Safeway Northern Virginia Changes
Posted: April 16th, 2021, 6:30 pm
It seems that Safeway is finally starting to update some of their Northern Virginia stores. The majority of the Safeway locations in Northern Virginia have the Lifestyle interiors.
Van Dorn Street, Alexandria: Remodel to the "Colorful Lifestyle" format as it has been called by some. Safeway used this interior for its store that opened a few years ago near the Twinbrook Metro in Rockville, MD. Believe it or not the Van Dorn Street store still had the Marketplace interior up until the latest remodel. The layout wasn't substantially changed but they did get new flooring and a service meat/seafood counter. I always thought this store was a goner because it was never busy even going back to when I lived in the area in the late 1990s. When Shoppers closed in Landmark Plaza Giant moved its Van Dorn Street store to the old Shoppers leaving Safeway the only traditional grocer in this part of Van Dorn Street.
Herndon, VA: Decor change to "Colorful Lifestyle". No significant layout changes to the store. No flooring changes either. The sandwich counter, salad bar and olive bar were all removed. All of these had been closed since March 2020. Large, tall coolers have been installed in the deli to house grab and go stuff like pre-made sandwiches, pizza, wings, chicken pieces, etc. The bakery got a huge floor to ceiling unit that consolidates donuts, store made bread, and rolls and cookies all in one place as opposed to being distributed out among various island units in the bakery area.
Fairfax, VA (Fair Lakes/West Ox Road): The soup bar, salad bar, sandwich counter and olive bar have all been removed. All had been closed since March 2020. Like Herndon the large unit was installed for grab and go stuff plus fresh bagged pasta of all things. They also installed a couple of island coolers with more grab and go things like pizza, pre-made sandwiches and wings. The bakery also got the giant all in one unit for store made bread and rolls plus donuts and cookies. So far no indication of a decor swap but there are still scissor lifts out front of the store.
The Safeway stores weren't looking stale but the Lifestyle decor did need to be brightened up. My complaint of the Lifestyle format has always been that the store interior especially the perimeter is too dark. The new lighting Albertsons installed has helped a lot. The "Colorful Lifestyle" interior that Herndon and Van Dorn have now does brighten up the store. It is interesting that the probable low volume self service stuff in the deli has been removed. Probably gone due to the pandemic but also lack of use. The huge self service unit in the bakery is nice to have all of the self service stuff in one place. But it does leave some big holes in the bakery floor space to be filled.
Maybe this is the start of a larger remodeling effort in the DC area for Safeway. To me it seems there has been little recent investment in the DC area Safeway stores short of the new lighting that Albertsons installed shortly after they took over.
Van Dorn Street, Alexandria: Remodel to the "Colorful Lifestyle" format as it has been called by some. Safeway used this interior for its store that opened a few years ago near the Twinbrook Metro in Rockville, MD. Believe it or not the Van Dorn Street store still had the Marketplace interior up until the latest remodel. The layout wasn't substantially changed but they did get new flooring and a service meat/seafood counter. I always thought this store was a goner because it was never busy even going back to when I lived in the area in the late 1990s. When Shoppers closed in Landmark Plaza Giant moved its Van Dorn Street store to the old Shoppers leaving Safeway the only traditional grocer in this part of Van Dorn Street.
Herndon, VA: Decor change to "Colorful Lifestyle". No significant layout changes to the store. No flooring changes either. The sandwich counter, salad bar and olive bar were all removed. All of these had been closed since March 2020. Large, tall coolers have been installed in the deli to house grab and go stuff like pre-made sandwiches, pizza, wings, chicken pieces, etc. The bakery got a huge floor to ceiling unit that consolidates donuts, store made bread, and rolls and cookies all in one place as opposed to being distributed out among various island units in the bakery area.
Fairfax, VA (Fair Lakes/West Ox Road): The soup bar, salad bar, sandwich counter and olive bar have all been removed. All had been closed since March 2020. Like Herndon the large unit was installed for grab and go stuff plus fresh bagged pasta of all things. They also installed a couple of island coolers with more grab and go things like pizza, pre-made sandwiches and wings. The bakery also got the giant all in one unit for store made bread and rolls plus donuts and cookies. So far no indication of a decor swap but there are still scissor lifts out front of the store.
The Safeway stores weren't looking stale but the Lifestyle decor did need to be brightened up. My complaint of the Lifestyle format has always been that the store interior especially the perimeter is too dark. The new lighting Albertsons installed has helped a lot. The "Colorful Lifestyle" interior that Herndon and Van Dorn have now does brighten up the store. It is interesting that the probable low volume self service stuff in the deli has been removed. Probably gone due to the pandemic but also lack of use. The huge self service unit in the bakery is nice to have all of the self service stuff in one place. But it does leave some big holes in the bakery floor space to be filled.
Maybe this is the start of a larger remodeling effort in the DC area for Safeway. To me it seems there has been little recent investment in the DC area Safeway stores short of the new lighting that Albertsons installed shortly after they took over.