It's interesting to see how Safeway here seems to have emphasized seafood over meat. You sometimes see that in full-size Safeway meat departments, but it seems much more pronounced in this store. Also, the cases here are quite strange compared to what Safeway typically uses -- the seafood one isn't fully enclosed, instead being open on the top and back (this department must get rather cold for the employees in the winter!), and the meat one is a strange hybrid service/self-service case.
From this angle at least, the Modern decor looks pretty good. Of course, having nice floor covering really does help matters!
ReplyDeletePersonally, I've always liked Modern decor! It's the cheap ways that Safeway has been shoehorning it into existing stores that's bugged me -- and a large part of that is about the flooring.
DeleteYou're probably right that the flooring makes or breaks these stores with Modern decor. For example, look at the nice Lifestyle flooring that the Houston Midtown Randall's had before Modern: https://s3-media0.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/R1jnzTO01pgfPbbnjsHxwg/o.jpg
DeleteAnd then you can see how the store looks now. It's not absolutely horrible, but it's a downgrade for sure: https://goo.gl/maps/jvxGPefJ59JKJx2J7
Here are a couple more Lifestyle-era photos from that Midtown Randall's. The store has a mezzanine with a Starbucks so there are some good camera angles to be had from up there:
https://s3-media0.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/uVneErq2S3kK1J6G_DehIw/o.jpg
https://s3-media0.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/865QRkgrEQ6zt9JP0ymiNw/o.jpg
I know your complaints against the plain white flooring that is sometimes used with Modern remodels. I'm really not sure what made Safeway think that pulling up these Lifestyle floors for white tile/concrete was a good idea. A lot of the Lifestyle floors still look very good today!
Agreed. Honestly, I think the concrete floors look pretty nice in that store, but still not as nice as the Lifestyle vinyl. The only part of the Lifestyle flooring that I think is a problem these days is the woodgrain accents (both in its general style and how worn it looks in many stores)... but the Modern remodels around here left that as is!
DeleteI just noticed that the Midtown Randall's named their cafe on the mezzanine the 'Hermann Cafe'. This is probably in reference to Hermann Park, one of the most famous parks in Houston. Of course, that's not really close to the store, but I suppose it's not too far away either. Are the seating areas in NW Safeways named after local parks/landmarks? Of course, the Modern aisle markers at the Midtown Randall's do have famous Houston street names and I know NW Safeways don't do that.
Deletehttps://goo.gl/maps/HdbmYWCDZeayoJmu7
That's one of the original decor elements from the Florida Safeways, but the only time I've seen it around here so far is at Snoqualmie Ridge, one of the two new-build Safeways to open with Modern (and the first Washington Safeway to get it, I believe). (Most Safeways and Albertsons around here don't have enough of a seating area to warrant a sign, and even if they had one in the Lifestyle era, it seems like Safeway just removes them during Modern remodels.) The street name aisle marker plaques are slightly less rare, but so far I've only seen them in that store and some of the converted Albertsons -- not the cheaply-remodeled Safeways.
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