13 July 2010

We Need More, Not Less

We Love DC is reporting that the Townhouse Safeway at 1800 20th Street, NW will be closing on 07 August 2010.

I have shopped in this store, especially when I worked for a small law office nearby. It was great for a lunch-time stop, for when I needed office snacks, or for when I needed to grab something to make for dinner that night. There is a lot of value in neighborhoods having small "boutique" grocery stores like this. Yes, you will have far more selection in your full-sized stores. But, in a city environment, those stores are really only practical for major grocery shopping days. Neighborhoods need these little corner stores for the day-to-day needs.

I agree if a major retailer is the one running the store the prices should be in line with the full-service stores, all company-specific discounts (read: club cards) should be honored, and a good mix of necessities should be kept on hand. It's a shame that Safeway couldn't make this trial work (and expand on it). They seriously whiffed at the plate here.

1 comment:

Klaudeman said...

I actually had to do resets for my company in this store and it was unlike any of the others I worked in. Although it had the "Safeway" name, it truly wasn't. Their product wasn't in sections like most stores. Meaning that the manager stocked what he wanted putting it where he wanted on the shelves because he knew that his customers would purchase. Because of this, the store did not run any specials. From talking to the manager, this was, at one time, a very profitable store. However with the opening of several new stores, this store was no longer as busy.