Here's yet another view along the coffee counter, towards the back of the store. Based on the link that Anonymous from Houston sent yesterday, I believe the text on the back wall is supposed to say "Chill".
It says to "Order on the iPad," but I wonder if that's the kiosk you're referring to or if they mean for people to use their own iPad (or iPhone I reckon)? Maybe the kiosk is just an iPad instead of a giant tablet-like thing that McDonald's uses?
Many years ago, I visited the town of Springfield, Missouri. I looked up their grocery scene today. Well, they say imitation is the greatest form of flattery. With that in mind, the local chain in Springfield/Branson, Harter House, must think very highly of Safeway Lifestyle v1! Check this out: https://goo.gl/maps/ALjUV1kwaAUDp2fz6
Here's another location near Branson: https://goo.gl/maps/HoYGH5r6t9DSZqJL8
Maybe Safeway operated stores in Missouri with that decor and sold them to Harter House, but I don't think so. Maybe Harter House bought that decor from Safeway in an auction, I don't know. I don't know, but those stores look more Lifestyle than some Lifestyle stores, lol!
Speaking of Missouri, you might be familiar with the Gerbes Super Market chain. Kroger has a handful, a literal handful, of stores in Missouri under that name. They acquired them with the Dillons buyout in the early 1980s. Anyway, all the Gerbes stores have 2012/Bountiful or Millennium decor except for this oddball. This decor might be so old that it might even predate the Kroger buyout in the early 1980s! Link: https://goo.gl/maps/MTFimHUK4t2XLcrm6
Yeah, I've been assuming that they were just using iPads as kiosks, since that would be rather specific to assume customers have an iPad with them. Perhaps that was just easier than getting special tablets/kiosks made for them. Using actual iPads as kiosks like that was certainly common for a time, but 2017 does seem a bit past when most places were doing that!
I'm almost certain those stores are knockoffs of Lifestyle v1 rather than actually reusing Safeway decor, but it's quite obvious that's what they were going for! The colors are slightly off (red instead of beige for the lettering and a darker beige for the circle signs), the pictures in the circle signs are different, and the department names are more literal than Safeway's fanciful names, but it's still super funny to see that! (Especially since Lifestyle v1 is already rather bland... it's a little surprising that someone would want to copy it!)
I believe that store was discussed over on Discord when people were going through every Kroger store (something that I really want to do for Safeway/Albertsons one of these days!), and I think the consensus was that it's some sort of pre-Kroger thing. Though the list has that store having Neighborhood, so perhaps Kroger has finally remodeled it recently.
Yes, I think you are right about those Harter House stores being pure knockoffs. It's really strange that they picked Lifestyle v1 as their decor to imitate, but I suppose it's pretty cheap to make that decor compared to decor from some other grocers. It was pretty strange seeing photos of that place and then wondering how the heck I ended up at a Safeway, lol.
A master list of Albertsons and Safeway seems like a great idea. I didn't even know such a thing existed for Kroger stores. I'm also not sure what Neighborhood decor is all about. That's a new one to me!
From looking at things, it does seem that Dillons used the Food 4 Less decor a few times in western Kansas, but it looks like maybe all those stores were renovated again to Fresh & Local or something else more recent. It's disappointing to see that the Food 4 Less decor didn't work out for Dillons, but I can see why it didn't work. Most of those stores had very low walls which left little room for decor. The Food 4 Less decor needs room to look special, IMO. Link: https://goo.gl/maps/9p6SuUZadzEqb9jh6
I didn't realize you didn't have the Kroger list! Here it is (and the people over on Discord have done a lot of great research on that one!), and here's a much more basic one for Safeway. I'd love to get the Safeway one to a similar level to the Kroger one, at least for currently active stores (personally, I don't have a ton of interest in the level of historic research the Discord group did for Kroger).
Oh, and Neighborhood is the official name for Fresh and Local. I've been using it since the signature Fresh and Local sign is missing from quite a few of the QFCs with that package!
The Food 4 Less decor (officially "Colorful Value", which is a dumb name in my opinion) is an odd one in terms of how it's been used over time. Personally, I think it looks reasonably good in that store, at least in terms of modern decor in an older, low-ceiling store! Neighborhood also looks decent in that store, though it's certainly not my favorite decor package.
Thanks for the links! That Kroger list is amazing. I've already found some interesting stuff thanks to that list. I'll be putting a lot of time studying that one, that's for sure! One thing I learned from the list is that Houston does have one Remix store. It actually doesn't look bad to me, but I don't know why Kroger even bothered. It hardly makes a difference. Anyway, the store kept the flooring it had, which is pretty distinctive, so maybe that helps Remix look tolerable: https://goo.gl/maps/YSU3pvitNFfgcbcQA
It's truly amazing, and I didn't realize this, but the Dallas area has a Winn-Kroger which seemingly still has a Winn-Dixie floor! Amazing! Link: https://goo.gl/maps/PGbryujGxZgWXDT16
Some of these decor names are new to me just as I did not know that Fresh & Local is also Neighborhood (I prefer Fresh & Local!). I reckon Kroger Spirit is Millennium?
The Food 4 Less decor certainly did not look bad at that Dillons. I really don't know why Dillons was so quick to dump it. I don't think that decor looks as nice at that Dillons as it does at some Houston locations which have it which have much bigger walls for elaborate decor implementations.
It sure is! I'm quite impressed by how they were able to find official decor names going way back (yep, Spirit is the official name for Millennium; we also found Northwest for what I used to call Fred Meyer's Oval Decor, and Mercer for an obscure QFC decor).
Ugh, Remix is spreading! You can tell people hate that decor because it's the only one that everyone refuses to refer to by its official name ("Paint and Putty"). Someone suggested calling it "Cancer" because of how much it's spread -- I like that name!
I didn't realize Winn-Dixie went all the way to Texas at one point! Yep, that sure looks like their flooring -- and it's in surprisingly good shape, too!
Yeah, Winn-Dixie's big move into Texas was when they purchased the Buddies chain in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area (though they also acquired some Foodway stores in West Texas via the same buyout) in the late 1970s. They lasted in Texas until ~2002 when they threw in the towel. In between those periods, we pretty much had all the Winn-Dixie concepts that you have seen on AFB's blog.
Outside of the Dallas Metroplex and I suppose the handful of Foodway stores in El Paso, Winn-Dixie didn't have much of a presence in the other large cities in Texas. The rest of their Texas stores were mostly in small cities or towns in North, Central, and East Texas. That said, they did put a presence just outside the Houston area to the east in Beaumont and to the Northwest in Bryan/College Station. I'm sure these stores were used to gauge interest and possible success Winn-Dixie might have had in Houston, but they never did actually come into Houston. That's probably for the best, I think they would have done quite poorly here.
There does appear to be a handful of former Winn-Dixies that are now Winn-Krogers in the Dallas area, but I think that Arlington store I posted earlier is the only one with any major vestige of Winn-Dixie left on the inside.
The Colorful Value name for the Food 4 Less decor is a bit silly, especially as it relates to Houston, since we had at least a couple of 'Kroger Signature' stores that use that decor package (though Kroger has started to move away from the Signature designation here very recently). Kroger Signature stores were supposed to be more upscale stores. How can they be upscale but also have a 'value' decor package...especially when it looks so good?! Lol, I'm sure Kroger has their reasons.
This is a store I already knew about, but I'll post it here for your viewing pleasure. It's a Dallas-area Food 4 Less decor Kroger inside a former Safeway! The interior and exterior of the store very much still has a Safeway look to the design of it. Well, at least it looks like a 1970s Texas Safeway. I can't really say how similar this would be to a NW 1970s Safeway, but almost all the typical Texas Safeway features are here. They just happen to have Food 4 Less decor now! Link: https://goo.gl/maps/yySrQHnA89i3ZxRs9
For comparison's sake, here is a Randall's in Austin that I'm almost positive is in an old 1970s Safeway from Safeway's first go-around in Texas. This Randall's might be a rare attempt to see what Safeways might have looked like in Texas if they never left the first time around: https://goo.gl/maps/sNxNHKhgjVkTYgwe9
Interesting! Winn-Dixie sure did some interesting things over the years... too bad they were never particularly successful.
Yeah, I don't really get what's up with Colorful Value. I suppose it was probably cheaper to make than their other decor packages of the time (Bountiful/Banner/Fresh Fare 2.0), but I think it looks better than some of their non-"cheap" decor packages (particularly Neighborhood, which I've never been a big fan of).
I'm not super familiar with Safeways of that era, since it seems like there was a gap in Safeway construction between the Marina era and the 90s, but in terms of the interior layout, those stores look super weird compared to what I'm used to! It's funny to see that Randall's come full circle like that.
It says to "Order on the iPad," but I wonder if that's the kiosk you're referring to or if they mean for people to use their own iPad (or iPhone I reckon)? Maybe the kiosk is just an iPad instead of a giant tablet-like thing that McDonald's uses?
ReplyDeleteMany years ago, I visited the town of Springfield, Missouri. I looked up their grocery scene today. Well, they say imitation is the greatest form of flattery. With that in mind, the local chain in Springfield/Branson, Harter House, must think very highly of Safeway Lifestyle v1! Check this out: https://goo.gl/maps/ALjUV1kwaAUDp2fz6
Here's another location near Branson: https://goo.gl/maps/HoYGH5r6t9DSZqJL8
Maybe Safeway operated stores in Missouri with that decor and sold them to Harter House, but I don't think so. Maybe Harter House bought that decor from Safeway in an auction, I don't know. I don't know, but those stores look more Lifestyle than some Lifestyle stores, lol!
Speaking of Missouri, you might be familiar with the Gerbes Super Market chain. Kroger has a handful, a literal handful, of stores in Missouri under that name. They acquired them with the Dillons buyout in the early 1980s. Anyway, all the Gerbes stores have 2012/Bountiful or Millennium decor except for this oddball. This decor might be so old that it might even predate the Kroger buyout in the early 1980s! Link: https://goo.gl/maps/MTFimHUK4t2XLcrm6
Yeah, I've been assuming that they were just using iPads as kiosks, since that would be rather specific to assume customers have an iPad with them. Perhaps that was just easier than getting special tablets/kiosks made for them. Using actual iPads as kiosks like that was certainly common for a time, but 2017 does seem a bit past when most places were doing that!
DeleteI'm almost certain those stores are knockoffs of Lifestyle v1 rather than actually reusing Safeway decor, but it's quite obvious that's what they were going for! The colors are slightly off (red instead of beige for the lettering and a darker beige for the circle signs), the pictures in the circle signs are different, and the department names are more literal than Safeway's fanciful names, but it's still super funny to see that! (Especially since Lifestyle v1 is already rather bland... it's a little surprising that someone would want to copy it!)
I believe that store was discussed over on Discord when people were going through every Kroger store (something that I really want to do for Safeway/Albertsons one of these days!), and I think the consensus was that it's some sort of pre-Kroger thing. Though the list has that store having Neighborhood, so perhaps Kroger has finally remodeled it recently.
Yes, I think you are right about those Harter House stores being pure knockoffs. It's really strange that they picked Lifestyle v1 as their decor to imitate, but I suppose it's pretty cheap to make that decor compared to decor from some other grocers. It was pretty strange seeing photos of that place and then wondering how the heck I ended up at a Safeway, lol.
DeleteA master list of Albertsons and Safeway seems like a great idea. I didn't even know such a thing existed for Kroger stores. I'm also not sure what Neighborhood decor is all about. That's a new one to me!
From looking at things, it does seem that Dillons used the Food 4 Less decor a few times in western Kansas, but it looks like maybe all those stores were renovated again to Fresh & Local or something else more recent. It's disappointing to see that the Food 4 Less decor didn't work out for Dillons, but I can see why it didn't work. Most of those stores had very low walls which left little room for decor. The Food 4 Less decor needs room to look special, IMO. Link: https://goo.gl/maps/9p6SuUZadzEqb9jh6
I didn't realize you didn't have the Kroger list! Here it is (and the people over on Discord have done a lot of great research on that one!), and here's a much more basic one for Safeway. I'd love to get the Safeway one to a similar level to the Kroger one, at least for currently active stores (personally, I don't have a ton of interest in the level of historic research the Discord group did for Kroger).
DeleteOh, and Neighborhood is the official name for Fresh and Local. I've been using it since the signature Fresh and Local sign is missing from quite a few of the QFCs with that package!
The Food 4 Less decor (officially "Colorful Value", which is a dumb name in my opinion) is an odd one in terms of how it's been used over time. Personally, I think it looks reasonably good in that store, at least in terms of modern decor in an older, low-ceiling store! Neighborhood also looks decent in that store, though it's certainly not my favorite decor package.
Thanks for the links! That Kroger list is amazing. I've already found some interesting stuff thanks to that list. I'll be putting a lot of time studying that one, that's for sure! One thing I learned from the list is that Houston does have one Remix store. It actually doesn't look bad to me, but I don't know why Kroger even bothered. It hardly makes a difference. Anyway, the store kept the flooring it had, which is pretty distinctive, so maybe that helps Remix look tolerable: https://goo.gl/maps/YSU3pvitNFfgcbcQA
DeleteIt's truly amazing, and I didn't realize this, but the Dallas area has a Winn-Kroger which seemingly still has a Winn-Dixie floor! Amazing! Link: https://goo.gl/maps/PGbryujGxZgWXDT16
Some of these decor names are new to me just as I did not know that Fresh & Local is also Neighborhood (I prefer Fresh & Local!). I reckon Kroger Spirit is Millennium?
The Food 4 Less decor certainly did not look bad at that Dillons. I really don't know why Dillons was so quick to dump it. I don't think that decor looks as nice at that Dillons as it does at some Houston locations which have it which have much bigger walls for elaborate decor implementations.
It sure is! I'm quite impressed by how they were able to find official decor names going way back (yep, Spirit is the official name for Millennium; we also found Northwest for what I used to call Fred Meyer's Oval Decor, and Mercer for an obscure QFC decor).
DeleteUgh, Remix is spreading! You can tell people hate that decor because it's the only one that everyone refuses to refer to by its official name ("Paint and Putty"). Someone suggested calling it "Cancer" because of how much it's spread -- I like that name!
I didn't realize Winn-Dixie went all the way to Texas at one point! Yep, that sure looks like their flooring -- and it's in surprisingly good shape, too!
Yeah, Winn-Dixie's big move into Texas was when they purchased the Buddies chain in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area (though they also acquired some Foodway stores in West Texas via the same buyout) in the late 1970s. They lasted in Texas until ~2002 when they threw in the towel. In between those periods, we pretty much had all the Winn-Dixie concepts that you have seen on AFB's blog.
DeleteOutside of the Dallas Metroplex and I suppose the handful of Foodway stores in El Paso, Winn-Dixie didn't have much of a presence in the other large cities in Texas. The rest of their Texas stores were mostly in small cities or towns in North, Central, and East Texas. That said, they did put a presence just outside the Houston area to the east in Beaumont and to the Northwest in Bryan/College Station. I'm sure these stores were used to gauge interest and possible success Winn-Dixie might have had in Houston, but they never did actually come into Houston. That's probably for the best, I think they would have done quite poorly here.
There does appear to be a handful of former Winn-Dixies that are now Winn-Krogers in the Dallas area, but I think that Arlington store I posted earlier is the only one with any major vestige of Winn-Dixie left on the inside.
The Colorful Value name for the Food 4 Less decor is a bit silly, especially as it relates to Houston, since we had at least a couple of 'Kroger Signature' stores that use that decor package (though Kroger has started to move away from the Signature designation here very recently). Kroger Signature stores were supposed to be more upscale stores. How can they be upscale but also have a 'value' decor package...especially when it looks so good?! Lol, I'm sure Kroger has their reasons.
This is a store I already knew about, but I'll post it here for your viewing pleasure. It's a Dallas-area Food 4 Less decor Kroger inside a former Safeway! The interior and exterior of the store very much still has a Safeway look to the design of it. Well, at least it looks like a 1970s Texas Safeway. I can't really say how similar this would be to a NW 1970s Safeway, but almost all the typical Texas Safeway features are here. They just happen to have Food 4 Less decor now! Link: https://goo.gl/maps/yySrQHnA89i3ZxRs9
For comparison's sake, here is a Randall's in Austin that I'm almost positive is in an old 1970s Safeway from Safeway's first go-around in Texas. This Randall's might be a rare attempt to see what Safeways might have looked like in Texas if they never left the first time around: https://goo.gl/maps/sNxNHKhgjVkTYgwe9
Interesting! Winn-Dixie sure did some interesting things over the years... too bad they were never particularly successful.
DeleteYeah, I don't really get what's up with Colorful Value. I suppose it was probably cheaper to make than their other decor packages of the time (Bountiful/Banner/Fresh Fare 2.0), but I think it looks better than some of their non-"cheap" decor packages (particularly Neighborhood, which I've never been a big fan of).
I'm not super familiar with Safeways of that era, since it seems like there was a gap in Safeway construction between the Marina era and the 90s, but in terms of the interior layout, those stores look super weird compared to what I'm used to! It's funny to see that Randall's come full circle like that.