Downtown Bellevue marina Safeway finally closed

Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Moderator: Groceteria

Post Reply
User avatar
TheStranger
Veteran
Posts: 719
Joined: 18 Sep 2006 01:26
Location: California

Downtown Bellevue marina Safeway finally closed

Post by TheStranger »

http://flickr.com/photos/sedanman/2719120184/

Sometime in June, apparently.
Chris Sampang
User avatar
Brian Lutz
Veteran
Posts: 227
Joined: 08 Jul 2008 00:19
Location: Bellevue, WA
Contact:

Re: Downtown Bellevue marina Safeway finally closed

Post by Brian Lutz »

I actually posted on this back when it closed over at my Blog, with a few photos of the store and an advertisement from when the store opened:

The Beginning and the End of the Old Bellevue Safeway

And although this might be of somewhat less interest, here's a tour of the brand new Safeway store a block away which replaced it, which is their new flagship store for the Pacific Northwest:

A Tour of the New Downtown Bellevue Safeway
The Sledgehammer - Version 2.0 - Seattle Area Malls, Retail History, and other random things.
User avatar
Brian Lutz
Veteran
Posts: 227
Joined: 08 Jul 2008 00:19
Location: Bellevue, WA
Contact:

Re: Downtown Bellevue marina Safeway finally closed

Post by Brian Lutz »

It looks like there's going to be a new independent grocery store moving into this former Safeway:

Story (downtownbellevue.com)
http://www.yourlocalmarket.com/
The Sledgehammer - Version 2.0 - Seattle Area Malls, Retail History, and other random things.
User avatar
storewanderer
Veteran
Posts: 569
Joined: 07 Nov 2005 03:24
Location: Western United States
Contact:

Re: Downtown Bellevue marina Safeway finally closed

Post by storewanderer »

How interesting. This building sits very empty and sad looking at present.

The replacement Safeway is in a high rise and sort of difficult to get in and out of. Inside the store both times I went in the line (one time) and lines the other time were horribly long. The QFC nearby is one of the nicest grocery stores I've ever seen but is sky high in price.
Photobucket now allows for comments on each photo! http://s196.photobucket.com/albums/aa113/StoreWest/
User avatar
Brian Lutz
Veteran
Posts: 227
Joined: 08 Jul 2008 00:19
Location: Bellevue, WA
Contact:

Re: Downtown Bellevue marina Safeway finally closed

Post by Brian Lutz »

I live just a few blocks away from here, and that QFC is my regular grocery store. To throw in a bit of historical context to keep from wandeing too much, that particular store dates back to roughly the mid Sixties back when QFC was only around 5-6 stores in Bellevue and Seattle, but has apparently been expanded at some point, which leads to it having a bit of an odd layout. I believe it also hosts their corporate offices upstairs.
The Sledgehammer - Version 2.0 - Seattle Area Malls, Retail History, and other random things.
User avatar
storewanderer
Veteran
Posts: 569
Joined: 07 Nov 2005 03:24
Location: Western United States
Contact:

Re: Downtown Bellevue marina Safeway finally closed

Post by storewanderer »

Wow, I had no idea that QFC was that old. I thought it was a newer store.

I also noticed a very old Rite Aid down there. I did not go in. Rite Aid puts me to sleep these days. It looked to have a cheaper Payless interior and I'd be inclined to label it as a former Osco if pressed. I suspect I'm incorrect and it is an old Pay N Save.
Photobucket now allows for comments on each photo! http://s196.photobucket.com/albums/aa113/StoreWest/
User avatar
Brian Lutz
Veteran
Posts: 227
Joined: 08 Jul 2008 00:19
Location: Bellevue, WA
Contact:

Re: Downtown Bellevue marina Safeway finally closed

Post by Brian Lutz »

Based on my newspaper research, that Rite Aid opened as a Pay 'n Save in early 1962.
The Sledgehammer - Version 2.0 - Seattle Area Malls, Retail History, and other random things.
User avatar
Brian Lutz
Veteran
Posts: 227
Joined: 08 Jul 2008 00:19
Location: Bellevue, WA
Contact:

Re: Downtown Bellevue marina Safeway finally closed

Post by Brian Lutz »

The new Your Local Market store just opened for business this morning. I haven't been over there yet (I'll probably walk over and check it out a bit later on since I only work a couple of blocks away) but you can find a few photos here:

http://bellevue.komonews.com/photo-gall ... day?page=4

Interestingly enough, it looks like they took a lot of the old wood surfaces (particularly the beams of the Marina roof) which had previously been painted in the store's previous incarnation and exposed them. If I recall from some of the photos on this site of some of the well-preserved 60s stores (I seem to be hitting broken links when I try to find them now) they had this exposed wood as part of the original decor when the store was opened.
The Sledgehammer - Version 2.0 - Seattle Area Malls, Retail History, and other random things.
justin karimzad
Veteran
Posts: 270
Joined: 14 Nov 2005 01:23
Location: California

Re: Downtown Bellevue marina Safeway finally closed

Post by justin karimzad »

Cool! Yes all marina Safeway's had unpainted beams originally. The diagonal wood slats in the back were used throughout Seattle-area marina Safeway's (of course they're all painted over now), along with the sandstone brick in the outside front by the entrances. Same architect(s) and prototype, I guess.
User avatar
Brian Lutz
Veteran
Posts: 227
Joined: 08 Jul 2008 00:19
Location: Bellevue, WA
Contact:

Re: Downtown Bellevue marina Safeway finally closed

Post by Brian Lutz »

http://www.downtownbellevue.com/2012/08 ... expansion/

It appears that this store's second lease on life may prove to be short lived, as Kemper Freeman appears to be moving forward with the second phase of Lincoln Square that will eventually occupy this site. As of last month, the new store here has already closed down after less than a year in business due to financial losses (on the one occasion I went there it came across as a low-rent version of Whole Foods.) According to the article, permitting for Lincoln Square phase 2 would take roughly ten months to complete before construction could begin.
The Sledgehammer - Version 2.0 - Seattle Area Malls, Retail History, and other random things.
User avatar
Brian Lutz
Veteran
Posts: 227
Joined: 08 Jul 2008 00:19
Location: Bellevue, WA
Contact:

Re: Downtown Bellevue marina Safeway finally closed

Post by Brian Lutz »

http://downtownbellevue.com/2014/01/27/ ... expansion/

Sometime last week, this store was demolished to make way for the expected second phase of Lincoln Square. There is still a former Marina Safeway in Bothell that has closed down, but it is unclear at this point what the fate of the building will be.
The Sledgehammer - Version 2.0 - Seattle Area Malls, Retail History, and other random things.
Post Reply