I always enjoy seeing centered produce departments like this in Modern stores, since it's the only recent Safeway decor package to have a proper design for this situation! I think this is why I like Modern so much -- it isn't the fanciest or most interesting decor package out there, but it looks pretty darn good in pretty much every store I've seen it in, and I can't say that about any other decor package (not even my all-time favorites like Lifestyle v2 or Urban Mix).
Ha, that's pretty sad that one of your favorite decor packages is something from the Kroger in the 21st century! Of course, I suppose given the limited supermarket options where you live, the options are mostly things from Kroger and Safeway Lifestyle and Lifestyle derivatives. I suppose Urban Mix is the best of the modern Kroger options, though I'd probably pick Bountiful over Urban Mix simply because it is a bit of a Kroger take on Lifestyle, albeit with a bit more 3D elements (usually cheaply done, but they look expensive compared to modern Kroger attempts at anything!).
ReplyDeleteI was talking about this with Houston retail enthusiasts the other day, but Bountiful has become really rare around here now that the last Bountiful Kroger around here in my area, that I can think of at least, is getting a remodel. I'm sure there are still a few Bountiful Krogers in Houston. There are also those stores which got a really cheap Remix remodel where they kept the Bountiful wall paint. Oh Kroger, lol.
Bountiful is kind of the opposite of Modern in this comparison -- it looks terrible in anything other than a large, modern, high-ceiling store, and QFC doesn't have any of those, so it looks terrible in pretty much every store I've ever seen it in. I'd probably like it a lot more if that wasn't the case. It is seriously one of the least flexible decor packages I know (alongside several of Albertsons' decor packages from the early 00s).
DeleteAnd yet, few QFCs have ever remodeled away from Bountiful. I think some of the ones that were built with Bountiful were remodeled back in the Neighborhood era for some reason, but other than that they're still all over the place. Around 2019, I saw plans to remodel some to Urban Mix, but COVID killed off QFC's remodel wave and I'm not aware of *any* local QFCs that have been remodeled since 2020 (I haven't been keeping an eye on the Portland/Vancouver-area ones so I'm not sure what's going on down there). So it's crazy to hear how rare it has become in most other Kroger regions.