Since my last Store Stories post, I realized grocery shopping is usually an uneventful experience: Picking out your favorite things, looking at nutritional facts, checking out, having pleasant small talk, etc. But recently, there’s been some inclement weather where I live and it’s impacting everything. The local news said there are 3,800 pieces of equipment able to handle the weather.
The Chafeway (aka Safeway)
After shopping at a Safeway that had black ice in the parking lot, my husband and I felt rubbed the wrong way. We went hungry (huge mistake) but we tried to remedy that by ordering from the sandwich bar. We waited 30 minutes for two people to make one sandwich each. They definitely didn’t know their menu, but one of them was impossibly kind. And they seemed to know other customers giving it a real at-home vibe.
It was also quite small for a Safeway, which meant lots of maneuvering. There were some folks yelling too and it was sleeting outside. Reviews online give it 3.5 stars out of 5 which isn’t terrible. Maybe it was the weather or maybe we went at a bad time.
Whole Cases Empty
The nearby Whole Foods was sparse today. All their fish display cases were empty. There was nothing at the hot bar or salad bar. I thought it must be a transition period. And then a woman spoke on the intercom and said, “It is 3:30pm. Due to weather, we’ll be closing at 4.” They are normally open until 10pm.
I guess it’s quite the storm we’re having here. I sure hope everyone gets home safely.
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