I think the Porsche off to the right might give you an idea of why this store ended up looking like it does, rather than getting the generic 90s addition that most Marina stores did. This is one of those very wealthy suburbs that have very picky design requirements, and while this store has clearly had some additions over the years, I suspect Safeway wanted to stay as close to the original design as possible to avoid any issues there. While that made this store someplace I certainly wanted to visit, it also made it rather awkward for me here, since I don't even remotely get along or fit in with wealthy people! 🙂 Being from a relatively poor small town, I just tend to find this sort of place and its people rather offputting, and I'm sure I stick out like a sore thumb.
It's kind of funny now that you mention this, but I seem to associate modern Safeways with customers who have a certain level of wealth which might be the demographic you're speaking of with this Lake Oswego Safeway. I'm not really sure why I have that association. The remaining Randall's stores we have in Houston are mostly in fairly wealthy urban and inner-suburban parts of town. I was at the Town & Country Randall's just as the pandemic was starting and there was a Bentley and Lamborghini SUV in the parking lot. It seemed like 2/3rds of store was full of women wearing yoga pants, lol.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to that, it seems like the majority of Safeway photos I come across on the Internet are from the California Bay Area and the Washington DC/Northern Virginia region where there is a lot of relatively wealthy shoppers.
The funny thing is that when Safeway was initially in Houston under their own name, Safeway was a very common grocer and was in all kinds of neighborhoods. They were just like Kroger was then and is now in Houston. The then-independent Randall's and Rice Epicurean would have been the more wealthy chains in town at that time, not Safeway. I didn't associate Safeway with wealthy customers then, but maybe my modern experiences with the Safeway-era Randall's and with the pictures online of coastal Safeways have changed my perceptions of them.
While Randall's/Safeway is now a fairly niche grocer here, I suspect Safeways are more common where you live. Are they perceived to be a store for more wealthy customers where you live or are they viewed as being the average supermarket for those wanting something a little nicer than Walmart type grocers? Or is there just not enough choice in your area to have different grocers for different demographics?
I know it can be intimidating shopping at certain stores where you feel the customers and employees will judge you, but I wouldn't feel too intimidated by the customers at a supermarket like this at least If the customers were really and truly very wealthy, they'd have their butlers buying their groceries for them unless they really love the Safeway experience, lol. If the latter is the case, I suppose you can share your hobby with them, lol. I don't know anything about Lake Oswego, but I suspect the 'wealthy' customers there are, if you will, just the petite bourgeoisie.
Huh, you know, I never would have considered Safeway to be in any way a high-end store! Like what you were saying about how Safeway used to be, they're basically the default grocery store, and often one of the only choices in small towns (especially in Eastern Washington, which is in no way a wealthy area). They're certainly a little bit fancier than Walmart, but also much more widespread (Walmart isn't as common or popular here as it is in most of the country). You could kind of consider their relationship to Walmart in terms of groceries as being similar to Target's relationship for general merchandise -- slightly higher end, but certainly not high end. Maybe low-middle range would be a good description.
DeleteAround here, the higher-middle range chain would be QFC (Kroger), and then of course there are the extremely high-end chains like Whole Foods and the local PCC (even pricier than Whole Foods!). There are certainly areas like this that have higher average income and therefore even Safeway shoppers would be relatively high income... but then again, Safeways aren't particularly common in those areas.
It's interesting how a single grocery chain, especially one with such a reputation for cookie cutter stores like Safeway, can be perceived so differently in different parts of the country!
DeleteIt really is! And it's interesting to think about how Safeway seems to be more successful around here than in most parts of the country, despite their perception as a non-high-end store.
DeleteGreat shot here!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteYou're welcome!
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