Re: Boise ID
Posted: 31 Mar 2009 01:39
That Paul's store, as I recall, opened about five years ago. My memories are very foggy, but I believe that was originally a Buttrey location. I vaguely recall seeing an IGA SuperCenter sign (or some other independent, but I'm fairly sure it was IGA) on that building around 2001, but the store was vacant.
I have seen in-store pizza added to a couple Eastern Idaho Albertsons stores after getting the SuperValu interior. Some of the stores in Boise used to allow you to drop off your dry cleaning and then pick it up at the store after it was cleaned. That experiment didn't last too long. I remember they offered that after the 1600 State store was remodeled and it seems like some of the new "Grocery Palace" stores offered it for a time. Albertsons tried all kinds of things in the early 2000s ... the store on Eagle Road used to have a Garden Center. I don't know if it still does. The Bogus Basin Sav-On store was the poster child for a bold experiment. One thing that always surprised me was how few of those Albertsons stores had in-store banks. Some did, but not as many as I would have expected.
The Franklin and Orchard site does have a new Fred Meyer on it -- this store is probably five or six years old. I remember seeing a LifeLink Food Source sign on the former Albertsons on that site before it was demolished, but the store was closed.
I'm sorry to stray too close into current events but can't help myself. Wal-Mart opened several new stores in Boise since 2000 and there have been a couple new Fred Meyers open. Yet no Albertsons stores have closed and the few independents that have closed (M&W Market is the main one that comes to mind) were not major competitors; the other chains that once had Boise stores (Safeway, Smith's Food King and Buttrey) are all looonnnngggg gone. I suspect that SuperValu is holding off on closing stores to avoid rocking the boat too shortly after buying up most of the chain, but I suspect that some of those stores' days are numbered. That said, I'd have a hard time picking which ones, but would consider starting with 7100 State (close to Freddy's and Wal-Mart) and 10000 Overland (old-ish location, close to Freddy's and not far from Wal-Mart). Of course, I'm not privy to lease/ownership details. Regardless, when I moved to Boise in 1999, there was only a conventional Wal-Mart; they built several stores after I got there, so the marketplace has become much more crowded.
One other note: The 2000 Overland store (the former Safeway) still had the arched Safeway ceiling and the 1980s Albertsons decor package when it was replaced with the new store in the 2000s. It was the only store in Boise proper to retain that interior after the turn of the century, although the Ontario store still had that interior for a few more years (but it has since been added on to and remodeled). It was fun to go into that store ...
I have seen in-store pizza added to a couple Eastern Idaho Albertsons stores after getting the SuperValu interior. Some of the stores in Boise used to allow you to drop off your dry cleaning and then pick it up at the store after it was cleaned. That experiment didn't last too long. I remember they offered that after the 1600 State store was remodeled and it seems like some of the new "Grocery Palace" stores offered it for a time. Albertsons tried all kinds of things in the early 2000s ... the store on Eagle Road used to have a Garden Center. I don't know if it still does. The Bogus Basin Sav-On store was the poster child for a bold experiment. One thing that always surprised me was how few of those Albertsons stores had in-store banks. Some did, but not as many as I would have expected.
The Franklin and Orchard site does have a new Fred Meyer on it -- this store is probably five or six years old. I remember seeing a LifeLink Food Source sign on the former Albertsons on that site before it was demolished, but the store was closed.
I'm sorry to stray too close into current events but can't help myself. Wal-Mart opened several new stores in Boise since 2000 and there have been a couple new Fred Meyers open. Yet no Albertsons stores have closed and the few independents that have closed (M&W Market is the main one that comes to mind) were not major competitors; the other chains that once had Boise stores (Safeway, Smith's Food King and Buttrey) are all looonnnngggg gone. I suspect that SuperValu is holding off on closing stores to avoid rocking the boat too shortly after buying up most of the chain, but I suspect that some of those stores' days are numbered. That said, I'd have a hard time picking which ones, but would consider starting with 7100 State (close to Freddy's and Wal-Mart) and 10000 Overland (old-ish location, close to Freddy's and not far from Wal-Mart). Of course, I'm not privy to lease/ownership details. Regardless, when I moved to Boise in 1999, there was only a conventional Wal-Mart; they built several stores after I got there, so the marketplace has become much more crowded.
One other note: The 2000 Overland store (the former Safeway) still had the arched Safeway ceiling and the 1980s Albertsons decor package when it was replaced with the new store in the 2000s. It was the only store in Boise proper to retain that interior after the turn of the century, although the Ontario store still had that interior for a few more years (but it has since been added on to and remodeled). It was fun to go into that store ...