Looking back at the deli, I noticed something unusual that I hadn't taken note of before -- the space above the deli soffit is all filled in! Normally, Albertsons left this as a black hole of exposed structure, wiring, and ductwork, a design choice that I always hate whenever I see it in any store. This store avoided that and instead has a full-height bulkhead set slightly back from the decorative soffit. I have no idea why that is, since even other later-build Grocery Palaces I've visited still had the ugly black hole! And despite the proper wall, this store still has the partial awnings above the deli that seem to have been intended to hide the unsightliness of the open space above the deli ceiling. Sometimes I don't have anything to say other than: Weird.
There probably isn't much guessing on which design I prefer between the finished and unfinished plenum space (I suppose that is the correct term, but maybe not!). Yeah, I do prefer the look here! The colored wall does look nicer than the messy empty space. I'm not sure if this store was designed like that by Albertsons or maybe if Save Mart installed those walls. Given how little Save Mart has done to the rest of the store, I kind of doubt they put in that kind of investment.
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit surprised to see Zapp's potato chips being sold in California as I kind of assumed they were a local product here in Texas and Louisiana. It seems that although the founder was based in this area, the company acquired a California chip company in the 2000s and then was later sold to Utz so I suppose they are at least somewhat of a national brand. Who knew?
Yeah, I'm not surprised at all by that! I don't mind open ceilings or (decent) concrete floors like you do, but open black holes above department ceilings really do bother me! I doubt it was Save Mart that did this, since I don't know why they would have left the black awnings if so; I'd be surprised if this wasn't the way the store was originally built. But you never know!
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