A trip back in time

Wrapping up for today, here's an ad that was published in the Seattle Times when the original store first opened! While it's a cool read in general, here are a few things that stood out to me:

• The highlights box on the first page touts "Eleven Fast Efficient Checkstands". That's nearly twice what the store has now, despite it being around half the size. Even if you count the self checkouts, QFC style, it still tops out at 12 today.
• Another thing listed on the front page: "Beautiful pastel interior colors, which makes your shopping a pleasure." Nice to see the decor getting a mention! I suspect it would have looked something like this originally. 
• Just above that, the other two benefits listed are "Parking" and "Wide Aisles". Some things never change!
• I suppose it is over 60 years since this was published, but I found it interesting how almost none of the brands mentioned in this ad still exist today. Heck, you'd be hard pressed to find some of the items in a modern grocery store, particularly those in the "Specialty Foods" box, which range from smoked grasshoppers and roasted caterpillars to rattlesnake, snails (with shells, it helpfully notes!), and frog legs, plus all number of things that I haven't even heard of! The 50s were an interesting time, clearly...
• The produce case setup on the third page may look old fashioned, but that's how Safeway still displayed produce until quite recently, perhaps all the way up to the Albertsons merger. There's at least one Safeway in Seattle that still displays its produce this way (due to windows preventing the installation of tall cases), and it's even a newer (1990s) store!

Well, that's it for this store rerun! Tomorrow, I guess I'll have to choose again what I want to feature... I made a list the other day, and I have over 60 stores in my backlog right now, so it's going to be a tough choice!