Checking Out: The End of Genuardi's

It could have been worse for the . 

In Lansdale, for example, the  now has a vacant and empty anchor. Nearby in Upper Gwynedd, there's another that is still full of life, but desperately needing a makeover.

By comparison, the Wynnewood store is thriving, but nowhere near the level it once was. 

The Genuardi's supermarket chain was once a bustling, top-of-its-class supermarket that offered superior customer service and even more superior grocery selections.

It was the Wegman's of its day; a precursor to Whole Foods.

When the family-owned chain sold out to Safeway in 2001, its customer service, premier selections and history went with it.

Now, a decade later, Safeway is giving up 16 of its Genuardi's chains to . It is also selling off another eight Genuardi's to prospective buyers and shuttering the remaining three.

The Philadelphia Inquirer on Sunday took a historical look at the rise and fall of one of our area's most respected supermarket chains.

"Genuardi's, in the pre-Wegmans era, was the luxury grocery retailer," broker Steven H. Gartner, president of Metro Commercial Real Estate, told the newspaper. "Safeway, whether on purpose or through neglect, moved them to a more middle-market chain."

The good news, at least according to Gartner?

"If I own a shopping center that had a Genuardi's and now has a Giant in it," he said, "my shopping just got a little better."