Even weirder than seeing the Safeway logo on a building like this one is seeing it on a sign like this! It's not just that it's an obvious Albertsons design, this is just nothing like any road sign that Safeway ever uses -- theirs are a more square design, with the logo much larger and above the Safeway text. But it is kind of neat that Safeway is keeping so many Albertsons leftovers around!
Whoa, that Nissan Altima in front of that sign is a 4th generation (2007-2012) Altima with wheel covers from a 5th generation (2013-2018) Altima! I'm sure all your readers will be very glad that I pointed out that oddity, lol.
ReplyDeleteLike we discussed when looking at the storefront sign, this Safeway sign looks natural to me. In fact, it looks more natural than the Albertsons sign! Then again, it's been almost 20 years since Albertsons has been here in Houston so perhaps I'm not quite as keenly aware of what an Albertsons sign should look like.
I suppose I know what you're feeling. Take a look at these two Randallbertsons. These are ex-Albertsons stores that were converted into Randall's by Safeway 15-20 years ago.
Fry Rd. store: https://goo.gl/maps/s6pKghWMupuoJrbT9
This refrigerated case area at that store is very strange, I'm not sure what's up with this design: https://goo.gl/maps/KgbMpbdJzVvmqHmc7
Clay Rd. & Barker Cypress store: https://goo.gl/maps/KQK8TpqoHzdJXrTcA
The Clay Rd. store looks more like a normal Randall's sign. It was pretty common for older Randall's to have signs that weren't high off the ground. Still, one could see that being an Albertsons sign as well I suppose because a lot of their stores used a similar design.
The Fry Rd. sign is totally bizarre for a Randall's. Totally bizarre. Still, it fits the Randall's logo pretty well so I could see someone thinking that is completely natural.
Also, I'm not sure how common this is in the NW, but that Fry Rd. photo shows a real quirk in Houston urban planning (or lack thereof). On one side of the street is an upper middle class row of homes and across the street is a large shopping center anchored by Randall's and Target! How would you like to live there?! The convenience to shopping is terrific, but most people buying homes like that want a little more peace and quiet than that! I suppose there are always exceptions and the people living there must be those exceptions!
Here's a more common Randall's street sign design at stores they built or stores which have been a Randall's for 30+ years. You see the low design and also monochrome colors which are common for Randall's signs.
Link: https://goo.gl/maps/72SKgViQwatiWBRu9
If you turn that camera angle about 180 degrees, you'll see an AutoZone! I suppose Randall's can't avoid being near auto part stores, eh? Lol.
On the other side of that AutoZone is an old Kroger that I'm pretty sure is a Superstore era Kroger that has been expanded over the years. I'm not 100% sure about that. I've been to that Randall's, but not the Kroger. Link: https://goo.gl/maps/rinmnT3R6cD4uW469
Ha, I'm sure the 5 or so people who read this blog would love to know that! 😉
DeleteYeah, it's probably just me. I'm not sure if there's a good example in your area, but one I can think of in some parts of the country is a Rite Aid that's become a Walgreens -- it just doesn't feel right.
Wow, that standard Randalls sign design looks super generic! I would have expected that their red and blue logo color scheme would be distinctive enough that they'd want to use it for signage, but I guess not. Those other links look more like what I would have pictured a Randalls sign to look like, honestly!
I'm not surprised to see something like that in Houston -- am I remembering correctly that there's basically no zoning there? -- but such a situation isn't too rare in Seattle either. My Pinehurst Safeway backs on to single-family houses, as does the Wallingford QFC, the Queen Anne Safeway, the Magnolia Albertsons, and the soon-to-close East Capitol Hill QFC. Those four are all in some of Seattle's wealthiest neighborhoods, and I wouldn't be surprised if there are million-dollar houses adjacent to grocery loading docks! And if you want a full shopping center adjacent to single-family houses, check out Westwood Village. Even the most expensive of those Houston houses probably sell for cheaper than the cheapest of the Seattle houses!
The Randall's signage design is quite strange. I agree with you that you'd think they'd want to promote their colors more. I think part of the issue is that most Randall's stores that are still around are designated as 'Randall's Flagship' stores. The Flagship name was given decades ago to the highest-end Randall's stores in usually wealthy areas. The reality is that most of the surviving Randall's stores are high-end stores in wealthy areas. Just about the only Houston Randall's stores which aren't deemed to be Flagship stores are the stores they've acquired from other grocers in semi-recent times like those ex-Albertsons locations. Those stores are more likely to have signs with color in them.
DeleteHere's another random Randall's Flagship just to see the monochrome sign next to another retailer's sign, Barnes & Noble, which does have color: https://goo.gl/maps/DNfnzZHfvqUk7HyK7
In case you're wondering, even though the Randall's and B&N are practically right next to one another, they both have Starbucks, lol. Someone in Seattle would be proud, eh?
You may have noticed that a lot of our Kroger stores in Texas are called 'Kroger Signature' stores. I'm quite sure that the 'Signature' designation was given as a way to compete with Randall's Flagship stores. Kroger applies the Signature title more broadly though. They aren't confined just to wealthy areas.
That Westwood Village shopping center reminds me of the Meyerland Plaza shopping center in Houston. Meyerland Plaza is in a wealthy older inner-suburb part of Houston. Not surprisingly then, there is a Randall's near Meyerland Plaza, but for reasons I can't explain, it's not a Flagship store! This is the Lifestyle v3 store I showed you quite some time ago that has the Kosher food department. Anyway, since it's oddly not a flagship store, it has a sign with some color on it: https://goo.gl/maps/UaGfvMgm8yFW2bTs8
Anyway, as for Meyerland Plaza itself, it is anchored by a Target (formerly Venture/Kmart, but Target was sure to strip everything Kmart away from the store, lol), JCPenney, and a brand new HEB. The HEB is so new that it's not even on Google Maps, but you can kind of see the construction outline of it next to the JCP. Link: https://goo.gl/maps/N6apJ6VfhaWh2Rku9
The HEB is at least partially two-stories I think and it shares a parking garage with the JCPenney. It's kind of strange seeing those two logos on a parking garage. Talk about unnatural! Link: https://goo.gl/maps/ika3E72y3kXKRg3h6
I really, really, really don't like the way HEB makes their stores look. That said, the bakery department at this new store looks pretty neat. Link: https://goo.gl/maps/oAUs9HiQuGpNy4rH6
I'm sure housing is more expensive in Seattle than in Houston. That said, urban housing is becoming quite expensive here. Even small 1930s bungalows are selling for $600-700k in trendy neighborhoods. Due to a lack of any kind of control over these things, people buy those houses and then knock them down to put up multi-story houses and sometimes they even put up rental duplexes and ugly stuff like that. It's a real mess.
Yes, we lack zoning here and so there are some real oddball situations around here. I'm not sure what's worse. Looking out your front window and looking at a Safeway loading dock like one might see in Seattle or looking out your front window and seeing the front of a Houston Randall's and all the parking lot and outparcels, lol.
On the topic of Randall's, you might have heard that Texas is pulling their mask mandate starting next week. Stores are still allowed to enforce whatever policies they wish to have. One of the local TV stations asked most of the area's grocers about what their policies will be regarding masks and Randall's was the only one to explicitly say that they will no longer mandate that masks me worn by customers.
Deletehttps://www.khou.com/article/life/shopping/houston-grocery-store-mask-policies/285-c8c7f4bd-e7dc-4123-9670-a15419ac4659
I must admit that I am a bit surprised by that. I figured one of the local chains would have been the first to not mandate masks, but that's not the case it seems. Anyway, I don't know if you're as surprised about this as I am.
Hmm, I guess they must have been going for an upscale look, but in my opinion those black-and-white signs just look cheap! I much prefer the full-color versions.
DeleteI don't know much about HEB, but what really seems weird is having a relatively new-build JCPenney, not that it's combined with a grocery store! You don't see many new department stores these days.
Oh, no, the Meyerland JCPenney is quite old. I don't know if it opened when the original Meyerland Plaza opened in 1958, but it's probably a decade newer than that because it looks quite similar to the now former Almeda Mall and Northwest Mall JCPenney locations in Houston and those stores opened in around 1968. Almeda and NW Malls were twin malls that opened at around the same time in SE and NW Houston, I let you guess which was located where, lol. Almeda Mall is still around, but NW Mall closed a couple of years ago. The old NW Mall JCPenney is now an antiques store that claims to be the largest antiques store in Texas: https://goo.gl/maps/cznH7d4uXTuF7xoi9
DeleteAnyway, the fact that the Meyerland JCP is ~50 years old and the HEB is brand new makes it even more odd that they're sharing a parking garage!
Meyerland Plaza was majorly renovated in the 1990s/early 2000s so it really doesn't resemble how it used to look aside from the JCP and some signage. The HEB is not the first supermarket anchor at Meyerland Plaza. Kroger opened a Henke & Pillot supermarket there in 1958! I'm not sure when exactly the Henke & Pillot closed or if that location ever specifically carried the Kroger name.