The apartments off of I-5 and Calle Frontera use to be on the low end of the price spectrum, by South County standards at least. Very dumpy but a relatively short (and steep!) walk from the beach -- maybe the best value for proximity in Orange County. Mostly a young, transient population (lots of out-of-state license plates) that did not work and did not stay in the area for long. Lots of old beaters in the parking lot and even more surf boards. And you're right -- lots of attitudes "I live in San Clemente!" Near the "dumpy" apartments is a church... huge parking lot, totally dark at night and rarely patrolled by the cops. I bet you more kids who grew up in San Clemente lost their virginity at that church parking lot than anywhere else! Literally a Lover's Lookout/ Makeout Hill!
Many years ago I dated a girl who grew up in the city. From her I learned there was a local division between those who grew up on the hill -- the poor people -- and those who didn't. Kinda like the division in Irvine between those who lived in apartments vs. homes. Her mom was a single mother who worked as a dental assistant and bought her home (on the hill) for $180K in 1998, during the aftermath of the severe localized recession. Even though it was a situation of being in the right place at the right time, her mom acted as if she was from in Hidden Hills!
The Walmart and 99 Cent Only do pretty well due to the large number of Latinos in the area... the demographics are very interesting!
ClownLoach wrote: ↑August 20th, 2023, 4:19 pm
That Camino de Las Mares location was probably the first Ralphs to convert to concrete floors because of all the problems with the building. The entire center was rumored to be on the chopping block to be redeveloped into a mega condominium complex last I heard; at one point Trader Joe's was warning their customers that their year to year lease hadn't been renewed and they expected to close. (The unusual leases are to enable a future redevelopment). I have never seen it busy and the parking lot was seemingly designed by someone intent on making a public destruction derby; the spaces change direction three times in that lot and mix between angled and straight in parking. It's probably the most hated parking lot in South OC aside from the Aliso Target.
Talega Ralphs is odd because of the attitude of the residents; they are living on a site next to the largest garbage dump in Orange County which spews toxic methane and other fumes into their homes yet they act like it's the most exclusive upscale community in SoCal. If that Ralphs was a Food4Less they'd still shop it exclusively and frown upon anyone who walks in that appears to be an outsider. I thought it was weird that they remodeled it to Fred Meyer decor; it's different from the Fresh Fare in La Jolla. I doubt it does any business at all from customers outside of the Talega bridge as the rest of SC doesn't go that way unless their life depends on it. The Pavilions branding is probably intended to entice them to come out. I do find it amusing that they have adopted the nearby Target as the "Talega store" When it isn't part of Talega at all.
And the last one is still a small store with limited parking that reduces it's overall capacity in the southern end of town. The residents made such a stink when Ralphs wanted to make it a modern store that they made them provide free shuttle bus service to the Las Mares location the entire time it was closed.
Ralphs had at least one more store including at I-5 and Avenida Pico that closed, and I'm almost sure they closed a second store but I can't recall the location. Ralphs also lost their lease just up the freeway in SJC and their store is now a mini Target which I'm sure does no volume whatsoever. Albertsons has been able to do just fine in the center of town competing directly with Walmart with two stores next door to each other despite the area being notorious for both high rents and near impossible hiring situations; Avenida Pico 5 years ago was a parade of "Now Hiring" banners at fast food places offering $20 an hour and I'm sure they have to pay more now. Nobody who lives in the area can afford to work a retail job, so nearly all the workforce drives in from other lower cost of living areas like San Juan Capistrano (really - there are many lower end apartments along miles of Camino Capistrano) and Lake Forest. It was my experience that we had to start people at least $4/hour higher there than anywhere else in OC and within a couple months they'd be begging to transfer to another OC store closer to home (and expecting to keep the premium pay too).
San Clemente has a strange attitude. My favorite criticism was the toll road debate where they said it would destroy their city if it was divided up the middle by a highway. One proposal was to extend the current 241 toll road to cut over the mountain and instead of meeting up with I-5 (which they wouldn't allow) instead it would connect in Murrieta or Temecula which would be a godsend for the entire OC and Riverside county areas as it would reduce many residents commute by 80+ miles a day round-trip, a dramatic reduction in air pollution for all of SoCal as it removed idling cars crawling along the 91 and 15 freeways, but then a whole bunch of nutcases showed up to meetings claiming pollution and environmental causes are fraudulent ideas and that it's really all a conspiracy to bulldoze their town later and divide it up with highways. (As if they have the money to buy up multi million dollar homes for roadways, and what roadways would they be building since they already have I-5? And then they'd change the direction and go to I-5 anyway which is complete nonsense) I guess nobody in town has notified I-5 already divides the whole city and the fact that it's really the only north-south arterial in the whole city? Weird place and I don't miss it.
I visited the remodeled Safeway on Bancroft in Walnut Creek, California. This store looked very nice, but it was mostly selling the same stuff as a regular Safeway. The liquor section was slightly larger. There were some fancy shelves with displays of gourmet food. Perhaps a little more gourmet food, but mostly a regular Safeway selection.
I did get a scratcher ticket that gave me $5 off my next purchase. I will need to go back more often.
The Safeway with Pavilions decor in Alamo had a selection much more like a Pavilions with aged beef in a glass display and a walk in wine room. San Ramon is more like a regular Safeway with high prices and Pavilions decor.
Alpha8472 wrote: ↑August 23rd, 2023, 9:10 pm
I visited the remodeled Safeway on Bancroft in Walnut Creek, California. This store looked very nice, but it was mostly selling the same stuff as a regular Safeway. The liquor section was slightly larger. There were some fancy shelves with displays of gourmet food. Perhaps a little more gourmet food, but mostly a regular Safeway selection.
I did get a scratcher ticket that gave me $5 off my next purchase. I will need to go back more often.
The Safeway with Pavilions decor in Alamo had a selection much more like a Pavilions with aged beef in a glass display and a walk in wine room. San Ramon is more like a regular Safeway with high prices and Pavilions decor.
The gourmet food will disappear in a couple months. This is how they did it with the new store in Reno. All kinds of nice gourmet stuff, really good special produce, then at some point a couple months after opening it was all gone and just typical Safeway stuff.
Alamo seems to get unlimited resources. I think the walk in wine room may have been added with the lifestyle remodel though. Dry aged beef is definitely new and that was one of the first Safeways to get Boar's Head.
You should get a scratcher with every purchase. So if you buy something at Starbucks, at deli, bakery, whatever, every register should give out one scratcher.
Alpha8472 wrote: ↑August 23rd, 2023, 9:10 pm
I visited the remodeled Safeway on Bancroft in Walnut Creek, California. This store looked very nice, but it was mostly selling the same stuff as a regular Safeway. The liquor section was slightly larger. There were some fancy shelves with displays of gourmet food. Perhaps a little more gourmet food, but mostly a regular Safeway selection.
I did get a scratcher ticket that gave me $5 off my next purchase. I will need to go back more often.
The Safeway with Pavilions decor in Alamo had a selection much more like a Pavilions with aged beef in a glass display and a walk in wine room. San Ramon is more like a regular Safeway with high prices and Pavilions decor.
The gourmet food will disappear in a couple months. This is how they did it with the new store in Reno. All kinds of nice gourmet stuff, really good special produce, then at some point a couple months after opening it was all gone and just typical Safeway stuff.
Alamo seems to get unlimited resources. I think the walk in wine room may have been added with the lifestyle remodel though. Dry aged beef is definitely new and that was one of the first Safeways to get Boar's Head.
You should get a scratcher with every purchase. So if you buy something at Starbucks, at deli, bakery, whatever, every register should give out one scratcher.
In the case of San Clemente, the store basically has all the gourmet stuff already except the dry aged beef, I don't believe it had Boar's Head. It did have an oversized walk in beer room and large wine area. So they won't need to add much as a Pavilions bannered location. This is another reason why this first time Albertsons to Pavilions changeover is interesting - they won't have much new to add.
Alpha8472 wrote: ↑August 23rd, 2023, 9:10 pm
I visited the remodeled Safeway on Bancroft in Walnut Creek, California. This store looked very nice, but it was mostly selling the same stuff as a regular Safeway. The liquor section was slightly larger. There were some fancy shelves with displays of gourmet food. Perhaps a little more gourmet food, but mostly a regular Safeway selection.
I did get a scratcher ticket that gave me $5 off my next purchase. I will need to go back more often.
The Safeway with Pavilions decor in Alamo had a selection much more like a Pavilions with aged beef in a glass display and a walk in wine room. San Ramon is more like a regular Safeway with high prices and Pavilions decor.
The gourmet food will disappear in a couple months. This is how they did it with the new store in Reno. All kinds of nice gourmet stuff, really good special produce, then at some point a couple months after opening it was all gone and just typical Safeway stuff.
Alamo seems to get unlimited resources. I think the walk in wine room may have been added with the lifestyle remodel though. Dry aged beef is definitely new and that was one of the first Safeways to get Boar's Head.
You should get a scratcher with every purchase. So if you buy something at Starbucks, at deli, bakery, whatever, every register should give out one scratcher.
Storewanderer is probably right about the gourmet food disappearing after a while at THIS store. Bancroft is not Alamo. Different area and different demographic. Bancroft is a nice area, but I would never rebrand as a true "Pavilion" comparison like Alamo or West Hollywood. It is closer to a middle class neighborhood like Concord
I went to the Downtown Walnut Creek Safeway today. It was not remodeled into the Pavilions Decor. It had the cheaper looking Florida Decor.
The store was not expanded or rearranged. It was still small and crowded. The produce department was still stuck in the middle of the store as it has been for decades. The Safeway stores that get the Pavilions decor receive price increases such as $2 single donuts. This store has a limited selection and people simply wouldn't put up with higher prices for the standard Safeway items.
The floor was converted to concrete. It looked really bad. There were patches of mismatched concrete and ugly concrete repair scars. In some places the concrete was uneven like going over rolling hills.
There were tiny Toshiba self checkout machines shoved together with very little space. There was barely enough room to put down your groceries. This store is claustrophobic. Perhaps Safeway still has plans to eventually demolish this store and build a new one with a parking garage below it.
Alpha8472 wrote: ↑September 10th, 2023, 9:34 pm
I went to the Downtown Walnut Creek Safeway today. It was not remodeled into the Pavilions Decor. It had the cheaper looking Florida Decor.
The store was not expanded or rearranged. It was still small and crowded. The produce department was still stuck in the middle of the store as it has been for decades. The Safeway stores that get the Pavilions decor receive price increases such as $2 single donuts. This store has a limited selection and people simply wouldn't put up with higher prices for the standard Safeway items.
The floor was converted to concrete. It looked really bad. There were patches of mismatched concrete and ugly concrete repair scars. In some places the concrete was uneven like going over rolling hills.
There were tiny Toshiba self checkout machines shoved together with very little space. There was barely enough room to put down your groceries. This store is claustrophobic. Perhaps Safeway still has plans to eventually demolish this store and build a new one with a parking garage below it.
NorCal is in love with that Florida decor. I don't understand it. I don't understand why they don't do colorful Lifestyle. It must be so cheap to apply. Texas and SoCal get "repainted lifestyle" with color backgrounds and that is obviously a cheaper job but it doesn't look any worse than this Florida decor.
This Florida Decor- I've had enough of it. The two stores I go to most often have this decor. I am really bored with this decor. At first I thought it would be timeless and age well. It is just drab and feels dead. It has a different drabness and lifelessness than the Lifestyle decor had. Some additional colors, light fixtures, etc. may jazz it up but the decor in its current form is too spartan and boring. It looks like it should be in a department store catering to senior citizens.
It appears the Ladera Ranch Albertsons will also be converting to Pavilions in the near future. Just like San Clemente, they have added in Boar's Head deli products already. This was the first Albertsons in South OC to be fully remodeled from Jewel interior to Colorful Lifestyle. This is not far from another Pavilions in Mission Viejo that is a few blocks from a very busy Ralphs; this would put two Pavilions very close to one another although in different Zip Codes. I suspect that the Mission Viejo Pavilions could be divested to C&S if the merger went through and the Ralphs would be kept, so this might be another proactive banner swap to prevent Pavilions from "disappearing" from that market.
There was a Pavilions a few blocks away from the Albertsons in Ladera Ranch with a very bizarre layout that did not do well as a result. It was divested to Haggen and closed; reopened as Gelson's and closed; then Stater Bros. acquired the site and gave it a full remodel to correct the layout problems.
I also noticed that they are currently carrying both Boars Head and Dietz & Watson at the Huntington Beach Vons on Atlanta Ave., which is not normal. Since it currently seems like adding Boar's Head is part of the Pavilions conversion process I wonder if that store will also be converting.
Safeway in the San Francisco Bay Area has been switching to Boar's head ahead of remodels. The downtown Walnut Creek store got Boar's head and then got the Florida decor. So Boar's Head isn't really a guarantee for a conversion to Pavilions.
Although, one Walnut Creek store on Bancroft recently got the Pavilions decor and Boar's Head. The small Safeway in Walnut Creek near the retirement community of Rossmoor got the Florida decor and Boar's Head.
The Alamo Safeway is a Pavilions in decor along with San Ramon. The most recent remodel is the Safeway in Lafayette and it has the Pavilions decor.
Alpha8472 wrote: ↑September 22nd, 2023, 10:27 pm
Safeway in the San Francisco Bay Area has been switching to Boar's head ahead of remodels. The downtown Walnut Creek store got Boar's head and then got the Florida decor. So Boar's Head isn't really a guarantee for a conversion to Pavilions.
Although, one Walnut Creek store on Bancroft recently got the Pavilions decor and Boar's Head. The small Safeway in Walnut Creek near the retirement community of Rossmoor got the Florida decor and Boar's Head.
The Alamo Safeway is a Pavilions in decor along with San Ramon. The most recent remodel is the Safeway in Lafayette and it has the Pavilions decor.
NorCal Safeway was planning to convert all service delis to Boar's Head a number of years ago. For whatever reason the conversions sort of stopped and they never converted some of the more rural stores. Given that NorCal Safeway charges $15.99/lb for Boar's Head Turkey products (which Jewel sells for 9.99/lb), I can see why they are hesitant to run the program in the rural stores given their pricing.
Then again the Primo Taglio lunchmeats which are the only option at the rural stores are like 12.99/lb or something. That is about the price point they should have on Boar's Head.
Boar's Head may be a distinction for Pavilions in SoCal but it is pretty standard with NorCal Safeway (aside from the rural stores). NorCal Safeway has also done an excellent job with having in store made pre-pack sandwich/wrap Boar's Head products in their delis. Large mix and very well executed at most stores. Terrible price at 7.99-8.99 each, but at least there is no sales tax in CA on those cold prepack items.
