A Marina Safeway Copycat?

[Brian Lutz]

Here's a place that I've been meaning to go take some photos of for a while now, but just today got over there with my camera.

(click thumbnails for larger images)

Exhibit A: The Saint Vincent De Paul Thrift Store on Sunset Boulevard in Renton, WA.

The front of this store and the overall layout seem to suggest strongly that was previously a Marina Safeway.


The interior of this store would seem to be consistent with this also, although the lighting seems to be a bit off. Although you can't see it in the photos here, the overall layout of this store would seem to be consistent with the now closed downtown Bellevue Marina Safeway, and based on comparison between the two and the overall look of this store I had originally assumed this to be the case. That was, until I got a look at Exhibit B:


An actual operating Safeway store, about a block away from the first store. I'm tempted to say that the storefront you see here was a late Nineties addition, but in my foggy recollection I seem to think it's possible that it could be even newer than that.


As you can see from the interior, the design is pretty clearly a 1960s Marina store, although remodeling has modified the layout of the store quite a bit.

So the question is this: If the first store wasn't a Marina Safeway originally, at the very least someone seems to have "borrowed" extensively from the design of such a store. If this store wasn't originally a Safeway, what else might it be?

[Groceteria]

I'm betting Alberstons. It's a dead ringer for the store below and seems to gave just the right number of "bays" as well.

[marshd1000]

This was a former Albertsons. The Albertsons further up Sunset Blvd is the replacement for the St. Vincent's location. There were two other Albertsons in the Seattle area that I know of, maybe more, that were kind of a "Marina" store. One was in Federal Way on Pacific Hwy. That store has been torn down and replaced by a new Albertsons Savon. The other is in White Center. That store is a hidden Marina. The arch was covered up in 1975 or 76. If you go to the back side of the store, you can still see the arch. The store got a pharmacy after is bought the independently owned Van deVord Pharmacy in the same building, next door. It became a Albertson Savon during the co-branding period just before the Albertsons breakup. This store is store 100 in the chain.

[Super S]

http://www.groceteria.com/board/viewtop ... =21&t=2381

The interior has some similarities to the soon-to-be-closed Albertsons in The Dalles, also.

[justin karimzad]

Here's a place that I've been meaning to go take some photos of for a while now, but just today got over there with my camera.

(click thumbnails for larger images)

Exhibit A: The Saint Vincent De Paul Thrift Store on Sunset Boulevard in Renton, WA.

The front of this store and the overall layout seem to suggest strongly that was previously a Marina Safeway.


The interior of this store would seem to be consistent with this also, although the lighting seems to be a bit off. Although you can't see it in the photos here, the overall layout of this store would seem to be consistent with the now closed downtown Bellevue Marina Safeway, and based on comparison between the two and the overall look of this store I had originally assumed this to be the case. That was, until I got a look at Exhibit B:


An actual operating Safeway store, about a block away from the first store. I'm tempted to say that the storefront you see here was a late Nineties addition, but in my foggy recollection I seem to think it's possible that it could be even newer than that.


As you can see from the interior, the design is pretty clearly a 1960s Marina store, although remodeling has modified the layout of the store quite a bit.

So the question is this: If the first store wasn't a Marina Safeway originally, at the very least someone seems to have "borrowed" extensively from the design of such a store. If this store wasn't originally a Safeway, what else might it be?

The King County Parcel Assessor lists the Albertson's and the Safeway buildings as having both been built in 1964. The Albertson's building is 16,416 sq. ft., while the Safeway is 25,740 sq. ft.