Safeway NorCal Remodels and New Stores

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Safeway NorCal Remodels and New Stores

Post by storewanderer »

Safeway NorCal is currently remodeling South Lake Tahoe Store. The lifestyle decor is off the walls and floor has been removed entirely and it appears going to a cement floor. New self checkouts have been added in to replace the ones they installed less than 2 years ago but now there are like 7 or 8 self checkouts instead of 4 like before which will be good.

Safeway NorCal also has a new build store and fuel center that should be opening soon (days, not months) in El Dorado Hills. I think this store, like the Crocker Village Store they opened in Sacramento, was originally planned by the old Safeway chain years ago before the merger.
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Re: Safeway NorCal Remodels and New Stores

Post by TW-Upstate NY »

storewanderer wrote: June 6th, 2020, 9:59 pm floor has been removed entirely and it appears going to a cement floor.
When are stores going to finally abandon the cement/concrete floor thing? Can't come soon enough to suit me. It makes even a new store look cheap and old not to mention just dirty and dark. Several years ago, a new Dollar General with concrete floors opened around here just at the onset of winter. That shiny polished floor might as well have been a sheet of ice it was so slippery.
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Re: Safeway NorCal Remodels and New Stores

Post by retailfanmitchell019 »

storewanderer wrote: June 6th, 2020, 9:59 pm Safeway NorCal also has a new build store and fuel center that should be opening soon (days, not months) in El Dorado Hills. I think this store, like the Crocker Village Store they opened in Sacramento, was originally planned by the old Safeway chain years ago before the merger.
I can imagine this new store having Brown Lifestyle or the new Pavilions decor. There is one new Albertsons in NW Las Vegas that has Pavilions decor. Yet a new Safeway in Queen Creek, AZ has the brown decor.
These new builds seem all seem to have a mid-2000's Albertsons layout, which I think is a layout they took from late 90's/early 2000's Jewel-Osco stores.
They are also opening new stores in San Jose, Hercules, and San Francisco.
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Re: Safeway NorCal Remodels and New Stores

Post by storewanderer »

retailfanmitchell019 wrote: June 7th, 2020, 3:41 pm
storewanderer wrote: June 6th, 2020, 9:59 pm Safeway NorCal also has a new build store and fuel center that should be opening soon (days, not months) in El Dorado Hills. I think this store, like the Crocker Village Store they opened in Sacramento, was originally planned by the old Safeway chain years ago before the merger.
I can imagine this new store having Brown Lifestyle or the new Pavilions decor. There is one new Albertsons in NW Las Vegas that has Pavilions decor. Yet a new Safeway in Queen Creek, AZ has the brown decor.
These new builds seem all seem to have a mid-2000's Albertsons layout, which I think is a layout they took from late 90's/early 2000's Jewel-Osco stores.
They are also opening new stores in San Jose, Hercules, and San Francisco.
So far it seems all of the NorCal remodels get the Florida decor ("Modern"). Similar to Truckee and that early remodel in San Mateo, or the new build in Crocker Village.

I hope they change up the decor packages during this remodel program they are doing. Would like to see some of the bright colorful lifestyles with the new wall letters (not repainted into drab wall colors and keep the same old lifestyle fixtures like the SoCal Vons in Bishop did).

I am noticing more locations in NorCal getting the lighting upgrades around perimeter in recent months. I suspect those locations are in line for remodels. Still a lot of NorCal locations with no lighting upgrades though and the old mood lighting all around the perimeter.
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Re: Safeway NorCal Remodels and New Stores

Post by Alpha8472 »

A Safeway in Pleasanton, California has the Florida decor and the old brown tile floor. Concrete was not used.

Other chains are no longer switching to concrete floors. Target remodeled the Walnut Creek, California store and added concrete floors. They then decided that there were too many cracks and installed white tiles.

The Dublin, California Target store is currently remodeling and it is receiving white tile. Target no longer uses concrete floors.
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Re: Safeway NorCal Remodels and New Stores

Post by storewanderer »

Alpha8472 wrote: June 8th, 2020, 1:47 am A Safeway in Pleasanton, California has the Florida decor and the old brown tile floor. Concrete was not used.

Other chains are no longer switching to concrete floors. Target remodeled the Walnut Creek, California store and added concrete floors. They then decided that there were too many cracks and installed white tiles.

The Dublin, California Target store is currently remodeling and it is receiving white tile. Target no longer uses concrete floors.
I guess it is possible they will lay down a new floor in South Lake Tahoe. The floor in there wasn't in good shape given the location; extremely high traffic store with a lot of "groups" of customers, and tough conditions to wear down the floor (winter, ski boots, heavy carts full of liquor, etc.).

Raleys has reverted back on a couple remodels they put concrete floors in and put some gray pergo-like flooring down. However Raleys new stores have concrete floors.

That new build Safeway in Sacramento has cement floors. But that is a cost-minimized interior in that one, and cheap looking store in general. The only angle in the place is the angled Starbucks in the front corner. Everything else is a square straight box (cheap to build). The layout of a late 70's Skaggs Alpha Beta doesn't help. Maybe if I didn't know where the store layout came from, my opinion would be slightly different. They could have at least sprung for the late 90's Jewel interior stores (the layout isn't much different but the different ceiling in produce, angled/rounded pharmacy, and nicer finish work inside the stores like actual flooring and nice hanging and wall fixtures would go a long ways). I should just be happy they are building any new stores at all on the West Coast, unlike a certain other competitor.
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Re: Safeway NorCal Remodels and New Stores

Post by retailfanmitchell019 »

storewanderer wrote: June 8th, 2020, 10:52 pm They could have at least sprung for the late 90's Jewel interior stores (the layout isn't much different but the different ceiling in produce, angled/rounded pharmacy, and nicer finish work inside the stores like actual flooring and nice hanging and wall fixtures would go a long ways). I should just be happy they are building any new stores at all on the West Coast, unlike a certain other competitor.
The rounded pharmacy was done in the mid-2000's. A lot of Sav-on/Osco stores (now CVS) had the rounded pharmacy, along with some Albertsons stores.
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Re: Safeway NorCal Remodels and New Stores

Post by architect »

retailfanmitchell019 wrote: June 9th, 2020, 2:05 pm
storewanderer wrote: June 8th, 2020, 10:52 pm They could have at least sprung for the late 90's Jewel interior stores (the layout isn't much different but the different ceiling in produce, angled/rounded pharmacy, and nicer finish work inside the stores like actual flooring and nice hanging and wall fixtures would go a long ways). I should just be happy they are building any new stores at all on the West Coast, unlike a certain other competitor.
The rounded pharmacy was done in the mid-2000's. A lot of Sav-on/Osco stores (now CVS) had the rounded pharmacy, along with some Albertsons stores.
Interestingly, quite a few of the 70's-80's vintage Albertsons locations in DFW received the rounded pharmacies during this era, which are now being removed as the stores are remodeled. Typically, the rounded pharmacy is located at the midpoint of one of the side walls; the remodel shifts the pharmacy to the front corner on the same side.
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Re: Safeway NorCal Remodels and New Stores

Post by retailfanmitchell019 »

There are/were 2 Albertsons in the San Diego area with a curved pharmacy:
Oceanside-Marron Rd: This opened in May 2004, as a true Albertsons/Sav-on combo, similar to Albertsons "dual-branding" format tested in Reno and Tucson. As for interior, this store had the industrial interior with the colorful fresh departments. Albertsons remodeled this into Colorful Lifestyle last summer.
San Diego-Torrey Highlands: This store opened a month or two after the Oceanside-Marron Rd store. This was a very nice Jewel Marketplace interior store similar to this: Sadly, Haggen bought this store in 2015, but Albertsons bought it back, converting it to a Vons with Brown Lifestyle decor.
Albertsons did remodel a handful of San Diego stores in the early/mid-2000's, but I don't think any store got a curved pharmacy after remodeling (maybe Del Mar had it. This former Big Bear got a fancy Jewel remodel around 2002-2004)
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Re: Safeway NorCal Remodels and New Stores

Post by rwsandiego »

retailfanmitchell019 wrote: June 10th, 2020, 12:54 pm There are/were 2 Albertsons in the San Diego area with a curved pharmacy:
Oceanside-Marron Rd: This opened in May 2004, as a true Albertsons/Sav-on combo, similar to Albertsons "dual-branding" format tested in Reno and Tucson. As for interior, this store had the industrial interior with the colorful fresh departments. Albertsons remodeled this into Colorful Lifestyle last summer.
San Diego-Torrey Highlands: This store opened a month or two after the Oceanside-Marron Rd store. This was a very nice Jewel Marketplace interior store similar to this: Sadly, Haggen bought this store in 2015, but Albertsons bought it back, converting it to a Vons with Brown Lifestyle decor.
Albertsons did remodel a handful of San Diego stores in the early/mid-2000's, but I don't think any store got a curved pharmacy after remodeling (maybe Del Mar had it. This former Big Bear got a fancy Jewel remodel around 2002-2004)
The Albertson's at 14th and Market in San Diego opened with a curved pharmacy and Premium Fresh and Healthy v. 1 in October, 2006. It has since been remodeled into the Modern Interior.
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