April 2022 by Nancy H.
(I'd like to ideally give the store 3.5 stars but can't give half stars unfortunately). I've always been a huge Safeway fan. When I lived in Redmond, WA (for 25 years), Safeway was my go-to grocery store. I loved their selection, their prices, their store lay-outs, their pharmacy, their rewards program - pretty much everything. So I had high hopes when I visited this B'ham Safeway yesterday. I came here specifically looking for a few Passover foods that, while not obscure, I couldn't find elsewhere (i.e., Manischewitz cake mix). When I lived near Seattle, every year I got all my Passover stuff at the Redmond and Kirkland Safeways. (Even though these suburbs didn't have huge Jewish populations, they always carried basic foods for the holiday). Walking into this store from the parking lot, I smiled, as the store presented itself as the familiar friend I long knew and loved. Same layout, same cleanliness, same ready-made foods at the deli I knew oh so well. Same seasonal items in the middle of the store, same greeting card aisles.... I had missed it all so much. But as I wandered the aisles, I became less and less content with my old friend Safeway. I couldn't find ANY Passover foods save for a tiny, square free-standing case back near the rear of the store, and it barely had items on it, save for some macaroons and jellied chocolates (never a popular choice!). It was as if this tiny display was an afterthought. They had a few items I considered getting but the regular prices were WAY WAY higher than the "members' price" (and since I've moved to Canada, I no longer am a member of the Safeway rewards program). I looked high and low for someone to ask if they had the cake mixes I was specifically looking for, but there were no employees on the floor (and I walked down every aisle). I finally went to the front cash area and asked a nice lady by the self-service check counter if they had a Passover or kosher area. She walked me to an area in an aisle for their kosher foods and, I kid you not, there was next to nothing there. It's not like the shelves were empty; there just was little space for kosher foods, let alone Passover stuff. She pointed out the boxes of matzo there but even she noted that the boxes said "Not Kosher for Passover" on them. (She was super nice and apologized. I thanked her and said it wasn't her fault!). Anyhow, I felt disappointed by this store. Their non-member prices were high, they didn't really cater to their Jewish customers (surely they have some!), they didn't have folks on the floor to help clients.... it was a far cry from the Safeways I knew and loved in the Seattle area. I was pleased to see that their pharmacy area was well stocked and, outside, they had a decent gas station (with awesome prices, too - compared to Vancouver, anyhow!). And the store was impeccably clean, and they had a nice deli and bakery section. And the lady who tried to help me was very pleasant. So I guess if you are a rewards member here and you don't care about "ethnic" foods, you'd be quite happy here. Me, not so much.
