This store was built sometime in the 60s, and appears to have been some sort of modified version of the Marina prototype, likely developed for small towns like Davenport (with a population today of around 1700) as a cost-reduced version with a smaller footprint (at around 12,000 square feet, this has to be the smallest Safeway I've ever visited -- even the similarly-ancient Clatskanie and Reedsport stores I've posted previously were about 50% larger) and, most notably, with a much flatter roofline. What makes this store even more significant to me, though, is that it's the 50th Safeway store I've photographed! I completely didn't realize that coming into this, as I had missed one store when counting previously (so I thought that the one I visited after this would be #50), and it's super exciting to me to have such a unique store for that milestone.
That's a pretty sparsely populated parking lot! It's so empty that I don't even see the obligatory Subaru in the parking lot, but I suspect there was one or two behind you, lol.
ReplyDeleteI suppose this will be a landmark set. It'll be interesting to see a Safeway so small. Does this have Colorful Lifestyle v2? If so, I suppose there ought to be some Randall's similarities even if most Randall's aren't that small except maybe for that one in Austin I shared with you earlier (I think) which also has Colorful Lifestyle v2: https://goo.gl/maps/jmCT7nbSzHRbSbgLA
There is some indirect Safeway news here in Houston. The sole remaining Rice Epicurean Market, which is located in an old Safeway, is scheduled to close this summer. It looks like Rice is throwing in the towel after decades in the Houston grocery business where they once operated supermarkets in the value segment (under the Grocery World and Pricebusters names), mid-tier (Rice Food Markets), and upscale (Rice Epicurean). Most of the Rice Epicureans closed about a decade ago when The Fresh Market bought them out for their failed attempt at the Houston market, but Rice did hang onto one store. An HEB opened up next to it recently and that seems to be the death of Rice Epicurean, sadly.
As mentioned earlier, Rice Epicurean is an upscale store in a wealthy part of town. They had a high degree of customer service and also good quality meats and such. It's sad to see an independent high-end grocer like this close and their store did have a bit of a retro feel since it is an old Safeway. Here's the store on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/U662uiWfiq6DmY4N7
Yeah, between this being a tiny town and my visit being at a weird time fairly early (for me) on a Sunday morning, the store was deserted! This is in Eastern Washington, where those car stereotypes don't apply the same way they do west of the Cascades... but that Volkswagen still seems out of place!
DeleteEven that Randalls is closer in size to the other 60s Safeways I've posted before! I imagine even when it was built, this was still a fairly small Safeway, and it's amazing it's still around today.
That's certainly an interesting store, even if it doesn't look like any Safeway I've ever seen! Sees Candies inside a grocery store is particularly interesting.
Congrats (again) on 50 Safeways photographed!
ReplyDeleteThanks (again)!
DeleteCongrats on the 50th Safeway milestone!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Now when I get to 50 posted Safeways, that will be a bigger milestone! 🙂
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