More than 150 people lined up for the new Admiral Safeway’s grand opening on August 11, lauded by Safeway officials as the most environmentally friendly store in their fleet.
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The Admiral Safeway was closed for just under a year as the original building was demolished – it was built in 1961 – to make room for the new modern facility with a long list of green features that earned the store a LEED Silver rating, a green building certification system.
Green highlights
The new store’s green features were revealed by Seattle Safeway’s Public Relations Manager Sara Osborne prior to the noon ribbon cutting and include energy efficient lighting, occupancy sensors to turn off lights if a room is not in use, a reduction in ambient light (and several large windows to let in the natural variety), and controls to reduce lighting at night since the store is open 24 hours a day. Employees will use only green cleaning products in the store and several components - from fans to water fixtures to refrigerators – are all more efficient than the original store’s.
Outside, Osborne said the parking lot allows runoff to seep directly into the ground below the concrete instead of running into Puget Sound, there are many bike racks available and prime parking on the rooftop lot for hybrid vehicles like the Prius. Native and drought tolerant landscaping will be planted soon.
As part of their LEED Silver certification process, Osborne said 99 percent of the original store’s materials were recycled (they shot for 100 percent, but someone accidentally took a small load to the dump instead of the recycling plant) and new building materials consisted of 20 percent recycled materials and 20 percent regional materials.
Shopping experience highlights
Beyond the green highlights, the actual shopping experience has some new features including indoor and outdoor seating for 68 people, an expanded organic food section compared to other Safeways in the area (500 items), a gelato and sushi bar (with sushi chefs working on-site), a salad bar, an oven for customers to have a fresh loaf of bread baked while they shop and a butcher on the sales floor available for custom meat cuts.
There is also an expanded Starbucks inside with ample seating and free wi-fi.
The wine and beer department, once only given an aisle, is now its own section of the store with 72 different microbrews and a plethora of regional wines.
Ribbon cutting ceremony
“The store we are opening today is the greatest in our company,” Seattle Safeway Vice President Al Iverson said during the ribbon cutting ceremony that included speeches from City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, Admiral Community Council President Dennis Ross and store manager Curt Baxter, lifelong West Seattleite who was most recently running the Roxbury store.
“Most of all I want to thank you our loyal customers for your patience while we were closed and we want to really welcome you back and thank you for being such a great community that we can be proud to support,” Iverson said.
“This site is an important element of our community and Safeway worked very hard and I respect that,” Dennis Ross said. “It turned out the way we all thought it should.”
Councilman Rasmussen said the new Safeway helps in creating “a sense of community and a more walkable community.”
“We are pumped for this day,” store manager Curt Baxter said. “So welcome to the new Admiral Safeway store.”
And with that the ribbon was cut by Ross and Rasmussen and the flood of customers, numbering well over 100, came pouring in.
Employees and customers rejoice
The reopening also meant several Admiral Safeway employees who were transferred elsewhere during construction are back on their home turf.
“I’m absolutely thrilled to be back home where I spent half my life,” said Safeway employee Sheryl Bogie, who has worked at the Admiral location for 28 years.
Former Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels was on hand: "I came over because I am a neighbor. This place is amazing. It is twice the size of the old store. Of course everything is shiny and new, and the food you can take out that is prepared. It's very nice. What I like as a neighbor is that it now relates to the street. It used to be you walked by a warming lot or blank wall. Now you walk buy store fronts separate from the Safeway, nice lighting and windows to see in. It feels like more of an integral part of the neighborhood. It's more inviting and nice to have it back."
Margoth Torrico, food service field merchandiser for 17 Safeway stores, said, "This has really been one the most exciting three weeks I've had working in this Safeway getting this beautiful store ready. Two days ago we didn't believe it was going to happen, but this morning, yes, we did it. So I feel very pleased."
Jim Rogers walked here from his home two blocks away. "We know most of the people working here. Our kids are friends with Sheryl (Bogie's) kids. I figured it out that in the last 30 years I've put in about $320,000 into this store. My wing must be over here somewhere."
Lisa Bartel of Alki said, "I'm picking up some lunch to go to Colman Pool for a wonderful day off, and a good summer day. It's a good hill climb but it's still walking distance."
Buying the first Lottery ticket, a Mega Millions was Greg Moore, an employee.
Rachel Townsend of Alki who attends Chief Sealth High School said, "This is my first job ever. It's a thrill to work here. It's good to have a job, especially as a teenager. It gets my parents off my back."
Ken Daughery of Todd Robinson Painting has been working for three months on the site. "I just helped paint this building so it was kind of nice to actually get in there and buy something." He purchased a bouquet of sunflowers for his wife for their twelfth anniversary.
The scene from outside
While it was all smiles inside the store, there was a small contingent of protesters outside with a sign that read, “Labor Dispute, Don’t Shop (at) Safeway.” Oleg Prikhodko, representing the Pacific NW Regional Council of Carpenters, said they were protesting the wages, benefits and safety practices of Marquise Drywall, a subcontractor used by SD Deacon, the general contractor hired by Safeway.
“Our issue is not with this store or the workers here, but with the (Safeway) corporation who decides they were going to hire SD Deacon who would hire a subcontractor who doesn’t pay (proper) wages.”
Osborne with Safeway said they hired SD Deacon and have no control over who Deacon hires as subcontractors. “They are just trying to go for the shock factor with the name,” she said.
On a positive note, Alki Bike and Board employee Louie Vasseur said they are relieved that construction is finished as it opens up parking and an unencumbered sidewalk for their customers, old and new.
“It’s great to see the business back open over there just because I’m working in the morning and seeing people standing out front of the building that don’t look familiar peeking inside and noticing the bike shop,” Vasseur said. “It’s just bringing the life of the bike shop back out again instead of a dark cloud over the sky.”
A few more notes on the opening - coming soon in the Admiral Safeway plaza are Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt and an Umpqua Bank branch. Also, mid-flight on the stairs from the rooftop parking lot to the store floor there is a bench dedicated to Barb Fuda, “Beloved Friend and Employee of Admiral Safeway.”
