The entire "back" wall of the store (furthest from the entrance, at least -- this layout is awkward to describe!) is taken up by the liquor section (mostly wine, unsurprisingly -- sometimes stereotypes are true). Italy is not exactly a crime-free place, so it's interesting to see all of this kept unlocked and all the way at the opposite end of the store from the checkouts, versus what Seattle's grocery stores have done in recent years!
It is very strange seeing a case of Budweiser, or Bud as they seem to call it, on the shelves there! I guess they really and truly do have most everything that we have these days, for better or for worse.
ReplyDeleteThe spot lights are certainly giving off some Safeway Lifestyle vibes, but this store looks bright enough even with the dark ceiling. The terrazzo flooring looks great from the photos at least. At least I'd assume that Italians would appreciate good flooring and would despise bad flooring. Then again, if they are drinking Budweiser, maybe I shouldn't assume anything, lol.
Ha! Yeah, that goes right along with the McDonald's (or even worse, Starbucks) locations all over Rome!
DeleteThe flooring isn't actually that fancy -- I think it's more like that epoxy garage flooring stuff than actual terrazzo -- but it does look a lot nicer than what so many US grocery stores have these days. Strangely, while this store hasn't had a major remodel since the Carrefour conversion, it has gone through at least three different floors since then according to Google Maps pictures -- it started off with the stone tile that's so common around Italy, which was replaced with a rather Safeway-like woodgrain vinyl around 2018 or 2019, and then this faux terrazzo was installed sometime in the last year or so. I wonder what that was about, especially considering how many US stores still have vinyl flooring from the 90s or even earlier!
@Anonymous, Europeans have a crazy love for Budweiser -- so much so that it is their American beer of choice! It may be more common to see Budweiser there than it is to see Heineken here.
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