is about the WORST case of grocery lighting design I've ever seen.

JP
Screen Shot 2018-08-05 at 3.09.13 PM.pngScreen Shot 2018-08-05 at 3.09.06 PM.pngScreen Shot 2018-08-05 at 3.08.58 PM.pngScreen Shot 2018-08-05 at 3.08.52 PM.pngScreen Shot 2018-08-05 at 3.08.47 PM.pngScreen Shot 2018-08-05 at 3.08.38 PM.pngScreen Shot 2018-08-05 at 3.08.30 PM.pngScreen Shot 2018-08-05 at 3.08.26 PM.pngScreen Shot 2018-08-05 at 1.38.26 PM.pngScreen Shot 2018-08-05 at 1.38.07 PM.pngScreen Shot 2018-08-05 at 1.37.55 PM.pngScreen Shot 2018-08-05 at 1.36.21 PM.pngScreen Shot 2018-08-05 at 1.35.29 PM.png
I have actually seen several Safeway stores in the Seattle area which have received 2x4 trouffers similar to those used on these former Dominick's stores. It really is a night and day difference compared to the strip lights which Albertsons is generally using elsewhere. There are also a few DFW Tom Thumbs which never received the typical Safeway center-store fixtures during their Lifestyle remodels, but instead retained Randalls-era 8 foot lay-in flourescent fixtures. At these stores, Albertsons installed 2x4 open trouffers which aren't exactly attractive, but at least don;t have the glare and tackiness issues created by the strip fixtures. Below are links to a few of these stores:

https://goo.gl/maps/4KeiFgUFwx62
https://goo.gl/maps/1jGpnH85CB72
https://goo.gl/maps/BbMKupmZSqF2
https://goo.gl/maps/Jf9pU9R39tQ2

The good news is that Albertsons seems to be moving away from the cheap florescent strips in their DFW stores after butchering them a couple of years back. The lighting in the entrance for the Lovers/Greenville Tom Thumb (which was previously recessed cans which were trickily replaced by the standard-issue Albertsons strips) are in the process of being replaced with LED lay-in fixtures. The rest of this store has warehouse ceilings, so I am curious to see if Albertsons makes this same move elsewhere.
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Re: Safeway lighting disaster comes to the northwest

Post by SamSpade »

SamSpade wrote: August 22nd, 2018, 9:56 pm The Cedar Mill Safeway (NW Cornell Rd @ NW Murray Blvd) on the border of Beaverton and a well heeled portion of Washington County (unincorporated) is receiving a facelift. This store had Lifestyle 1.0 (I can now tell the difference, I think...) and after the added lighting on perimeter, it looked very tired indeed.
Signs are up in the store and it's going to be "colorful lifestyle." Right now it's kind of interesting to see the old Lifestyle 1.0 / pre-Lifestyle discs hanging from the ceiling panels adjacent to their departments.

Some exterior lighting was also removed; I am thinking they will go to LED fixtures.
Quick photos:
https://goo.gl/maps/idrUHdwcmEw (hopefully that goes to the in-progress dairy case photo)
https://goo.gl/maps/bnivfjnudmP2 (hopefully that goes to the in-progress floor)

Can lights are also being removed so right now the ceiling looks like swiss cheese. I'm (pretty) sure that won't last.
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Re: Safeway lighting disaster comes to the northwest

Post by Super S »

SamSpade wrote: September 9th, 2018, 7:18 am
SamSpade wrote: August 22nd, 2018, 9:56 pm The Cedar Mill Safeway (NW Cornell Rd @ NW Murray Blvd) on the border of Beaverton and a well heeled portion of Washington County (unincorporated) is receiving a facelift. This store had Lifestyle 1.0 (I can now tell the difference, I think...) and after the added lighting on perimeter, it looked very tired indeed.
Signs are up in the store and it's going to be "colorful lifestyle." Right now it's kind of interesting to see the old Lifestyle 1.0 / pre-Lifestyle discs hanging from the ceiling panels adjacent to their departments.

Some exterior lighting was also removed; I am thinking they will go to LED fixtures.
Quick photos:
https://goo.gl/maps/idrUHdwcmEw (hopefully that goes to the in-progress dairy case photo)
https://goo.gl/maps/bnivfjnudmP2 (hopefully that goes to the in-progress floor)

Can lights are also being removed so right now the ceiling looks like swiss cheese. I'm (pretty) sure that won't last.
Hopefully that "in-progress floor" isn't another half-hearted conversion to polished concrete in the works. In my opinion, it is out of place with Safeway's higher price point.
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