San Clemente Albertsons converting to Pavilions

[bryceleinan]

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.

Is Florida what the South Reno store has?

[storewanderer]

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.

Is Florida what the South Reno store has?

Yes, but the version in Florida was a little more adorned. The version in Florida was more like the version Truckee has.

[ClownLoach]

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.

In SoCal it appears that only Pavilions stores are receiving Boars Head, because it is at the majority of Ralphs stores as well as all Sprouts now. Boars Head can't be everywhere as they self distribute and train store employees on their products. Of the Norcal large chains it makes sense for Safeway to carry it since Kroger is absent (FoodsCo isn't the Boars Head customer)

Interestingly enough, on the Boars Head website the product locator refers to all of the Pavilions locations that carry it as "Vons" including the San Clemente Albertsons being converted right now. I had heard another South OC location would convert to Pavilions after San Clemente, saw the addition of the product on their store locator at Ladera Ranch and put two and two together. Ladera did not carry Boars Head before. I think it shows up this way at Boars Head website because they consider Vons and Pavilions to be "The Vons Companies" as a corporate name. Ladera is now showing as Vons instead of Albertsons there which is why I put two and two together and figured out Ladera is that "next" south OC store to convert when San Clemente is done.

The Huntington Beach Atlanta Ave Vons thing is odd because I don't believe Boars Head will go into a store with Dietz & Watson (and vice versa); that is a "repaint lifestyle" store that's solid and the surrounding neighborhood is very affluent. It was rebuilt and doubled in size about 15 years ago. It would make a lot of sense to convert that store to Pavilions. The area has two Albertsons, this Vons, and one Ralphs Fresh Fare new build from 2000's that never really took off. But I think they might be trying to divest the Beach Blvd Albertsons instead (a large former SKAGGS Alpha Beta like Encinitas that operated for years as a Lucky with the Skaggs A-B interior; I think it only got Lucky teal/orange aisle hangers then Albertsons remodeled it to PFH decor as one of the first stores to get that). Property values there have climbed dramatically over the last few years, out pacing nearly all other parts of OC.

I didn't see any other oddities like actual Vons or Albertsons besides these two stores carrying Boars Head after checking several zip codes so I think it makes sense the recent addition to both is foreshadowing a Pavilions conversion. It does seem that ACI is doing these as last minute decisions since that San Clemente rebrand before actual conversion/remodel has not happened before.

[retailfanmitchell019]

In SoCal it appears that only Pavilions stores are receiving Boars Head, because it is at the majority of Ralphs stores as well as all Sprouts now. Interestingly enough, on the Boars Head website the product locator refers to all of the Pavilions locations that carry it as "Vons" including the San Clemente Albertsons being converted right now. I had heard another South OC location would convert to Pavilions after San Clemente, saw the addition of the product on their store locator at Ladera Ranch and put two and two together. I think it shows up this way at Boars Head because they consider Vons and Pavilions to be "The Vons Companies" as a corporate name. Ladera is now showing as Vons instead of Albertsons there which is why I put two and two together and figured out Ladera is that "next" south OC store to convert.

Ladera Ranch Albertsons was remodeled almost 8 years ago to Colorful Lifestyle. A conversion to Pavilions wouldn’t be a surprise. There are plenty of Jewel clones of this store back in Illinois.
Quail Hill is also another almost certain Albertsons to Pavilions conversion, no doubt about it. Still has the 2004 Jewel interior (looks similar to the Torrey Highlands Albertsons in San Diego before Haggen bought it).

I suspect every Albertsons/Vons in a zip code with 50% and up bachelors degree rate, and at least $150000 to $175000 in average household income will be converted to Pavilions.

[ClownLoach]

In SoCal it appears that only Pavilions stores are receiving Boars Head, because it is at the majority of Ralphs stores as well as all Sprouts now. Interestingly enough, on the Boars Head website the product locator refers to all of the Pavilions locations that carry it as "Vons" including the San Clemente Albertsons being converted right now. I had heard another South OC location would convert to Pavilions after San Clemente, saw the addition of the product on their store locator at Ladera Ranch and put two and two together. I think it shows up this way at Boars Head because they consider Vons and Pavilions to be "The Vons Companies" as a corporate name. Ladera is now showing as Vons instead of Albertsons there which is why I put two and two together and figured out Ladera is that "next" south OC store to convert.

Ladera Ranch Albertsons was remodeled almost 8 years ago to Colorful Lifestyle. A conversion to Pavilions wouldn’t be a surprise. There are plenty of Jewel clones of this store back in Illinois.
Quail Hill is also another almost certain Albertsons to Pavilions conversion, no doubt about it. Still has the 2004 Jewel interior (looks similar to the Torrey Highlands Albertsons in San Diego before Haggen bought it).

I suspect every Albertsons/Vons in a zip code with 50% and up bachelors degree rate, and at least $150000 to $175000 in average household income will be converted to Pavilions.

The #1 determinant though is sales of liquor. There are not a lot of actual differences these days vs. the Pavilions of old (before Safeway ruined it). The store must sell a ton of liquor and have the market to sell high end wines in quantity and frequency first. That is why some areas that have similar demographics have seen their Pavilions downgraded to a Vons, like East Long Beach and Anaheim Hills - the liquor business wasn't there.