Celebrating 3 Years of AFB!

     Well look at that - it's been three years already since I launched AFB. And the blog is becoming more popular than I ever could have imagined. AFB has gotten more views in the last year than in its first two years combined, for a total of over 128,000 pageviews since the blog's debut! I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one interested in these places! If it weren't for all of the people reading this right now - the longtime followers, new friends, or people who are just discovering their interest in these old stores - this blog wouldn't be possible. I'm honored that all of you take the time to read my (sometimes very long) ramblings about these stores and take a look at my pictures. Thanks to everyone for stopping by the blog, and I promise to keep bringing you lots of great posts as AFB goes into its 4th year online.

     The last year has been quite eventful for Albertsons Florida. On May 24, 2016, Albertsons Florida officially ceased to exist after a tumultuous 42 year run in Florida. Albertsons survived the Florida grocery store surge of the 80's and early 90's, but Albertsons troubles in the early 2000's and the rise of Publix's power eventually proved to be too much for Albertsons Florida. But as we saw, Albertsons didn't completely give up on Florida. While the Albertsons name may no longer been seen on any storefronts throughout the state, we have Albertsons' new sister store Safeway to pick up where Albertsons left off and to carry on their legacy. I've heard many great things about the new Safeways, but Albertsons' ultimate plans for the future of Safeway in Florida are still a mystery. Hopefully we'll see some kind of development on that front in 2017, as I, along with many others I'm sure, would like to see Safeway grow to more than 3 stores in Florida.

     Thank you everyone for visiting the blog over the last three years! To celebrate AFB's 3rd birthday, I've put together a post from one of the best preserved former Albertsons stores in the entire state, which you can read below. As usual, I've put together a list of stores featured on the blog over the last year at the end of this post to recap the year, along with some other random facts and figures for your viewing pleasure.

So until the next time,

The Albertsons Florida Blogger

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The year in review (and some random stats):

Albertsons Stores Covered:

#4304 - Altamonte Springs, FL (Safeway Transition) (The second most popular feature post of the year)
#4323 - Orlando, FL (Orange Ave.) (The third most popular feature post of the year)
#4341 - Stuart, FL
#4353 - Longwood, FL
#4362 - Port St. Lucie, FL (US 1)
#4363 - Lake Mary, FL
#4376 - Winter Springs, FL
#4382 - Stuart, FL
#4390 - Winter Park, FL
#4410 - Kissimmee, FL (Downtown)
#4411 - Kissimmee, FL (East)
#4418 - Sebring, FL
#4436 - Valrico, FL (A Quick Glimpse)
#4462 - Orlando, FL (South OBT)
#4466 - Port St. Lucie, FL (St. Lucie West - Update) (The most popular feature post of the year)
#4471 - Sanford, FL
#4486 - Lake Worth, FL (Hypoluxo)

Bonus Buy Stores Featured:

Kroger SupeRx Food and Drug/Florida Choice - Rockledge, FL
Kroger SupeRx Food and Drug/Florida Choice - Titusville, FL
Publix #1 - Winter Haven, FL (The Original Publix Store)
Publix #78 - Sebring, FL (Southgate)
Publix #310 - Tampa, FL (Gandy SC)
Publix #321 - Avon Park, FL
Safeway Save and Pack #3202 - Casselberry, FL
Sweetbay Supermarket #1792 - Sebring, FL
Winn-Dixie #160 - Gainesville, FL
Winn-Dixie #364 - Stuart, FL

Overall most popular post of the year:
The Safeway Florida Decor is Revealed! - This post got such a large number of views as Supermarket News posted a link to it in their 'Recommended Reading' section, which was an honor!

Albertsons Florida Store Count: 0 (-3 from 2015)
Safeway Florida Store Count: 3