Safeway Courts High-End Clientele

There’s no shortage of grocery stores surrounding Piedmont. Shoppers can choose from lower cost chains like Trader Joe’s, upscale outlets like Whole Foods and mom-and-pop stores like Piedmont Grocery or Village Market, not to mention the farmers' markets nearly every day of the week. And then there's Safeway.

The grocer is in the process of expanding two of its nearby stores and recently remodeled a third in Montclair with a more upscale appearance and gourmet fare in hopes of capturing more customers.

Currently lining the front window of the Safeway at 6310 College Ave. in Rockridge (close to Alcatraz Avenue), which is one of the stores targeted for an overhaul, are advertisements for the deals of the week. Produce "guaranteed to be fresh, ripe and delicious,” including ears of corn, is on sale for $0.33, artichokes for $1.25 and a big bag of hearts of romaine for $3.

Stacy Weller shopped at Safeway last week to get ingredients for a potluck barbecue.

“The reason why I go to the stores I go to is for the lowest price—more bang for the buck,” he said.

Trying to tap into the high-end market but also keep its existing frugal clientele, Safeway recently introduced the Open Nature line of products, which are made with natural ingredients but are cheaper than what competitors like Whole Foods offer. The new line includes everything from bread to ice cream to sausages made without artificial colors, flavors or preservatives, though the food isn’t necessarily organic or low-fat.

Safeway has also renovated hundreds of its stores, including the one in Montclair, to appear more upscale with subdued lighting, faux wood floors and the addition of sushi bars and Starbucks kiosks.

“We don’t want a sushi bar, we don’t want a Starbucks, we don’t want food from Argentina,” said Safeway shopper Connie Jones as she stopped by the College Avenue store last week. “This is a very well-functioning Safeway. The whole idea of keeping this scale just like it is works.”

Safeway hopes the City of Oakland will approve a redevelopment of the College Avenue location that would double the size of the supermarket and add seven retail shops and a restaurant. The proposed redevelopment of the Rockridge Center location at Broadway and Pleasant Valley Road would also expand that market to nearly twice its current size.

“They are trying to be all things to all people,” said Susan Shawl, co-founder of Concerned Neighbors of the College Avenue Safeway—a group that believes the College Avenue expansion should be minimal. “The thing is, people who don’t at shop Safeway are not going to start, and those people in this neighborhood who shop in places like Trader Joe’s, Costco and Berkeley Bowl, they are not going to change.”

“I do shop at Safeway, but not for produce," said Whole Foods shopper Val Broin. "There are some things I buy there like cookies and cat food.”

John Willingham, who tries to buy mostly organic and sustainably grown products, gets his fresh fruit and wine at Trader Joe’s because he thinks the selection is better than Safeway for these items.

“I think if they want to be competitive against Berkeley Bowl, Trader Joe’s and farmers' markets, yes, they should expand,” he said.