The Rainier Valley Post has a snarky post about the struggles of Othello/New Holly to keep their Safeway while Pinehurst (hopefully) gets a new store:
Othello’s “UnSafeway”: For Sale or Off the Market?
“Remember, this was a state-of-the-art building in 1953,” said Schwartz. “There were only two brands of potato chips back then, regular and ruffles. Just look at how many brands of chips there are in the UnSafeway today; salt and vinegar, jalapeño, Maui sweet onion… And people say the UnSafeway hasn’t kept up with the times? I don’t think anyone down here wants to see this old beauty torn down and replaced with a deluxe ‘green’ store with a community gathering space and an outdoor coffee shop with a fireplace like that monstrosity they’re building in Pinehurst. We won’t stand for it!”
Safeway made the curious decision to sell the store right before the opening of a light rail station just steps from its front door. And with plans underway to construct more than 700 residences in the immediate vicinity of the store and no other supermarkets in the area, business seems certain to increase.
“We don’t think the facility can handle that much business,” said Wiltagreen. “With that many customers we’d have to deliver fresh fruits and vegetables all the time. Frankly, we’d rather keep that high-grade produce at our ‘real’ stores in places like Pinehurst.”
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