Unremodeled QFCs

[storewanderer]

Are there any other unremodeled QFCs besides the one in Lacey?

I've been to a lot of QFCs and this is the only one I've seen that has the old (pre Kroger) interior. And if you blindfolded me and walked into this store, without seeing the sign, I would have no idea I was even IN a QFC as the fresh departments are so weak compared to a typical QFC.

My favorite tonight is the cooler in the back wall alcove behind deli (this area houses soda in this store). It appears to have gone out of service and it is filled up with Ruffles chips. Lovely.

[Brian Lutz]

The one at Parkplace in Kirkland has an unremodeled interior, as well as older signage on the building. The whole place has a serious 80s feel to it with wood paneling and rather low ceilings for a supermarket. Aside from being a smaller store, I suspect the main reason it never got remodeled is that there have been plans in the works for years to redevelop Parkplace which finally have approval after years of red tape and NIMBY lawsuits, so it's uncertain how long the store is going to remain.

[storewanderer]

That is how this one is. Lower ceilings and wood paneling all over. I guess this store in Lacey opened in 1997 and is 35,000 square feet. It had a twin somewhere in West Olympia that has long since closed. There was also a QFC out in Yelm that has been closed for a while now I was told.

I find this store a bit odd. It seems to have some traffic, but not much. No self checkouts. There are 3 or 4 checkstands with no bags or other supplies and have obviously not been used in years. A Chase branch was added inside sometime between last summer and this January. It is missing many of the upscale features typically found in QFCs; no Boar's Head, very limited deli, large bakery but not many "unique" items, limited produce (no fresh cut in store fruit), etc. The neighborhood looks pretty middle class. There is a large, busy Safeway across the street. The pricing improvements Kroger has implemented at QFC on certain center store goods has probably helped drive a little more traffic into this store in recent years. I am sure it really struggled with the price scale QFC was using 4-5 years ago and was probably bypassed for a remodel in 2007 at its 10 year accordingly.

[bm10k]

The Original QFC in Seattle on 66th and Roosevelt which
Is actually closing on saturday had a non Kroger feel to
it every time I went to it

[Super S]

That also sounds a lot like the late 90s-build QFC on 162nd Avenue in Vancouver, which closed several years ago and has been vacant since then. Don't know the square footage but it seemed like a small store inside.

[storewanderer]

I went into the Saars at Burien and also at Rainier Beach. The Rainier Beach one had the lower ceilings like the typical QFC; Burien did not. Both had the wood all around the walls and the same odd font wall letters as the still open Lacey QFC but the big difference with the two Saars (and maybe Saars did this) was the wall letters were orange. The letters in Lacey are just white.

I am really not thrilled with Saars. The stores are not clean, products don't seem fresh. I had fine luck buying produce from them in the past but the apples I bought at the Rainier Beach one tasted like poison or something. I am finished with Saars. No more. You really get what you pay for I guess.

I guess it is better than empty buildings.