While Proto-Lifestyle had some obvious aesthetic similarities with Lifestyle v1, it seems that Proto-Lifestyle 2.0 was where Safeway really started experimenting with the higher-end, service-department-oriented focus that was a big part of the Lifestyle concept Safeway promoted (before they started shoehorning the decor package into stores that never had the space for service departments... but I digress.). Along with that, this store has what has to be one of the earliest uses of the Signature Cafe "running chef" logo (which is still in use, with modifications, today) -- at least, I can't find any evidence of it being used in the Proto-Lifestyle era.
Eek! Those floors! Even Kroger wouldn't dare to let something so ugly be seen by customers! Well, okay, maybe not, lol. Retail Retell probably hasn't seen this, but it might be the worst Remix renovation I've seen....and that is saying something! Kroger took a nice early 2000s Signature store, ripped the floors up leaving massive tile scar. Also, Kroger just slapped Remix fixtures over the old Bountiful paint in some places. It is simply atrocious! Link: https://goo.gl/maps/upcLFH44bd7PaBw68
ReplyDeleteFull store: https://goo.gl/maps/57V37QxdtSKtJ53AA
Although this isn't a store I shop at (the community center across the street used to be a Safeway we shopped at decades ago), I was so disgusted when I saw these photos a couple weeks ago that I have not shopped at Kroger since. I'll probably end my atrocious renovation strike against Kroger at some point soon, but seeing these photos again just now makes me think I ought to keep the strike going for a while longer, lol.
I see that this Safeway has Boar's Head products. Is this somewhat of a quasi-Pavilions, NorCal version, or is Boar's Head common in Northern California Safeways?
Yeah... and they don't even have any excuse here, since this is the same floor the store opened with, as far as I can tell. (The two Seattle stores I linked with some version of this decor package also seem to have had concrete floors at that time, before they were replaced with vinyl when they got Lifestyle, moving the opposite direction of a lot of stores out there!) I'm guessing this is the same issue we saw at the Broadway Market QFC, with aging stained concrete floors. Sadly, there are several stores with far worse concrete floors that I visited on this trip.
DeleteYikes, that looks bad even by Remix standards! The floor is hardly the worst part of that picture!
It seems that Safeway has put Boar's Head in most of their California stores, across both the Norcal and Socal divisions. It isn't completely universal, but seems to be far more common than around here!
Ew...
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