Safeway’s New Urban Footprint

Safeway Stores is hoping that smaller is better when it comes to urban locations. The Pleasanton, Calif.-based grocery giant has opened its new, small-format concept, The Market, in downtown San Jose, Calif. It’s the second Market opened to date—the first opened in May, in Long Beach, Calif.

At 22,300 sq. ft., the San Jose store is about half the size of a typical Safeway, and is focused on easy meals and convenience. It features an extensive selection of fresh foods, ready-to-eat meals and service departments ranging from a sit-down sushi bar and Tully’s coffeehouse to a cafe and bakery, along with an edited selection of grocery essentials. Located on the ground floor of a new high-rise condominium building, it is targeted at on-foot shoppers who live or work in the neighborhood.

“Fresh foods are at the heart of this concept, and everything else is laid on top of it,” said Allison Westrick, executive creative director, WD Partners, Dublin, Ohio.

The fresh emphasis is evident in the layout. In a significant change from traditional grocery stores, every department in the store is anchored or touched in some way by produce/fresh foods. Sightlines are such that the customer always has a view of the fresh offerings.

“We’re trying to convey the idea of produce as the core of healthy eating,” Westrick said.

With its simple layout and smaller, easy-to-navigate footprint, The Market is designed for quick-trip, shopping convenience. In another departure from supermarket convention, the store boasts a queuing checkout process, whereby customers queue up in one line that feeds into the next available checkout. The system, which has proven to be very successful to date, not only streamlines the checkout process, but also frees up valuable upfront space.

Design: The store has an upmarket, neighborhood feel and clean, modern look, enhanced by rich wood tones, natural materials and a warm color palette.

“Red is the dominant color, which makes the space feel very energized,” Westrick said.

The design team took many of the visual cues from Safeway’s lifestyle stores, updated them a bit and added a layer of graphics. Each of the service areas, including the sit-down sushi bar, is called out with a large photo image. Reflecting the store’s orientation, the bold and striking images showcase prepared foods rather than individual ingredients.

Energy-efficient fluorescent lamps and metal-halide lights help light the space.

“The lighting is very dramatic, with highs and lows,” Westrick said. “It makes the space more inviting and enticing.”

Green: In keeping with Safeway’s commitment to environmental stewardship, The Market incorporates a number of green features. It uses wind to power the entire store, and keeps lighting-related energy expenses to a minimum by using natural daylight.

“There are floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides so the store gets a lot of natural light,” said Brian Bucher, creative director, WD Partners.

According to Bucher, sustainability was integrated into the entire design process.

“It was a stream of consciousness that influenced everything we did,” he said. “For example, there was an overall effort not to apply unnecessary finishes, but to work with the space as we got it.”

Accordingly, the ceiling was left open, with exposed duct-work. And the existing concrete floor surface was kept in place.

“We stained it a warm ochre color,” Bucher said.

Although Safeway typically uses a VCT product, the polished concrete flooring in San Jose has worked out well.

“It’s also very cart friendly,” Bucher added.

He noted that the green strategy also complemented the overall design strategy, which was to showcase the store’s fresh emphasis and the quality of the product.

“We wanted the product to come to the forefront and be the star of the experience,” Bucher said.