First up is the distinctive triangular soffit over (what's supposed to be) the bakery, which just looks odd in a store with a drop ceiling. More to the point, it's the only trace of Grocery Palace "decor" in this store, with everything else being 100% Industrial Circus underlying the Save Mart conversion decor. If this wasn't here, I would have assumed this was a simple case of a transitional store that was (re)built with the Grocery Palace layout but Industrial Circus decor, but this seems to challenge that assumption. Was this a case of a very early, yet also very thorough, remodel from Grocery Palace straight to its successor? Or was there a last-minute change of plans from Grocery Palace to Industrial Circus when this store's expansion was being designed and built? I have no idea.
My guess is this store remodeled around 2002-2003 directly to Industrial Circus. After Grocery Palace was retired ca. 2002, the Florida division was still building exact Grocery Palace style stores, but installing Blue & Green Awnings as the decor in newbuilds from that era (which was a weird sight in the photos I've seen). The Grocery Palace layout lasted longer than the decor itself, with the various divisions picking either Industrial Circus or reborn Blue and Green Awnings for remodels and new stores during that time.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that seems like the most likely scenario, I'm just surprised they bothered with this element!
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