I don't believe Safeway ever made much use of neon in their decor packages, but it was heavily used on the exterior of these early-2000s stores. Most of those have had their signage updated to the 2005 logo over the years, though, and few used neon for their primary signage, so it's pretty cool to see this still hanging on! I wish I had returned after dark to see the neon lit up, but this area seemed a bit sketchy even during the day (no big surprise for San Francisco), so that didn't end up happening.
It is surprising in a way to see that 1981-era Safeway logo linger on for so long at an otherwise modern store that was just built before the logo change, but I'm not complaining! It's not that I don't like the current Safeway logo, but it is nice to see reminders of the older logos every now and then. The remaining Proto Lifestyle 1 stores come to mind as well.
ReplyDeleteSafeway had a premium store concept, at least here in Texas, in the 1980s called Food Emporium which used a lot of neon interior decor. These stores were short-lived, at least here in Texas, given that Safeway left the area not long after they launched this decor. I'm not sure if Safeway ever used this out west. Here is a video with some scenes from inside a Food Emporium: https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc854794/m1/
It's really only in the last few years that it became such an unusual sight around here, but it sure is these days! Even some of the most retro stores I visited on this trip had updated logos; on the other hand, I visited a few stores with old exterior signage but current decor!
DeleteCool! I think I've seen a few pictures of that decor, but I have no idea how common it was. If they did use it around here, it disappeared pretty quickly (which wouldn't surprise me, considering how thorough Safeway was with remodeling their stores in the 90s and 00s).