Florida's supermarket cemetery gains itself a new tenant as of this week. Not only do we mark the end of Safeway's short two year run in Florida, but also the end of the Albertsons Company's nearly 44 year long streak in Florida. From what I understand from a few commentors, Safeway Florida came to an end on August 24, 2018. I'm not sure when these stores will reopen as Publix, but I believe one of the articles about the sale said a target date was set for fourth quarter 2018. That would put an approximate reopening around November or so, which is a a pretty quick turnaround. If that is the plan, it sounds like Publix will probably not do any more than a decor swap and some new fixtures at these former Safeway stores. It will be interesting to see the final result.
I was reading through reviews for the three Safeway stores earlier today, and there were a lot a people mentioning how much they're going to miss Safeway. Albertsons really did a good job retooling these stores to get the following they did over the last two years. It's sad to see these stores close just to become another Publix, as Floridians really seemed to like the Safeway concept. Just read some of the Google reviews. That link takes you to the reviews for the Altamonte Springs store, but the reviews for Largo and Oakland Park all came to the same consensus if you read through them. If Safeway had a distribution center in Florida and attempted to open stores, I think this concept could have taken off. Even though the exact reasoning behind why Albertsons kept these three stores in Florida for so long, remodeled them to Safeway, then sold them off only two years later will probably remain a mystery, at least Safeway Florida won't be forgotten like so many of the other short-lived supermarket chains that tried to take a chance in Florida (Florida Choice, Super Saver, Jewel-Osco, Family Mart, etc.).
So good-bye Safeway. It was nice knowing you while you lasted, and you will be missed. Coming up on September 9th I'll be putting together a post with some additional pictures of the closing of the Florida Safeway stores. If you have any photos you'd like to add to this compilation, feel free to send them into the AFB inbox at albertsonsfloridablog[at]gmail.com.
So that's all I have for now. Until the next post,
The Albertsons Florida Blogger
The day I drove by and they were closed the store already looked completely empty. All shelving was removed and I couldn’t see the coolers in the store anymore either. I didn’t get pics tho bc tons of employees were standing outside.
ReplyDeleteThat's strange. I guess all the fixtures were shipped off to other Safeway/Albertsons stores in the country to freshen them up. All of the equipment was only two years old, so it would have probably been a waste to auction it all off for pennies on the dollar, especially since Publix would have no interest in keeping any of it.
DeletePosted some after-closing pics of 4402 on my Flickr. Front end manager of the Publix across the street said the plan is to reopen 4402 by mid-November to take advantage of the holiday season, then do a full-on remodel of the store in early 2019.
ReplyDeleteI just took a look through those. Sad to see the place empty. That's interesting information about the Publix conversions. I wonder if Publix is going to keep the stores looking like Safeway for the first few months then - if so, that will really be something to see!
DeleteCan you post a link to your Flickr account? I can’t seem to find you.
Deletehttps://www.flickr.com/photos/113856435@N07/
DeleteSad days. And I love the quote "At least we lasted longer than Florida's Choice".
ReplyDeleteIt really is. And thanks, glad you liked that!
DeleteMaybe there’s a chance Albertsons Companies will buy Southeastern Grocers, they just didn’t want to keep operating three stores in Florida on the off chance they can merge them into a bigger chain. However, that’s probably wishful thinking, especially considering that SEG would fit Kroger a lot better, and they’re a healthier company to begin with.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I think Safeway backed out of Florida when SEG emerged from bankruptcy. Once those stores went going up for sale they didn’t have a chance to do a full rollout.
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