Apart from the wavy roof, this store feels much like any other modern northwest Safeway. Despite the store's relatively small size (about 30-35,000 square feet), it has essentially the standard Safeway layout, complete with all 4.5 service departments (deli, bakery, pharmacy, meat, and floral -- until the Albertsons merger, most Safeways with a full floral department had it staffed similarly to the other service departments, though that's something that was cut shortly after the merger [along with store staffing in general, certainly not one of Safeway's better decisions], and these days even the bakery doesn't seem to have full staffing in most stores). Even without much of an expansion, the 90s remodel was clearly very comprehensive on the interior! (And while there are some lingering doubts in my mind regarding that 2003 date, I'm going to continue to call it the 90s remodel as it certainly appears to have happened between 1994 and 2000 based on aerial imagery.)
I'm pretty sure my local Randall's (Safeway) still has a floral department even though it's a somewhat smaller store. If I remember correctly, most Randall's store had their floral department kind of in front of the produce, which I suppose was the case with this store, but my local Randall's has it on the other side of the store over by the customer service desk and pharmacy. That's probably due to the relatively small size of the store.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I didn't realize that other Albertsons era Safeway stores have removed their floral departments. That's unfortunate, but I hope Randall's can hang on to them.
Well, they aren't actually removing the departments, just not staffing them anymore, so they have a big desk that's pretty much unused unless you can somehow find an employee to drag over there. Back in the day, the floral departments were staffed nearly full time, and did big business too with custom floral arrangements, balloons, etc. -- Safeway still offers those services at most stores, but it's much harder to find someone to actually help you.
DeleteAnd the handful of new stores built since the merger do just have a small Albertsons-style floral department with no service counter at all, so I suspect the only reason the original Safeways still have theirs intact is that the remodels that have been done over the last few years on those stores have been super cheap, with basically no changes to fixtures at all.
Oh, ok, I see what you're saying. You're right, it's been a while since I've actually seen anyone working in the floral department at my local Randall's. I figured that was because I usually shop there later on in the evenings. That said, I suppose it's good that the floral department is right next to the service desk. I suppose if someone needs assistance, the service desk would be the best place to go to (hopefully) find some assistance.
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