Sunday, March 12, 2023

Former Albertsons #4314 - Gainesville, FL (NW 13th Street)

Albertsons #4314
2323 NW 13th Street, Gainesville, FL - Albertsons Plaza

YonWooRetail2 - this post is for you!

     Hello everyone and welcome to Gator Country! (Sorry 'Noles fans, but we'll be back in Tallahassee eventually.) While most people come to visit Gainesville for something related to the University of Florida, I'm the only nutball who drove all the way here just to visit the supermarkets (and former supermarkets) around town. While I've done my due diligence in the past visiting Gainesville and doing the usual tour of the university campus, the retail was the star of this trip, with former Albertsons #4314 being one of my stops for the day. If you follow YonWooRetail2 on flickr, this store may look familiar to you. Albertsons #4314 was YonWoo's local Albertsons for a number of years, and he documented this building quite a bit as it transitioned into its current state (in addition to doing quite a bit of research on the history of this building too). As we go through today's post, we'll see a mixture of photos taken by myself and YonWoo, as well as some of the historical photographs YonWoo dug up in his research of this building. This should be an interesting post, so let's begin:

Photo courtesy of YonWooRetail2

     Albertsons #4314 opened on August 18, 1976, an early addition to Albertsons' Floridian store fleet. In Albertsons' earliest years in Florida, the chain was primarily focused on the larger urban markets for expansion, such as Tampa Bay, Jacksonville, Orlando, Pensacola, and Fort Lauderdale. By 1976, two years after first entering the state, Albertsons began opening stores in some of the smaller (at the time) cities further removed from those core urban areas, beginning with a group of three stores - one each in Fort Myers (#4313), Gainesville (#4314), and 'Nole Country Tallahassee (#4315). As time went on Albertsons began to make moves into most corners of Florida, but those three stores were the first push by Albertsons to break free from the metro areas most new-entrant supermarket chains try to stick to.

Photo courtesy of YonWooRetail2

     Albertsons #4314 opened at the tail end of the Skagg-Albertsons partnership era, and the building would have looked similar to this originally. Opening with the 70's Stripes decor, Albertsons #4314 would later remodel to the Blue and Gray Market decor, followed by a fairly thorough remodel in early 1999 to the the Blue and Green Awnings interior. That remodel also changed the design of the facade to what we've seen in these last few photos, the facade that remains in-tact to this day too. The usual changes of reconfiguring the entryways, relocating the liquor store and pharmacy to the front corner of the building, and sealing off the side entrance were done too.

Photo courtesy of YonWooRetail2

     YonWoo's experiences with this store were primarily in its later years, so a lot of what he remembers about this store comes from the era where Albertsons was beginning its Floridian decline. However, he did have this to share with us about his time shopping at Albertsons #4314: "This is the Albertsons store where I learned that both they have a fantastic bakery, and the store where I realized the biggest reason Albertsons was failing in Florida. The store stunk of soured mop water in places and seafood several times I went in, and there was even a Deli counter worker who treated me rudely. I was so devoted to Albertsons, I still shopped here, just not the Deli counter". I have heard similar sentiments about the older Floridian Albertsons stores as they neared their ends, as Albertsons was beginning to let their stores slip to a much larger degree following the 2006 breakup of the company. At least the original Albertsons management was trying to keep the Floridian stores afloat with remodels and some expansion, as well as better store upkeep, but the new management following the breakup essentially began a very slow wind-down of the Florida division.

     Also, in the photo above, you'll see two benches on the store's front walkway - keep those benches in the back of your head for the end of this post.

Photo courtesy of YonWooRetail2

     In the end, Albertsons #4314 had a not-too-shabby 35-year-long run when it closed on October 8, 2011, the same day stores #4326 in Tampa and #4373 in Mount Dora also closed. Making it into the final 20 of Florida's Albertsons stores was pretty good too, outlasting Gainesville's other Albertsons store by 3 years (#4389 on Archer Road, which was sold to Publix in 2008). However, I'm sure by 2011 sales were slipping quite a bit here, with the store closed for that reason, and not because it was haunted by a disgruntled shopper like the photo above would lead you to believe! (Although that would make for a much better story!) The above photo shows us a look down one of #4314's grocery aisles, with the Blue and Green Awnings aisle markers and trim visible too. YonWoo edited out the person posing in the aisle for this photo, hence the reason for the ghostly looking figure.

Photo courtesy of Wes Lindberg on flickr

     In addition to the photo down the aisle, YonWoo also discovered the above photo on flickr, giving us an eerie look from above at the store's emptied out grocery aisles following its closure in October 2011. Maybe it's just me, but this photo seems scarier than the one with the ghostly figure standing in the middle of the aisle!

Photo courtesy of YonWooRetail2

     After a year of sitting vacant, it was announced in early 2013 that Big Lots would be opening a new store in the left half of former Albertsons #4314. The new Big Lots would replace the company's older Gainesville store about a mile to the east of here in the Northside Shopping Center (a space that's now home to an Ollie's, ironically). The Northside Shopping Center was also home to an extremely dated Winn-Dixie, which YonWoo provided us with a short tour of just before that store closed for good in 2016.


     The new Big Lots opened in July 2013, with its neighbor BioTest Plasma Blood Donation Center (now Biomat USA) coming along a few years later in 2017 (although we'll talk more about that space later). The liquor store was later rented by a local moving company, creating an odd trifecta of tenants for this former Albertsons building.


     Besides repainting Albertsons' old blue trim black, the remainder of the building hasn't been painted since Albertsons left, even with all the new tenants moving in. Between Big Lots' and BioTest's signs, you can still clearly see where the 'Albertsons' labelscar was blotched out. Even with the subdivision, the design and characteristics of the building still hold strong from Albertsons, as the new tenants even placed their entrances in the same spots where Albertsons had theirs.


     Just to add to the strong Albertsons vibe, old #4314 still has most of its original river rock panels exposed and in-tact along the front and side of the building.


     The set of windows to my left is original from Albertsons. Big Lots blacked out all but two of the window panels closest to the vestibule, as now their check lanes stand on the opposite side of these windows.

Photo courtesy of YonWooRetail2

     Entering Big Lots, we find that a small vestibule was added. Originally the outer set of doors would have been the only set you walked though, taking you into the store's front end. Big Lots also swapped out the original swinging doors from Albertsons with sliding ones when rebuilding the front entrance and creating the vestibule.


     Moving along to the sales floor, we're going to find that most traces of Albertsons have been removed from the interior of the building. Sadly, modern Big Lots conversions aren't as fun as older ones can be, and even then, Big Lots' recent remodeling campaign has removed a lot of the old decor remnants from those older stores that managed to hang on into the late 2010's and early 2020's.


     The left half of Albertsons #4314 contained the store's deli, bakery, and produce department, all located along the building's left side wall. The meat and seafood counter would have been located over here too, near the back left corner. The photo above looks down the center partition wall, separating Big Lots from BioTest. Big Lots uses the right half of their space for the furniture department, extending out in front of us beyond "The Lot".


     The Gainesville Big Lots still retains a classic Big Lots layout, one where Big Lots would arrange the departments however they saw fit to fill the space (unlike the more standardized "Store of the Future" layout of today). The way this store is laid out has furniture along the right side of the building, housewares in the back beyond that, food in the middle, and everything else wrapping around the back and left side of the building toward the seasonal department in the front left corner.


     As you'd expect, Big Lots has a lot of space dedicated to furniture, filling the area where Albertsons' grocery aisles once ran. My pictures seem to make the furniture department in this store seem small, but the department was really just long and narrow, and had the usual full furniture assortment most Big Lots stores sell.


     I don't know how closely you guys follow Big Lots news, but Big Lots' primary supplier of upholstered furniture declared bankruptcy suddenly last November. That one supplier, the United Furniture Company, supplied roughly 80% of the sofas, loveseats, and reclining chairs sold in the furniture department, including all the upholstered furniture sold under the Lane and Broyhill brands. According to that linked article, the goods from that one supplier accounted for 7% of Big Lots' total sales in 2022 - so that's a big blow to get out of nowhere for the company's most lucrative department. That announcement came after a few rough sales quarters for the company, as well as the announcement that Big Lots would close some stores as the company's growth stagnated. As I've mentioned before, Big Lots seems to change focus on what kind of a store they want to be every year or so, going from being a closeout store to various tangents like wanting to be a furniture store, to being a HomeGoods with a grocery department, to being a mini-Kmart, to trying to be a closeout store and all of that at once. All I know is Big Lots isn't as fun to shop at any more, as their stores began to evolve into whatever they're trying to be now (which, apparently, is a small-town discounter, which the company sees as the answer to all their recent problems).


     Anyway, in relation to the chain's furniture supplier bankruptcy, until Big Lots finds a new supplier, stores have been told that once remaining inventory sells out, to not sell the floor display sofas and chairs for any reason so the furniture department doesn't look empty. Shortly after the news of the bankruptcy transpired, I was at a different Big Lots, and as I walked by the furniture department the furniture employee was arguing with a lady who really wanted to buy one of the couches from the bankrupt supplier. The employee was telling her that due to "unforeseen circumstances" (which I knew was the bankruptcy), he couldn't sell her anything on the floor, even if it was the last one and she really wanted it, per an order by corporate. I've yet to find any updates online of what's going on with Big Lots and trying to find a new furniture supplier, although I'm sure creating a deal like that will take a while.

     That speech out of the way, let's get back on track here! The above photo looks across the store's back actionway, from furniture into the back left corner where Albertsons' produce department used to be.


     No traces from Albertsons to be seen here on the back wall, where the meat coolers used to be, but instead a large selection of hanging wall art and small appliances.


     Moving toward the left side of the store, here's a look from the back left corner back toward furniture.


     A random food aisle scene, the closest this building gets to reliving its glory days as an Albertsons.


     Moving along to the left side actionway, here's a look from the back of the building toward the front, where Albertsons' "grand aisle" used to be. Where I'm standing would have been the old produce department, looking up toward the bakery and deli.


     Like the back wall, the left side wall has been stripped bare as well.


     Looking into the former deli corner, we find the seasonal department and a smattering of the Christmas items that were for sale while I was here.


     The aisle to my right is the beginning of the zig-zag queue line for Big Lots' recent checklane modification, something that has been rolled out to most stores. In the older stores (and even the original "Store of the Future" locations), the individual checklane islands were ripped out and replaced with a queue setup like you'd find a TJMaxx (or similar store). While that setup works for small purchases, the setup is an odd fit for Big Lots, as I've seen people fill carts up with groceries at Big Lots before. I feel the older set-up is more efficient in that regard, as the cashiers only have a very tiny counter to work with now.


     I didn't get a very good picture of the new queue lanes here, but I have better photos of the new setup in other Big Lots tours we'll see in the future. Anyway, as we finish our lap around Big Lots, here's a look toward the exit as we head back outside for a look at the rest of this former Albertsons building:


     Prior to Albertsons' 1999 remodel, the store's main entrance would have been to my left, approximately where that cart return is now. The entire wall to my left would have been windows as well, which were sealed up when Albertsons relocated the entrances to the ends of the building

Photo courtesy of YonWooRetail2

     Moving along to the right side of former Albertsons #4314, we'll take a quick look over there at the portion now home to the Biotest Plasma Center. YonWoo took the above photo in late 2016 as Biotest was in the process of remodeling their half of the building. YonWoo has more photos of the construction on this side of the building in his flickr album of this store, which you can view here.

Photo courtesy of YonWooRetail2

     Biotest would end up opening a few months later in early 2017, these next few photos taken by YonWoo in the weeks leading up to the center's opening.

Photo courtesy of YonWooRetail2

     Visiting late at night shortly before it opened to the public, YonWoo was able to get these photos, as well as a sneak peek inside:

Photo courtesy of YonWooRetail2

     As you'd expect from a medical office, the right side of the former Albertsons building was gutted and rebuilt, which the above peek through the window confirms. Biotest was still getting their equipment set-up in the above photos, but it looks like it wasn't much longer until this place opened for business.


     Biotest would later be bought out by Biomat USA, which is the exact same concept that Biotest was, just with a different name. You can see the updated signage in the above photo, although the swapping of the signage was the only modification made to the building due to the merger.


     During my visit here, I only managed to get that one photo of the Biotest/Biomat side of the building, as there were a number of people lingering out front. Thankfully YonWoo had all those pictures he took of the Biotest/Biomat side, so we were able to get a better look at that portion of the former Albertsons. Anyway, moving along, we'll work our way to the front right corner of the building to take a quick look at the former liquor store:


     The liquor store you see here was constructed during the building's remodel in 1999, moving from around the corner where the two patches in the river rock panels can be seen now. In 2021, local moving company UF Mover Guys took over the former liquor store, however, neither YonWoo nor myself know what UF Mover Guys is using the space for (offices, storage, etc.).


     The liquor store's exterior hasn't been changed at all since Albertsons was here, with the original doors still present. However, UF Mover Guys blacked out the glass on the windows and doors, so I wasn't able to peek inside and see what it looked like in there.

Photo courtesy of YonWooRetail2

     However, YonWoo did manage to capture a few glimpses inside the liquor store with a video he took back in 2019, a few still frames from which we'll take a look at. The first of those just looks from the liquor store back toward Biotest/Biomat, however, we'll now turn our attention to the interior:

Photo courtesy of YonWooRetail2

     Looking through the window before it was blacked out, we see some clear remnants from the Blue and Green Awnings decor inside.

Photo courtesy of YonWooRetail2
 
     From what I can tell, the walk-in beer cooler was located along the right wall rather than in the very back, which explains the strange layout and the wall projecting out from the right side.


     How much UF Mover Guys may have changed inside the old liquor store will remain a mystery for now, but at least YonWoo was able to capture those few images prior that new tenant moving in. (This is AFB, so of course that pun was intended!)

Photo from a really old real estate listing

     The right side of the building has barely changed since it was built, although the lack of a stucco job in the 1999 remodel (which sometimes happened in remodels from that era) really helped keep that classic Albertsons look alive. The closure of the side entrance and the relocation of the liquor store were the only major modifications made over here during the last 45 years.


     Besides the obvious stucco covers where the side entrance and former liquor store windows were sealed, the little ramp up to the curb also acts as a reminder of those long-gone Albertsons features.

Photo courtesy of YonWooRetail2

     So while the interior of former Albertsons #4314 isn't much to note anymore, the exterior of this building couldn't be any more original!

Photo courtesy of YonWooRetail2

     At the time of its closure in 2011, Albertsons #4314 was the northernmost Albertsons store left in Florida, following the closure of the Panhandle's last Albertsons in 2009 (#4497 in Tallahassee). Adding in the closure of Albertsons #4388 in Ocala (which also happened in 2009, in the same wave that took out #4497), #4314 was quite isolated from the remaining Florida stores. For its last two years in business, the next closest Albertsons to Gainesville was #4373 in Mount Dora, almost 90 miles south of here.


     Before we wrap things up here in North Gainesville, let's take a quick look at the little strip center that sticks out from the left side of the building, over by Big Lots:


     What I found interesting about the little strip center was that it was designed to match the architecture of the Albertsons building, using complimentary stucco trim and river rock walls. Most of these late 1970's and early 1980's Albertsons stores weren't intended to be part of a shopping center, so it was rare to see a matching little building like this. Also, I really hope that "Hogan's Great Sandwiches" in the strip plaza sells hero sandwiches, as it would be extremely fitting to walk in there and order one of Hogan's Heroes! (Hey, if a sandwich shop by me can theme itself around the series M*A*S*H, this place could have run with the Hogan's Heroes theme!)


     Finishing out our ground coverage, here's a look into the parking lot at the original Albertsons road sign facing 13th Street, which has now been divided into multiple panels for the plaza's multiple tenants.

     That being said, let's now take to the skies for a look at some aerial images of this store, beginning with some Bird's Eye aerial images courtesy of Bing Maps:


Front


Left Side


Back


Right Side

     And now for historical aerial images, courtesy of Google Earth and historicaerials.com:


Former Albertsons #4314 - 2019


Former Albertsons #4314 - 2015


Former Albertsons #4314 - 2012


Albertsons #4314 - 2010


Albertsons #4314 - 1999


Albertsons #4314 - 1995 - The building before all the modifications were made in the 1999 remodel.


Albertsons #4314 - 1984


Future Albertsons #4314 - 1964 - It appears an entire neighborhood of duplexes was demolished to make way for the new Albertsons store.


     Leaving #4314, as I was driving out of the parking lot, I spotted a relic of the past out of the corner of my eye. Said relic was located behind the Pet Supermarket outlot in front of the old Albertsons building, that relic being a blue plastic Albertsons cart pushed against the back of the building. I had to do a double take and drive behind the Pet Supermarket for a closer look, confirming that I wasn't seeing things! 10 years after the store closed, an old cart from Albertsons was still roaming around over here - crazy! I would have gotten a picture of the cart, but a Pet Supermarket employee was leaning against it while taking a smoke break (which makes me wonder if Pet Supermarket acquired a stray Albertsons cart back when they were still here, and said employee rolled it outside to have something to lean against while on break). However, that wasn't the end of the Albertsons relics that haunted me on this trip:


     On my way home, I was about 20 miles outside of Gainesville when I decided to stop at a small roadside hamburger stand for a late lunch/early dinner. Of course, as I walked up to the order window, I spotted this! Remember at the beginning of the post I made a comment about some benches that could be seen in one of the old photos of #4314? Well, here's one of them! (At least, it seems like a very strong possibility this was one of them). If nothing else, this bench is the same design as the one in the photo from the beginning of this post, the little blue plaque containing an Albertsons' logo on each end, with a little statement about recycling in the middle. Of course, out of all the random places I could have stopped at for lunch, it had to be one with Albertsons relics!

Photo courtesy of YonWooRetail2

     Thankfully I managed to make it home without any more relics of supermarkets past haunting me, but that was a weird way to finish off a trip where a lot of weird things happened to me. We'll talk more about some of those other experiences another time, as we'll wrap up this post with a recreation YonWoo made of Albertsons #4314 prior to its 1999 remodel. Hopefully I did a good job summarizing the legacy of this store, and that I can officially stamp this post with the following:

The official YonWooRetail2 stamp of approval!

     While that's all I have to say about Albertsons #4314, we will stick around Gator Country for our next post, so be sure to come back in two weeks for that!

So until the next post, sincerely foodsincerely,

The Albertsons Florida Blogger

16 comments:

  1. Anonymous in HoustonMarch 12, 2023 at 7:54 AM

    It is always interesting to see a blogger’s local store! It gives everyone some frame of reference as to what the ‘norm’ is for a blogger. Here in Houston, for example, the Krogers vary so much that two people could have rather different opinions about Kroger and be justified in their conclusions. I suppose Publix shoppers don’t have many ‘bad Publix’ locations as a frame of reference, but I’m sure the same can’t be said about The Beef People!

    As for Albertsons, Houston’s Albertsons stores never really became old enough for any of them to age badly...at least while they were still run by Albertsons. Blue & Grey Market stores might have seemed rather dated compared to Awnings and Grocery Palace stores, but that’s the extent to Houston’s ‘good and bad’ Albertsons. In North Texas and Florida, obviously, things were a bit different with there being a much broader range of store ages.

    I’ve heard other people complain that older Albertsons stores had a tendency to get a bad smell to them. This might be the first time I’ve seen that written in an actual AFB blog post though even if it might not be your nose which is chronicling the aroma of Albertsons, lol. I know someone from Texas who shopped at a 1970s/1980s Albertsons (not in Houston, obviously) in Texas has mentioned the bad smell at their store. Was this really a trend at Albertsons stores and, if so, what was the cause of the smell?

    I personally don’t remember Albertsons stores smelling bad and certainly our Albertsons Towns and Krogertsons don’t have bad smells. Whatever the issue might have been, it was corrected by Albertsons with their 1990s stores or the other grocers knew how to prevent the problem. Some 2000s era HEBs around here have rather open seafood departments and they are known to stink up portions of the store. It’s a rather unpleasant thing to me, but others don’t seem to care given the rather bizarre love of HEB around here.

    Ha, I wasn’t expecting to see a Hogan’s Heroes reference in this post! Then again, I’m sure Sing Oil wasn’t expecting me, or anyone, to post Mama from Mama’s Family doing anti-Food Lion commercials which aired on TV in the 1980s, but that’s what I did in the comments at his blog last week, lol. I wonder what Mama thought of Albertsons!

    This Big Lots is rather disappointing looking. I had high hopes in the early photos given that retro-1970s/1980s Kmart looking orange stripe around the top of the walls. The store does look kind of retro, but not in a good way really. It kind of reminds me of a Big Lots here that started as a Pic-N-Save/MacFrugal’s. That’s fine I suppose for an older location, but not for a somewhat newer one! Some of the signs at the front of the store are rather humorous as well. Fireplace headquarters? I know Gainesville isn’t Miami, but I suspect there isn’t high demand for fireplaces in any part of Florida! Also, who shops Big Lots first for dairy and frozen foods? I probably wouldn’t even shop them sixth for such items and I think I’m generally more generous towards Big Lots than other retail enthusiasts!

    I know we’ve discussed St. Albertsons before, but I found a real oddball St. Albertsons. In this case, it is a Catholic ‘conversion’ in Ft. Worth, TX. Link: https://goo.gl/maps/a9Fm2xbZFoxiHW3YA

    It’s pretty rare, in my experience at least, to see a Catholic church in a recycled building, but that’s what we have here. I wonder if they turned any Albertsons benches into pews! Our Lady of Skaggs might be a better way to describe this store (I’m not sure if it was a Skaggs-Albertsons, but it looks like it could have been). After being renamed to a Jewel-Osco in 1991, Albertsons took this store over from American Stores in 1993 and converted it into Albertsons’ discount operation, Max Warehouse (did those ever make it to Florida?). It was that for a while before I suppose before the Good Day water turned into holy water!

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    Replies
    1. People in Orlando have different opinions about specific Publix locations so I guess there are "bad Publix" locations
      https://www.orlandoweekly.com/orlando/every-publix-in-orlando-ranked/Slideshow/30942986

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    2. Anonymous in HoustonMarch 12, 2023 at 8:56 PM

      Interesting list, GeorgiaPubDude. I wonder if there is a bit of a disconnect between Reddit and the rest of Orlando though because I looked up the 27th ranked Publix, 2435 S Hiawassee Rd, and it looks like a beautiful and beautifully maintained older Publix not unlike what AFB showed on MFR recently. Also, the user reviews on Google for that location are solid. At 4.6, that store rates highly even compared to other, newer Publix stores. Of course, Publix is not shy about tearing down those older locations so Publix must think that their customers want newer stores, but 2435 S Hiawassee Rd surely can't be as bad as their Reddit rating might indicate.

      I guess a 'bad Publix' is always relative. The difference between good and bad might be small. In comparison, the difference between a highly rated Houston Kroger and a lowly rated one can be quite significant. The Google reviews for Houston Krogers vary from around 4.6 all the way down to about 3.6. I think Atlanta Kroger locations may have similar inconsistencies.

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    3. "Bad Publix" stores are pretty rare to come across, at least if by "bad" you mean a store that totally looks and feels dumpy. While I wouldn't call the Publix store closest to my house a terrible store, it's probably my least favorite Publix to shop at, as it's really tiny, the service departments are fairly lacking, and the people who work the deli are slow and pretty clueless most of the time. For that reason I tend to go to a Publix store a bit further away for my Publix shopping when I can, as pretty much every other Publix by me is much better. I've seen that Orlando Weekly list before, and I've been to a number of the stores on that list. I wouldn't call any of them bad, but the top 5 on there are definitely worthy of being the top 5 as they are the most deluxe stores in town.

      I think the oldest Houston Albertsons stores were only 7-8 years old when that division was closed, so none of those store really made it long enough to age that bad (however, I can see how the early Blue and Gray Market stores were probably looking dated by 2001/2002, as that decor looked dated even for the late 1990's). The Albertsons store I went to most often was a 2000-built Grocery Palace store, so I never got to experience shopping at one of these really old stores much. Since we went to that much newer store, it never had a funny smell that I recall, which is why I've never mentioned much about that myself (although I have heard others besides YonWoo mention that same thing about the older stores smelling bad). I think it was the seafood counters that made the store smell, as that always seemed like one of the busier parts of the store.

      The name of that sandwich shop was almost begging to have a Hogan's Heroes reference made from it! I don't know what Mama would have thought about Albertsons, but she sure had a lot to say about her local supermarket in this episode: https://www.facebook.com/100056303212916/videos/mamas-family-season-02-episode-14-supermarket/941426370015274/

      What's bad is a Big Lots that opened in 2013 doesn't feel much different than a Big Lots that opened in 1993! Even for only being 10 years old, the Big Lots seemed a little worn and tired, and it seems like most of the non-Store of the Future locations feel that way regardless of age. Yeah, fireplaces aren't a very big seller here, but with these fake ones like Big Lots sells, they have a setting where they'll display the flame picture but not blow heat, so I guess there may be some people who just buy them for the aesthetic and nothing else! Big Lots actually reduced their selection of dairy and frozen to a tiny endcap cooler a year or two ago, so at least they realized people were shopping Big Lots last for that stuff!

      While I've seen plenty of other religious denominations take over old supermarkets for churches before, 'Our Lady of Skaggs' there is a weird one! Seeing a new Catholic church open doesn't seem very common in general these days, let alone one in an old supermarket. Interestingly, I can think of one other supermarket to Catholic church conversion, this being a very recent one in Arcadia, FL where the church bought an old Winn-Dixie next door to the original church, and thoroughly converted the old WD for its conversion into Our Lady of The Beef People: https://goo.gl/maps/j9NjPrJbawuUMdeM8

      Max Wearhouse never made it to Florida either, as I've never found evidence of one opening here. I believe Super Saver was the only other brand Albertsons ever tried in Florida (prior to the Safeway conversions at the very end).

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    4. Anonymous in HoustonMarch 19, 2023 at 8:47 PM

      Wow, Our Lady of The Beef People is a pretty remarkable 'conversion' itself! While Our Lady of Skaggs looks enough like an old Skaggs to make people think it used to be retail, the Our Lady of The Beef People had a lot of work done on it to convert it to something resembling the Spanish mission style...at least I guess that is the design. There was a Catholic church built from scratch in my area in the 1980s that had that design and people jokingly referred to it as Taco Bell Our Redeemer due to the resemblance to Taco Bell's architectural design at the time! It even had a bell!

      When Food Lion came to Houston in 1992, they had somewhat of a Spanish mission style and so Our Lady of The Beef People kind of looks more like one of these Food Lions than a Winn-Dixie! Link: https://houstonhistoricretail.com/2016/12/19/a-look-at-one-of-houstons-former-food-lion-locations/

      On the topic of Food Lion, thanks for posting that link to the Mama's Family Food Circus episode! I remember seeing that a few times in the past on TV, but it has probably been at least 20 years since I last saw it. It's still funny...to me at least. There was another episode where Mama was in the upstairs office of the Food Circus, but this episode is probably the one that most integrates the Food Circus. It is a good flashback to a 1980s supermarket!

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  2. Go Gators! Couldn't help myself! What a great post! Thanks!
    I can't believe I forgot to mention that bench before! I had forgotten about that. Apparently, you stopped in at Burger Barn in Hawthorne. I saw that exact same bench, but i didn't take a photo of it because several people were standing in front of it. I'm pretty sure its from 4314 though.
    Wow about Big Lots furniture situation! I had no idea. To be honest I wouldn't be the slightest bit surprised if we see a closure announcement for this particular Big Lots. This store stinks (and not physically). They never seem to have anything that I actually need. I one time came here to buy some Hoover vacuum bags and the clerk told me "We don't sell vacuum bags, only vacuum cleaners". And the employees I'm come across here are rarely very friendly or sometimes just rude. I don't like this Big Lots at all anymore and don't shop here with Rural King close by, Lowe's, Home Depot, Ross, Burlington, and for food I have Lucky Dixie, Publix, Aldi and Save A Lot. Although Save A Lot really sucks too!
    To answer Anonymous in Houston above, I have a feeling that a lot of these older Albertsons stores are stinky because possibly the air conditioner intake vents are located too close to the Seafood counters. I experienced the same stinky smell inside Albertsons 4304 in Altamonte Springs one time when i walked in in 2016 just prior to the Safeway conversion. But this Gainesville store smelled terrible sometimes. One time when i was in paper goods aisle on the pharmacy side of the store (where Biomat is now) the aisle smelled like human poop (eek!). I do have give the management team some credit. There were a few times, where you could tell that they really cleaned the store up, even smelling like cinnamon brooms around the holidays. But overall, by 2009-2011 (when I visited this store the most), the place was sparsely shopped and felt like a very sad store to be. But also, being in here back then transported me back to what a supermarket from the 1980's felt like, which I oddly liked - the reason I kept coming here (and because of the delicious bakery).

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    1. Glad you liked it!

      Yes, I went to the Burger Barn in Hawthorne and it was apparently meant to be that I stopped there and found that bench! (And the food was good there too). What were the odds of that?

      It seems like Big Lots has been trying to downplay the furniture supplier issue, as they've been getting a lot of other negative press lately with their sales being down and the closure of some stores. Having the furniture supplier issue became more widely known would just add even more to the list of issues, although there are a few articles online about it (but mostly in retail trade publications, and not a more widely read news source). Big Lots used to be fun to shop at when the selection was more treasure hunt oriented, but these days they don't really sell much of anything interesting, and a lot of the houseware and seasonal type stuff they have these days seems really expensive for what it is. I only ever go into Big Lots now when they send me a rewards coupon, and even when I get those coupons I end up not spending much still

      Having shopped at a newer Albertsons for much of the time I lived in Florida, I never really experienced that stinky smell of these older stores (although I have heard others besides you mention that about these stores). The air conditioning theory sounds plausible, as that seemed to be a problem that plagued most Albertsons stores of this design.

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  3. I was not aware Big Lots was still using the orange stripe on all-white walls with orange interior signage in 2013! I would have expected alternating white/black walls and yellow/white interior signage they were using in new stores at the time.

    I'm not sure what the idea was with the TJX-esque queue setup, but it seems like a common trend in retail over the past few years. Perhaps it's a way for them to encourage shoppers to shop online instead of in store?

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    1. The white/black walls with the yellow/white signs seems to be a short-lived look from the early 2010's, as the orange stripe came back for a while until "Store of the Future" became a thing.

      I've heard that the TJX-esque queue setup is supposed to make the line move faster than the traditional check-lane set-up. While that may be true, that set-up doesn't work too well when people are buying a lot of items, which sometimes happens at Big Lots when people are buying a lot of groceries. The queue line seems more appropriate for a department store or clothing store, and not Big Lots.

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  4. I beg to differ with your statement at the top of this post: not only have I driven to Gainesville to visit three supermarkets, but I have also drug the Publix Pirate and Sing Oil Sidekick along with me! We did at least finish off the day with a visit to one of Gainesville's local breweries to hear some live music, and they didn't seem to mind tagging along. I'll also be curious to see where we end up with your next post – maybe I'll be "lucky" enough to find out soon?

    That's interesting to hear a local perspective on how the store was as it was nearing its end, as that environment reminds me of several Georgia Kroger stores I have been to. I can't recall a bad smell in most of the stores I have seen, but I've had many encounters with rude employees and stores that feel like they are falling apart. There's also one store where I've seen alleged videos on the Google listing showing rats running through several of the coolers – eek!

    That's insane how Big Lots can have such a large portion of their salesfloor devoted to furniture all while they aren't allowed to sell it! That seems like a bad way to go about doing business, and I would be scrambling to fill that space with other items rather than holding on to dead inventory if I was in management.

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    1. At least I'm not the only one then! (Although my day didn't have as exciting of a conclusion as yours did). As for the next post, your "lucky" day may come in the future, but not for the next post...

      I've heard Kroger's stores can vary widely, with some being really nice while others are really dumpy. I've only ever been in one Kroger (and it was a late 2000's build), so I've never experienced the older side of the Kroger spectrum. I know you've had some unpleasant experiences at Kroger before, but I hope you never encounter a rat!

      I guess Big Lots doesn't want to give the impression the chain is struggling, as a lot of people would probably jump to that conclusion if they see a giant empty space where the furniture department was supposed to be. As a closeout chain, you'd think Big Lots would be able to scrounge up some closeout furniture deals (at least temporarily) to keep some furniture coming in while they take care of the supplier issue, but management seems to want to hide the problem more than trying to solve it.

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  5. Big Lots moved into an old Stop & Shop store in my hometown in Connecticut back in 1993. The Stop and Shop moved to a new location in the center, so when Big Lots moved in it looked like Stop & Shop was still there. Now they remodeled a few years ago and it was nice looking. Big Lots moved away from their Trashy image into a nice looking store.

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    1. That's how most Big Lots stores that took over old supermarkets back in the 90's could be described. Big Lots was a lot more "no frills" back then, and it showed! Big Lots is going for a much cleaner and consistent image these days, which really began after they decided to shift their focus away from closeouts.

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  6. I have no idea why, but I miss Albertsons.
    Used to stop at the one on N. Dale Mabry and Waters on the way home from USF. It was a run down store but I liked it. The one out on W. Memorial Highway was straight out of the 70s, and it's a Publix now. Liked that one too.
    Maybe it was the simpler times.

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  7. Found this article about Albertsons' planned expansion into Canada, which was aborted:
    https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114939616/albertsons-calgary/

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    1. I never knew about that expansion plan - that's crazy! I'm surprised Skaggs-Albertsons wanted to open stores in Canada, when all the other stores in that partnership were in the Southeastern and Midwestern US. It would have been strange seeing old Skaggs-Albertsons building in Canada had that gone through.

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