Safeway | Glasgow, DE

2400 Peoples Plaza

Welcome to the Glasgow Safeway!

Hey, we're at a Safeway! This store is the only Safeway in the Philadelphia area, as well as the only former Genuardi's still connected to Safeway (unless you count the Barnegat store, now an Acme, sister to Safeway since 2015). The presence of Genuardi's in Peoples Plaza dates back to before they were acquired by Safeway, however. They first moved into the center, and into Delaware as a whole, in March of 1995 with the acquisition of two Thriftways (one here and one in Bear). By 1997, they had built this new store, doubled in size and conforming with the standard Genuardi's store design. Safeway acquired Genuardi's in 2001, and, in 2004, all three locations in Delaware were brought under the Safeway name. The Bear Safeway closed in 2011, followed by the Wilmington store in 2018, making this the last Genuardi's-turned-Safeway in operation. Let's see if we can find any ingredients for life in here!

We're entering on the right side of the store through one of the large towers. 

Just through the entrance doors, we find a Starbucks. I don't know if the Starbucks was added by Genuardi's or by Safeway, but the "FOOD COURT" signage on the front of the building on this side of the store dates back to Genuardi's.

Poetry is in bloom in the floral department. Like the Rehoboth Beach store, this location has the woodgrain variant of Lifestyle v3.

A freestanding produce department is to the left of the grand aisle. Before the remodel, back when this store had Lifestyle v2, there was a wall separating the produce section from the aisles.

Prepared foods and the fresh deli are on the right side. This definitely was not the layout the store opened with as a Genuardi's. Pretty much every Genuardi's had produce on one side of the store and the deli/bakery on an island on the opposite side of the store.

The bakery is still pretty much right next to the deli. It's pretty big, too. A lot of space for all those oven fresh and irresistible goods.

Fresh (packaged) meats and a combined seafood and butcher block counter on the back wall. 

Dairy is in the last aisle of the store. This was probably where the produce aisle was in the Genuardi's days, but I don't know that for a fact.

Customer service is here in the front of the store. There was previously a WSFS Bank branch here, with customer service on the other side of the entrance doors (which you can see on the far right in the photo). The customer service sign on the wall is pretty bare-bones compared to Rehoboth Beach.

Well, you're welcome!

Other Images of Interest

Street View Images

2023

The remodel was probably sometime in 2023. Note how this store has DriveUp & Go signage, just like Rehoboth Beach. As I noted in that post, Acme has the service as well, but doesn't advertise it on signs outside.

2018

The WSFS sign is now gone, and the Signature Cafe sign has been swapped out for DriveUp & Go.

Nearby competition

2.4 miles away: ShopRite of Four Seasons

We took a look at this store last week. It first opened in late 2001, not long after Genuardi's was acquired by Safeway, as a SuperFresh. They closed in 2007, but A&P reopened the store as a Pathmark from 2009 to 2012. ShopRite took over in 2013 and has operated in the building since.

3.0 miles away: Food Lion of Elkton

When you join us next week, we'll be at a Food Lion. As you can see, this is a pretty typical location, having opened in 1999 as the anchor of the small Elkton Crossing center. Inside, it has the latest Food Lion decor.

Thanks for joining me on this tour! I've always liked Safeways, and this one seemed pretty nice. It seems to be well cared-for, considering Safeway put in its latest decor and redid the layout at some point (not necessarily recently, though), and it was decently busy. It's also quite interesting to see this store, considering Genuardi's went out of business 12 years ago now and their parent company is still operating out of one of their stores. Have a great weekend, and I'll see you next week when we're getting our lion's share! Sincerely, The Retail Connection.

ShopRite | Glasgow, DE

 

700 Plaza Drive

Welcome to the Four Seasons ShopRite!

Hopefully you aren't sick of ShopRite yet, because we have one more to visit! We'll be spending the next few weeks around the Delaware-Maryland border, starting with this ShopRite. The store first opened as a SuperFresh in 2001, anchoring the Four Seasons Plaza. SuperFresh closed in late 2007, and owner A&P reopened it under a different banner, Pathmark, on March 27, 2009. You can view a Flickr album from Pathmark themselves with photos of the store shortly after opening by clicking here. Pathmark wasn't a big hit, and closed in 2012. The Kenny family, which owns all ShopRites in Delaware, took the store under their reign and reopened it on August 24, 2013. They've been the most successful in this location, and obviously the store is still open today. So, let's see what it looks like!

The floral shoppe is just to your right when you enter this store. The decor here is the same as Brandywine Commons, and I believe is included in all Delaware ShopRites. On the other hand, the layout is basically identical to the Millville and Vineland stores, both of which are in New Jersey. I was surprised to see that, as I would've thought they would've kept the SuperFresh/Pathmark layout.

Prepared foods and the salad bar are across from floral, and cafe seating is tucked into the corner.

The produce department is on the other side of the grand aisle. I took a very similar photo in Vineland.

The deli, bakery, and seafood counters complete the grand aisle.

The meat department is in the back of the store, as is common with most supermarkets. I wonder how many stores have meats in a different part of the store.

A look down aisle 16, which has various household products. The aisles in this store are very clean and streamlined.

Dairy and frozen foods are in the last few aisles. The vertical TV hanging above the aisle is pretty interesting.

A look at the front of the store, with checkouts and customer service.

Other Images of Interest

Street View Images

2018

I've always liked this design of SuperFresh, though my favorite is this one. Also, that "cafe" sign to the left looks weirdly old, even though it must have been added by ShopRite. Pathmark definitely didn't have a cafe, and SuperFresh probably did, but the signage would've been more like this.

Nearby competition

2.1 miles away: Safeway of Glasgow

This will be the store we take a look at next week. It opened as a Genuardi's in the late '90s, relocating from an older store in the shopping center, being renamed to Safeway in 2004 along with the other Delaware Genuardi's stores after Safeway acquired them three years earlier. After the closure of the Wilmington Safeway in 2018, this is the only one remaining in the greater Philadelphia area.

4.6 miles away: Food Lion of Elkton

We'll be crossing the border into Maryland for the first time with this store. It opened in 1999 as the anchor of a small shopping center, a setup not unlike what you would probably find in the middle of nowhere in North Carolina.

This was quite a nice store! The decor, layout, and selection were all good. The store wasn't unnavigably crowded, but it seemed to be doing good business. Thanks for joining me, and I'll see you next week at Safeway! The Retail Connection: Check out happy.

Giant Food | Millsboro, DE

24939 John J. Williams Highway

Welcome to the Millsboro Giant Food!

One more week in the First State, and one more supermarket on John J. Williams Highway in Millsboro! Last August, we saw the Harris Teeter down the road, and last week, we saw the Weis across the street. Today, we're taking a tour of the Giant Food of Millsboro. It opened in 2008 as the latest of five Giant Food stores in Delaware, and also likely the only one to not originally open as Super G. As you can see, it has the standard Ahold design from the 2000s that was also used by Stop & Shop stores. Let's head inside and take cover from the rain once again!

Quite a plain (and large) entrance area. 👋🚪🛒

After walking through the entrance doors, we find the floral department to our right and the bakery to our left. This store has the same decor that we saw at the Wilmington Giant Food in north Delaware last October.

Completing the grand aisle are the fresh kitchen, deli, produce, and seafood and meat. I'll repeat my statement from October: "Personally, while I don't love how the store is devoid of almost any color, I do like the signage." It would be nice if there were some pops of color instead of all gray and white.

The meat selection takes up most of the back wall. Throughout the store, I saw several of those displays. Seeing the Giant Food logo got me wondering if there are any plans to replace it. Stop & Shop, which launched their own fruit bowl logo at the same time, replaced it back in 2018 with a modern version of their classic traffic light logo. It would be interesting to see a modern take on Giant Food's classic G logo.

A look at aisle 8, home to various cooking needs. Even the aisle markers are missing color. Although I've always thought "kitchen gadgets" was a funny and whimsical phrase to put on an aisle marker.

Dairy and frozen are on the right side of the store. Here we get a look at the backlit photos, which I do really like.

The pharmacy department is in the front right corner. This is the first time we've seen a pharmacy in Millsboro, as neither Weis nor Harris Teeter have one. Giant Pharmacy isn't the only option, though, as there's a Rite Aid across the street and a Walgreens in the same shopping center as Harris Teeter.

Another interesting thing about this store is that it has a Starbucks, which is the first thing shoppers see walking in through the other entrance.

Checkouts and customer service are on the front end of the store.

Before we go, here's a look at the store map posted in the main vestibule. I would think it's from when the store first opened, as it's missing the pharmacy (instead having the floral department there) and has a "bank area" along the front wall, which I believe just contained random merchandise when I was there.

Other Images of Interest

Street View Images

2024

How the store looked just a few months ago. No different at all.

2008

The store and the trees are both babies here. This was probably one of the last stores to open with the previous Giant Food logo.

Nearby competition

0.5 miles away: Weis of Millsboro

Last week's store was the Weis across the street. It opened in 2016 in a former Food Lion, which was the first grocery store in this area of Millsboro, opening in 1994.

0.7 miles away: Harris Teeter of Millsboro

And last year, we took a tour of the town's Harris Teeter, one of only two in Delaware (and, if the Albertsons-Kroger merger manages to go through, the only one), which, like the Giant Food, opened in 2008.

Thanks for joining me on this tour! This was a nice store, and my only gripe about it was the lack of color in its decor, which probably isn't worth noting for the average shopper. Anyway, thanks for reading, and I'll see you next week! The little things are The Retail Connection.