Bring Safeway Right to Your Door!

     AFB contributor Dave M. has sent in a few more pictures from the Largo Safeway. One of the recent developments was the removal of most of the scaffolding from the front of the building, revealing what they've been doing back there for the last few months. It looks like all they did was stucco over some of the brickwork where they will be placing the new signage. I figured stucco work/somehow covering over the brick was probably what was happening back there, as I didn't think they were going to do an entire re-do of the exterior. Other than the stucco, the exterior is still of the same design as it has been since the store was built.

     In other news from the Largo store, Dave also saw this new feature Safeway will be offering at this store that I wasn't aware about:

     Safeway will be launching their Safeway "fresh to your door" grocery delivery service at the Largo store. Safeway purchased (from what I can tell by the pictures) at least five of these trucks to fulfill the grocery orders from this store, so they must be expecting this service to be pretty popular. Right now, Safeway will be the only grocery store offering home delivery service in the Tampa Bay area. Publix has experimented with at home grocery deliveries a few times in the past, however they've never been able to find a system that works for them. Right now Publix is experimenting with grocery delivery in select markets by subcontracting the service through the company Shipt, which seems to be Publix's most successful attempt at grocery delivery so far. I don't know if Altamonte Springs and Oakland Park will be offering this service as well.

     Here you can see the fleet of grocery delivery trucks parked in front of the store. So if your tired of Publix and want a Safeway fix instead, but don't want to drive halfway across the state to shop there, here's your answer! Well, they probably won't go that far to deliver groceries, but this service will be another way to give Safeway a slight edge over Publix for the time being.

     Thanks again Dave for your continuous coverage of this store! I have a new store post going up tomorrow, so be sure to come back and check that out!

Until then,

The Albertsons Florida Blogger

Albertsons Florida Remodel Updates - April 2016 - Part 2

     Yesterday AFB contributor Ross T. sent in some additional photos of the Largo Albertsons. These pictures were taken within a day or two of when the pictures you saw in the April 2016 Part 1 remodel post were taken, and show a few different perspectives of this store. So, let's take a quick look...

     Some badly faded Albertsons signage still remains on the exterior for the Pharmacy and Liquor stores. By the end of the remodel, this signage should be replaced. At least I hope it would be.

     And going in through that pharmacy entrance we see the remodeled pharmacy counter.

     Ross was pressed for time while he was in here taking these pictures, so please pardon the blurriness in some of these pictures. You can still make out some details in the blurry photos. I believe this is the view from first walking in the main entrance, which leads immediately into the produce department.

     The deli, now in the front right corner after relocating from an island between the grocery aisles and right side wall, which you can see part of off to the left side of this picture. Where the deli is now was originally home to produce cases.

     Looking toward the bakery and beer & wine, which is in the back corner (although some wine was placed next to the cheese display in the foreground of this picture). One of the Safeway Signature signs they have for the bakery here is advertising the "French bread baked in store daily". I don't know if Safeway also had this before the Albertsons acquisition, but Albertsons had a program where they would bake fresh loaves of their house French bread throughout the day, especially in the early evening when people came in for after work shopping. One of the staples of Albertsons' bakery (other than the famous cookies) was that French bread, which I was also a fan of. From the looks of it, the same French bread will be carried over into Safeway. 

     It looks like some bulk foods were added as well.

     These coolers are a part of the new organic department, which you can see a wider view of here. This aisle is the one that used to run along the back of the deli island, and housed the beer coolers. You can see the original configuration here.

     And finally, a look at the new Starbucks up front. It looks like Customer Service has been relocated to an island next to the registers from the front wall as well.

    Thanks again Ross for you continuous updates from the Largo store! As always, AFB will be here to continue covering these remodels as they near their completion.

So until the next time,

The Albertsons Florida Blogger

Albertsons Florida Remodel Updates - April 2016 - Part 1

     Somewhere behind all of that scaffolding lies the soon-to-be-former Largo Albertsons or soon-to-be-opening Largo Safeway, depending on how you look at it. Today, thanks to AFB contributor Dave M., we'll get to take another quick look around the Largo Albertsons for some updates on the progress of construction and what's changed since last time.

     According to Dave, interior work is complete here. The only remaining construction is the exterior work you see above. Other than new signage, I really don't know what they're doing out here, or what the finished product will look like. As for already finished product, let's start heading inside to see some of that...

     The new carts have arrived with the Safeway branding on them. In addition to new full sized carts, Safeway is also adding new mini-carts "reserved for our future [Safeway] shoppers", which you can see below:

     Now for some interior pictures:

     The more I see pictures of the new interior, the more I like it. My fears of it making the store seem too dark did not come true, and honestly the new look does wonders for modernizing these older stores. In the above picture is "The Citrus City Cafe", located near the front entrance (they probably could have picked a better color for "The Citrus City" part of the sign, as the white on white is hard to read). The one thing about this look that I really like is how overborad it goes with local touches. "The Citrus City" is an old nickname for the City of Largo, dating back to the late 1800's when the city of Largo was one of the largest citrus producers in the state. The nickname has somewhat faded into obscurity in these modern times, mostly because I don't think a single citrus grove exists in Largo anymore, much less anywhere else in Pinellas County for that matter (maybe I'm wrong about that though, but I don't know where there would be room for one anymore). The cafe also includes some old pictures from around town, and some sayings on the wall about friends and togetherness.

     I don't know if this area has an official name, but it looks like some kind of lounge/sitting area. This store is so big, they probably had more space than they knew what to do with it, with this being a result of this store's unusually large size. Over on the side wall is a community bulletin board and a map of Florida showing where Largo is, as well as a chalkboard community calendar.

     Some of the new signage and cases in the produce department.

     The rather sizable organic foods department. It's nice to see they didn't skimp in this area.

     And finally some new Safeway promotional signage, probably over by the bakery since it's advertising Key Lime Pie. 

     Thanks again Dave for sending in these pictures of the Largo Albertsons! In 29 days, Albertsons Florida will become Safeway Florida, a sad yet exciting event as one era ends and another begins. AFB will be here to inform you of any news or updates regarding the remodels and the transition into Safeway as the work begins to come to a close.

So until the next time,

The Albertsons Florida Blogger

The Safeway Florida Decor Is Revealed!

     Thanks to new AFB contributor Dave M., we now have a sneak peek of what the interior of the new Safeway Florida stores will look like. I know there are some who have been waiting to see what it would look like (as well as myself), so here it is:

     Yes, it's nothing at all like anything Safeway or Albertsons are currently using. These two renderings were posted on an easel inside the Largo Albertsons for shoppers to look at, which you can see below in the zoomed out pictures. I looked all over online, and I couldn't find any other Safeways or even Albertsons with this interior. All the new Safeways I was finding had the Colorful Lifestyle interior. Maybe someone else out there has seen this look before, but I'm pretty convinced Florida will be this decor's debut. It's a very modern look (as was promised in the original announcement of these remodels), and, at least to me, it seems to share some similarity to Winn-Dixie's new "Down Down" interior that debuted back in January. My only criticism of this new Safeway interior is that it looks like a large overuse of brown. Brown walls, brown floors, brown displays. All of the dark colors of the store do make the colors of the merchandise stand out more, which is probably what they were going for. But other than that, I kind of like the look of it. It's a big jump for these three Albertsons to be going from neglected 90's interiors to this.

     A brand new shopping experience indeed. The photos above and below show the easels these pictures were displayed on. Also in the background you can see the new wood grain/wood grain style flooring, part of the new salad bar, and what I believe is (or will be) the new home of the deli.

     And finally, a look at the new aisle signs. These are basically a new spin on the old Lifestyle ones, which you can see an example of here. Another interesting thing is that under the numbers, each aisle is given the name of a local street. Aisle 4 is "Hercules Avenue", which is a fairly major north-south road in Clearwater, and Aisle 3 is "Forest Parkway", which is a residential street in Largo that loops around a neighborhood a little to the north of this store. Presumably all of the other aisles have a corresponding street name as well. I saw this concept of giving the aisles the names of local streets at an independent supermarket once, and thought it was a neat local touch.

     Hopefully in the coming weeks, we'll be seeing more of this new "Brown Lifestyle" interior take shape at these three Albertsons stores. The remodels are coming along nicely, and in the next month or two, the Safeway name will probably be made official.

     Thanks again Dave for sending in those pictures, and I'll try my best to keep everyone updated on the remodels as I receive new pictures and information. I have a new store post going up this coming Monday (not Sunday, as posts are usually scheduled), so be sure to come back and check that out then! 

So until the next time, 

The Albertsons Florida Blogger

Albertsons Florida Remodel Updates - February 2016

     Today AFB presents another update on the remodels of the last three Florida Albertsons stores as they transition into their new life as Safeway stores. Thanks to AFB contributor Ross T. for sending in some photos showing how the construction has been progressing recently at the Largo Albertsons:

     As we will see in a moment, the outer perimeter walls have been mostly repainted. The deli island currently has the last remaining traces of the old pink textured walls from the Blue and Green Awning decor. Since this is the case, I have a feeling the deli will probably be moved out from this island by the end of the remodel, and this will be removed, but I'm not sure.

     Looking into the back right corner of the store. Here's our first glimpse at the new tan/brown/gray color scheme that's been put in place, which we will see more of in a moment. Ross also mentioned that the aisles and some products have been continually getting moved around as the remodel continues to enter different phases. 

     The new Starbucks has been mostly completed, and the signage for it has been installed. This photos also shows some of the new wood grain flooring that these stores are getting.

     The photos above and below show the new brown/tan/gray color scheme currently in the store as construction progresses. Based off of how neat this paint job looks, I'm not sure if this is a primer coat or a final coat. This color scheme doesn't really match the current Albertsons "Quality Built" (as referred to by Acme Style) interior, or the "Lifestyle 2.0" interior that was used at the most recently opened Safeway in Rockville, MD. Although, now that I've looked over pictures of both interiors closer, the way the gray/brown/tan patches on the walls are spread out, they may just be primers for the Lifestyle 2.0 colors, but I guess time will tell what the new interior will look like. 

     So that wraps up our little look at the progression of the remodel at the Largo store for now. Thanks again Ross T. for sending in those pictures and for keeping us updated as the construction continues. 

     Also, I was looking around online the other day, and I found some pictures of the construction progress at the Altamonte Springs Albertsons taken back in late January, which you can view here (scroll to the right for more once the first image loads). Similar situation to what we saw at the Largo store, with a similar current color scheme on the perimeter walls. Produce there has been moved (temporarily, I assume) to a very long case in aisle 4, and there are also some pictures of the new flooring and equipment. For an extensive look at the Altamonte Springs Albertsons, click here.

That's all for now, but I have more coming next Sunday!

So until the next time,

The Albertsons Florida Blogger

Florida, Meet Safeway - And other Albertsons and Florida Supermarket News

I'm going to apologize in advance for my horrible photo editing skills:

Future Safeway #3304

503 E Altamonte Drive, Altamonte Springs, FL

Original Photo courtesy of Adam R.

Future Safeway #4402

10500 Ulmerton Road E, Largo, FL - Largo Mall

Original Image from Bing Maps - I don't have any pictures of this store at the moment

Future Safeway #4319

900 E. Commercial Boulevard, Oakland Park, FL

     So it looks like 2016 is off to a busy start for Florida supermarkets and retail. Back on the 11th, Albertsons made their official public release confirming the conversions of the remaining three Albertsons Florida stores to the Safeway brand. It's a bittersweet moment, as Florida loses yet another supermarket chain to the grasp of Publix. At least out of this loss there will be a gain, as Safeway will be making their grand entrance into Florida under their name for the first time. Safeway did have a very short presence in Florida back in the late 80's and early 90's under the Save and Pack name. Save and Pack, however, was a warehouse style store, kind of like a Sam's Club/Save A Lot hybrid type place, and not a true supermarket. If you would like to read more about Save and Pack, check out this post I did about them here, which also includes a list of Save and Pack's former locations.

     Albertsons is planning to spend around $10 million between the three stores to upgrade them to Safeway. According Sidney Hopper, president of Albertsons' Houston Division, the remodels will bring "contemporary décor packages, new digital signs and menu boards, a natural/organic zone and living well products. The stores will also feature expanded specialty foods selections, more local products, expanded floral and wine areas, enhanced food service offerings and new Starbucks in each location." These stores are finally getting the love they have long been deprived of, and hopefully their new offerings can help them better compete with Publix. 

     From reading quite a few articles about the conversions, and the e-mails and comments that have been coming into the blog recently about them, all the speculation seems to be pointing to one thing: There are probably more Safeways coming if Albertsons is going through all of this effort with only three stores. More than likely, if more Safeways are to open, most of the new locations would be in existing buildings or through the acquisition of some or all locations from another chain (with the most likely candidate being Winn-Dixie). I hope the new name means a new start for Albertsons, and that Safeway will be able to fend off Publix and possibly grow to more than three stores. It doesn't really make sense to rebrand three random stores if there wasn't some kind of larger goal out there. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what that is going to be. 

     I already linked to the articles about the Safeway conversions in the Orlando and Tampa Bay Businesss Journals in the Breaking News post the other day. However, here are two more articles about the conversions from the Tampa Bay Times and Supermarket News (which you can read here and here respectively). I highly suggest reading the article from Supermarket News, as they did a very good write up on the conversions.

     Like I mentioned the other day, I'll be compiling a separate store list for Safeway Florida locations sometime in the near future and adding it to the blog. The main focus of this blog will still be the Albertsons Florida stores which operated from 1974-2016. If Safeway does end up exploding to a bunch of locations outside of these three, I'll see how to go from there. They technically are still Albertsons Florida, but I'll worry about that later.

     Keep scrolling down for some other news about some former Albertsons locations, and some tidbits from Publix and Winn-Dixie:

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The Fate Has Been Determined for the Former Vero Beach Albertsons

Albertsons #4357

1750 US 1, Vero Beach, FL

     A new store will be opening at the site of the former Vero Beach Albertsons, which closed on June 9, 2012. The store opening here is the one I figured would eventually end up opening here: our old pal Walmart Neighborhood Market. I had a feeling Walmart would want this place. Walmart doesn't have any presence on this side of town since they relocated from their old discount store on US 1 to a new discount store on the western fringes of town on Route 60 back in the mid-90's. The new discount store was converted into a Supercenter only two or three years after it was built. Publix has two stores on this side of town, Winn-Dixie has none, and there's a Fresh Market as well. After seeing what Walmart did to the former St. Lucie West Albertsons (#4466), I'm sure there won't be much of Albertsons left once Walmart begins construction. There's also a good chance Walmart might just tear the old building down for and build from scratch. If you would like to check out the Vero Beach Albertsons, this store was featured on AFB back in October 2015, and you can read the post here. I went picture crazy when I came to this store that day, so it's past life won't be forgotten. I was by this store two weeks ago, and it was still empty for the time being as Walmart gets everything settled in order to start construction. I found this article mentioning Walmart's interest in the building, which you can read here. Thank you to the friend of AFB that alerted me to this, and the next little piece below:

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The Fate Has been Determined for the Former Valrico Albertsons

Image from Bing Maps

Albertsons #4436

3313 Lithia Pinecrest Road, Valrico, FL - Albertsons Plaza

     This Albertsons opened in 1997, and was another casualty from June 9, 2012. It has been sitting empty since then. However, Albertsons has just recently sold the property to a natural foods supermarket. From the property record, I think (but am not completely sure) that natural foods store is Whole Foods. The new property owner's name is coded on the property record as WEG Valrico. WEG is an acronym meaning Whole Earth Generation that Whole Foods uses. (I know someone out there was thinking this when they saw WEG Valrico - No, Wegmans is not coming to Florida). I'm not completely sure the new occupant is Whole Foods or if my theory is right, but a natural foods store of some type is going to be moving in here. Whole Foods currently has two stores in Tampa, but none out in the suburbs of Hillsborough County, where this store is located. There is already a Fresh Market less than a mile away from here that opened in 2014, along with a Publix that's been around since the 2000's. If the new occupant is Whole Foods, they will probably be doing some work to the building. I don't have any pictures of this store, so if you happen to be by it, feel free to send any pictures in.

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Publix Names New CEO

     Publix's current CEO, Ed Crenshaw, announced that he will be retiring on April 30, 2016, although he will continue to serve on the board of directors after retiring. Crenshaw has been CEO at Publix since 2008, and has worked in various positions throughout the company for the last 42 years. Publix's new CEO will be Todd Jones, the company's current president. The big thing about this news is that this will be the first time in Publix's history that a descendant of their founder, George Jenkins, will not be serving as CEO. You can read an article about this on Supermarket News here. Thanks to the person who e-mailed this news in.

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Winn-Dixie Debuts a New Decor, Again

Photo courtesy of the Phenix City, AL Ledger-Enquirer

     For the fourth time since 2009, Winn-Dixie has unveiled yet another new decor package. This new decor will replace the less than two year old "Green Interior". Winn-Dixie's new decor was timed to debut the same day that Winn-Dixie launched their new Down Down Prices ad campaign (complete with commercial), which is supposed to feature new, lower permanent prices throughout the store. The new decor jumps from that mostly green theme to a mostly red theme. I actually think the red looks better than the green, and red says Winn-Dixie more than light green did, but the green interior seemed classier. This store in Phenix City, AL was the first to get the new interior, although Winn-Dixie says they plan to remodel 50 stores to this look this year. You can read the original article about this store's remodel here (it has a few more pictures of the store as well). As for a name for this interior, I say we call it the "Down Down Interior". Let's see how long this look will last. Thanks to the commentor on the Winn-Dixie of the Future (now Winn-Dixie of the very distant past) post for giving me the link to that article. 

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     That's all the news I have for now (which was quite a bit). Thanks again to all the people who sent in links or information about all of these news pieces. I'll be sure to stay on top of the Safeway conversions, and let everyone know if anything else happens. More Albertsons coming this Sunday!

Until the next time,

The Albertsons Florida Blogger

Happy New Year! (And Some Various Updates)

     Happy New Year everyone! I figured I'd better get some of these recent updates out of the way, and what a better time to do so than now as 2016 begins. 2016 is looking to be the year of the "random isolated Florida division grocery store remodels" (turns out, Albertsons isn't the only one joining in on the fun, as we'll see in a moment). However, first up for today, AFB contributor Ross T. has sent in a few pictures showing the progress of the Largo Albertsons' remodel, as of Christmas Eve 2015, and the information he had to share with us:

     "The recently relocated produce area. The Produce dept. was moved to where the sodas were, and the sodas and sports drinks now have aisles on either side. A temporary wall now blocks the old produce and floral area, and it appears that is where the construction crews are keeping their equipment." 

     "Another photo of the produce dept"

     "Looking toward the front from the bakery, the wall blocks off the old produce dept. The bakery is still intact although it has been condensed and moved slightly backward."

     "Looking toward the front, the gray rectangle on the top left is where the TVs used to be [two old, and as of recent times unused, CRT televisions used to be present in that spot in the top left of the photo], from the old video rental dept. this is where they are apparently building the Starbucks."

     "The back dairy case, with the meat and seafood departments in the background."

     Thanks again Ross for your photos and updates from the Largo store!

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     In other Florida supermarket news, an anonymous commentor left a link on the Kroger Entering Wisconsin post to an interesting article published in the Nassau County Florida Independent. This article talks about how Florida's lone Harris Teeter store in Fernandina Beach is going to be undergoing a large remodel and expansion project, which will allow the store to grow from 35,000 to 53,000 square feet. The Project includes the addition of an in-store pharmacy, Starbucks, wine bar, and expanded selection of prepared foods (Asian bar, salad bar, etc.). There will also be a cheese department and pizza counter added, along with expansions to the meat, seafood and produce departments. Construction at this store is expected to begin in Spring 2016, and be completed by the end of the year. To read the original article, which has a little more detail, click here. 

     That lone Harris Teeter store in Fernandina Beach is a remnant of Harris Teeter's ambitious expansion plans in the late 90's, which included their entrance into the Jacksonville area, along with Atlanta and Nashville. The Jacksonville expansion only ever grew to three stores: the Fernandina Beach store right over the FL/GA line, a store in Ponte Vedra Beach near the Jacksonville Beaches, and a store in the affluent Mandarin neighborhood in Jacksonville. The Mandarin store closed in 2004 and is now a Publix, and the Ponte Vedra Beach store closed in 2006 and is now a Fresh Market. Like with Albertsons' remodels, I don't know if this is going to be the start of something big or just a chain trying to keep their small presence in Florida looking good. Personally, I feel that if Harris Teeter's parent company Kroger wants to enter Florida, doing it under the Harris Teeter name would be a bad move (I have nothing against Harris Teeter, by the way). I thank the namesake Kroger stores would have a better name recognition, and end up being more successful in the long run. I also think the lone Harris Teeter stores remaining in Florida and Georgia (their Atlanta expansion didn't work out so well either, and the one HT left in Georgia is located in the central coast of the state in St. Simons) should switch to the Kroger name, and let the Harris Teeter name continue in their longtime strongholds of the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic states. But that's just my opinion on things. Kroger has been giving Harris Teeter an unusual amount of independence since they bought them, so who knows what's going on.

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     So that's about all for now. More Albertsons coming this Sunday, so be sure to come back and check that out. As far as 2016 post scheduling goes, I'm going for two Sundays a month for store posts (generally every other Sunday), although I decided to throw in two extra posts for January to get the new year off to a good start. Occasionally I may throw in an extra Bonus Buy store if I feel like it. Schedule subject to change at any time though.

Anyway, see you all this Sunday,

The Albertsons Florida Blogger

Albertsons Florida Remodel Updates - December 2015

Albertsons #3304 (Formerly #4304)

503 E. Altamonte Drive, Altamonte Springs, FL - Palm Springs Center   

     So the other day I decided to head back to the Altamonte Springs Albertsons to check on the progress of the remodel and get some questions answered. I originally wanted to go to Oakland Park instead, however I ended up changing my mind since I forgot to photograph a store nearby here that was rather significant to Florida supermarket history the last time I was in the area. However, when I went back to that other store to get some pictures, it ended up looking a little, how should I put this...flat. It's amazing at what changes in only two months. Same goes for the Altamonte Springs Albertsons, which at least changed for the positive compared to my other experience that morning. This time, it actually looks like a remodel in here compared to the pictures I took in October, where it looked like nothing was happening. 

     And like I said, along with getting some more pictures of the remodel in progress, I also spoke with two employees (one of which was a manager) about the remodel and what it has in store. Albertsons is pumping a lot more money into this store than I originally thought they would. The remodel is way more than a decor swap. Albertsons is putting at least $1 million into the Altamonte Springs store (possibly more even), and the figure is probably around the same at the other two stores. The remodel at Altamonte is going to include completely rearranging the store, with just about everything being replaced. The store is getting all new freezers and refrigeration units, a new layout, new decor, a large and expanded selection of prepared foods including a salad bar, wing bar, soup station, sushi station, and a few others, and they will also be adding (and I never thought they would do this in Florida again) - an in-store Starbucks! While I'm not really a Starbucks person (gasp!), I know they can be a big draw into the store, and people like having a cup of coffee or a double iced mocha frappuccino whatever else latte to sip as they do their shopping. Most of the Florida Albertsons built from 1999 onward usually included a Starbucks, although any remaining Starbucks locations inside of Albertsons stores in Florida were removed by 2009. I can't recall any stores older than that having a Starbucks, so this will be a first for Altamonte (and the other two stores if they're getting a similar treatment). 

     And I know what everyone is thinking - "What did AFB find out about this Safeway conversion thing?!?!" I didn't go up to either employee and begin by directly asking "Is this store becoming a Safeway, yes or no?" (too many questions would arise if I said it like that). I gradually lead into bringing up Safeway after commenting about the remodel, what it would involve, and how it will be nice to see new life coming into this store, gradually leading into a more polite and less direct version of the Safeway question. The manager dodged the question. The other employee responded with this: "This remodel is going to be really big." Interpret those responses however you wish. Even though hard proof in answering the question of Safeway is still up in the air, I did confirm one thing: the remodels aren't going to be complete until Spring 2016, which would make sense given the amount of work they seem to be doing, so the switch to Safeway probably wouldn't occur until the work is complete. Anyway, let's take a look at some of the changes that have happened since October: 

     Over on the right side of the store, the produce department has been condensed to allow for the addition of another half aisle of products that were moved due to the installation of some new freezer units. See here for what this area looked like in October. It feels much more cramped with all of these displays shoved into a smaller area now.

     This is the wings bar. I believe this was added since my last visit, but I'm not sure. Behind this was the olive bar, which I do remember from October. Also, this store has a sub station located right next to the right side front door, attached to the cheese counter. That was there in October, but I forgot to mention it in the original post.

     The 'new' aisle 1. The dislocated canned foods on the left were added into space that was originally a part of the produce department. I believe this set up is only temporary. The produce displays used to go right up to those lunch meat coolers on the right. 

     The produce department is going to be moving up into the front right corner of the store, next to the right side entrance. These marks on the floor indicate this shuffling of displays will be happening pretty soon, and will dislocate aisles 2A, 3A, and 4A. 

     Some electrical work going on in preparation for the installation of the new freezer units.

     Looking up aisle 5. With the forklift and all the work going on over here, I'm surprised they didn't completely block off this aisle for safety reasons. The dislocated canned foods from aisle 1 were originally located on the right side of the aisle in this picture, against the freezers.

     Further up aisle 5. The rugs are covering pieces of plywood that were installed to cover the holes created to access the piping for the freezer units. 

     Still no traces of new decor to be found. The walls are still all white.

     The left side of the store is still fairly intact. Right now there's only one big project going on over here...

     ...and that's the construction of the new Starbucks in what was previously this unused space next to the pharmacy. I believe this spot was home to a video store/rental area after this store's last remodel in the late 90's. Prior to that, this area was home to the side entrance into the store.

     For now, you can still find the analgesics next to the wine. If they rearrange this area, how will I ever find either?! I'd be so lost.

     The "decor overload" once again. Another big question is this: What will the new decor look like? Will it be the typical current Albertsons fare (like this and this)? Or will it be Safeway's Lifestyle 2.0 interior (which looks like this)?

     Looking across the store down the main center aisle. Big changes are happening at Altamonte, but it looks like we'll have to wait a little longer to see just how "this remodel is going to be really big."

      Before moving on, I just wanted to say that during this trip to Altamonte, I at least got a current Albertsons bag, unlike in October when I got one that was probably sitting around since 2012.

     In addition to my pictures from Altamonte, contributor Otis "Joe" Smith from flickr sent in these pictures of the Largo Albertsons from about a week ago, giving us a quick look at how the remodel there is progressing:

Albertsons #4402

10500 Ulmerton Road East, Largo, FL - Largo Mall

     So far at Largo, they're still working at stripping out all of the old decor, which was the same Blue and Green Awnings interior that Altamonte Springs had. I have pictures that another contributor sent in of the interior of this store long before the remodel started, however I've been wanting to save those pictures for when this store finally gets a full AFB post.  

     Since I've never been to this Albertsons, I'm not too clear on the layout, but I believe it's something like this: Produce is in the front right corner, the bakery is on the right side wall after produce, the deli is located in an island across from the bakery, meat and seafood is in the back, and the pharmacy is in the front left corner. Correct me if I'm wrong on any of that.

     Looking toward the front of the bakery.

     I believe the wall behind the drink cooler is the front facing wall of the deli island. The deli island still has the original Blue and Green Awnings wall texturing, which for some reason has always made me think of those uncomfortable decorative pillows people put on their sofas for show.

     Beer coolers line the back of the deli island. Looks like some work has been done in regard to the coolers with that patched up hole in the floor.

     Frozen foods.

     This store still has most of it's Blue and Green Awnings signage left as of earlier this month, not just the aisle signs and frozen foods category markers like Altamonte.

     Pharmacy department sign. This is what the Blue and Green Awnings department signage looked like, for those of you unfamiliar with this interior.

     Fresh what? I wonder if this sign went missing as a part of the remodel, of if this has been like this for a while.

     Closeup of one of the department signs. The ribbons and Albertsons Guaranteed Quality logos were notorious for falling off of these signs.

     Seafood and Meat sign still looking good.

     So it still looks like there's a bit of work to be done in Altamonte Springs and Largo. I'm sure the same is true for Oakland Park as well. However, Oakland Park had the basic version of Industrial Circus, so ripping all of that decor down isn't as difficult a removing all of the decorative wall patterning and decorations that Blue and Green Awnings had.

     As always, feel free to send in any Albertsons Florida remodel pictures you may have, or any information you might have on the progress of the remodels. I'm not sure when I'll be near one of the three stores again to check on anything, but hopefully these remodels are going to be as big as they claim they will be, whether the signage on the front of the store says Albertsons or Safeway. I just hope this huge investment pays off for Albertsons or Safeway or whatever these stores will be called when all of this is over. Let's make Publix scared!

Anyway, have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Everyone! Until the next time,

The Albertsons Florida Blogger