- THE DEAL IS SIGNED
- Shari Godinez 6/18/00
- Ryan R Young
- Leslie Ann Jones
- Janet Broughton
- Shari Godinez 6/18/00
Shari Godinez Hurray, now lets hope they listen to the community on what they should stock in their store. I know that I have become very frustrated with this store because items that I purchase disappear from their shelves and never return. My comments to the manager have produced no results. Consequently, I must confess I have used webvan.com. My husband goes all the way to Berkeley to Whole Foods for organic produce. We would rather support our neighborhood store but they just don't seem to cater to what the neighborhood wants. I can say this with some confidence because I have spoken to several neighbors who feel the same way and have almost given up on Safeway.
How do you feel? Have you been happy with Safeway? What changes if any would you like to see?
And then there is the question of genetically altered foods.
I heard from the landlord that Safeway has signed the deal to stay in the Dimond. They will be putting several millions of dollars into remodeling their store, maybe adding a bakery and/or deli.
Ryan R Young I shop Safeway mainly because they are marginally closer than Alberson's but
also because when I first moved here, the then Lucky's store was a filthy
pit. I'm used to the layout at Safeway now, and rarely shop at Albertson's
even though that store is RADICALLY better than it used to be.
Margins in the grocery business are so thin that a store can only afford a
few experiments, unless the distributor is offering a LOT of payola for
shelf space, and most of the niche products we like can't do that yet.
But Safeway does carry organic frozen foods (maybe not much longer, they
don't seem to move), organic milk, a nice selection of various ethnic foods
(Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, Jewish), a pretty good meat market - I'll
keep shopping there even if they don't change a thing.
One more Safeway issue - I've heard that there have been corporate problems
with inventory. That may account for some of the mysterious disappearances,
but simply not selling well is a better explanation.
But you don't have to go to Berkeley for good organic produce, and resort to
hand-to-hand combat in the Berkeley Bowl parking lot. Farmer Joe's, one
neighborhood over, at 35th and MacArthur has a fine selection, and good
prices. They also have a LOT of specialty foods, including an excellent
selection of organic and vegetarian frozen foods, organic canned stuff, and
a tremendous Asian ethnic section. Prices on the things they carry are
fully competitive, and they are sweet, sweet people. Montclair Produce and
Laurel Produce are also good. And the Food Mill at MacArthur and Maple has
absolutely the best selection of organic and vegetarian frozen and packaged
foods, a vast variety of bulk foods, cheap vitamins and supplements,
god-like cookies, and friendly help. But their produce department is very
weak, so I only go there when I need something special.
In my opinion, we already have the supermarket we need, it's just split
between two locations -
I shop every week at Safeway, and have for nearly 6 years.
Their produce section is, umm, marginal, and it always has been. I think
one of the problems with this store is the radically bifurcated clientele
it serves. A lot of low income folk, and then us, the over-educated and
underpaid, the Trader Joe's target market. They have in the past
experimented with Organic produce, and I think they've thrown most of it
out. Sadly, most of their shoppers, that provide most of their margins,
shop price pretty much exclusively.
Leslie Ann Jones
I too have had problems with Safeway's stocking of items. We shop at Farmer
Joe's and only go to Safeway for staple items. Ryan's comment about Safeway's
clientele is right on target. 15 years ago the Safeway in Fruitvale closed
leaving those customers no where to shop but our neighborhood market. As a
result many specialty items are no longer stocked.
I say let's keep our wish list focused. There are many places in and near the
Dimond to find organic produce and healthy food and grocery items. Let's get
Safeway to stock better staples....a Deli and Bakery would be a good first
step, then perhaps we can work on a better cheese selection
Janet Broughton
About Safeway: if they are going to remodel, I hope they will change
their frontage on Fruitvale. That long unrelieved wall is prison-like,
completely uninviting to pedestrian shoppers. Best of all would be a
street-side store entrance; next best, some display windows