Howto: Find Groceries – Waterfront Safeway

Although I have yet to venture out to this store, I may check it out after reading your post.

It certainly is close for both drivers and metro riders.

Thanks for your photos.

I agree with Anon, I’ve not been to this store in years, but your post makes me think I should give it another look. This safeway combined with peapod and whole food could make a very reasonable shopping combination.

The site plan for the new Waterfront development shows a new grocery store shifted to the north a bit on the site. So I’m assuming that the current grocery store will be going offline during construction.

http://waterfrontdc.com/project/

Okay, you’re insane if you think this is an actual alternative to having a grocery store in downtown or if you think this place is any good. I lived within 3 blocks of this place for over 3 years. Here’s a few facts: it has no butcher (fresh cuts of meat, specialty cuts, etc. – like a Harris Teeters, whole foods, or wegmans). It’s deli – if you can even call it that – is absolutely horrible – it is never stocked, hardly ever staffed (you have to go looking for people to serve you) and low quality. The seafood department, hahaha – sorry just had to laugh – is filled with old seafood, small selection, over priced – and once again is never staffed (I had to always go looking for a manager to buzz the person that was supposed to be behind the counter). It has hardly any specialty or international foods (unless you like tripe, chitins, or pork rinds). It is always under stocked (every time it snowed the place was basically empty) and the lines were enormously long. The place is frequently dirty, filed with homeless and not in the best neighborhood (although that part of sw is safe enough). So – if you want a dirty, under stocked, understaffed, over priced place with a small selection of standard food, no butcher, a terrible seafood department, no fresh bread, a worthless deli, and absolutely no organic or international selections – that is out of the way and filled with homeless, then the SW Grocer (A.K.A. the “Ghetto Grocer” or the “Soviet Safeway” – these are not names i made up but those used by local residents)is a great selection. I on the other hand will continue to wait for a local grocery store and in the meantime go to the Whole Foods or order through PeaPod – I was relieved when I didn’t have to go to this place any more.

Not to change the subject – but what ever happened to the Potatoe Valley place on E Sreet between 7th and 6th St. NW? It was supposed to open awhile ago – the brown paper has been torn enough to look into for over a month now and I have scene absolutley no work being done with it? Is it no longer opening? I was really looking forward to this place.

I went there once and what 11:39 says is the truth! Thank God for Peapod and Safeway.com. Now I can shop like an A-lister in my Teddy from the comfort of home. haha

FWIW, this place has cleaned up considerably over the past couple years (like most Safeways around town). I’ve always found it to be fairly pleasant since then, and it’s also very close to the Circulator and 70-71 bus lines.

The one reason you absolutely must go to this store is the singing bagger guy (the guy who bags your groceries at the checkout), who performs hits on his synthesizer on weekend mornings. It is a fabulous experience (though not as nice as going to a grocery store in my own neighborhood….).

11:39 – you didn’t discuss the produce department. Can you share any insights?

This is one of my regular grocery stops. It’s literally atop the Waterfront-SEU Metro station, so it’s very convenient.

I’ve found the produce to be pretty good – including some organic fruits/vegetables, and some very good sweet cherries last summer. Sometimes they have nice flowers too. It’s a reliable source for whole wheat pasta (especially the Safeway “O Organics” brand, which is sometimes on sale for 10-for-$10), canned Indian food, big tubs of Kozy Shack rice pudding, a good variety of soymilk, and a decent selection of yogurt. Oh, and the drugstore aisle is really good – good selection of shower gel, moisturizer, hair products, etc.

The downside is the bakery/cheese dept. (I don’t eat meat so I can’t speak to the deli, etc.): no fresh bread and no fresh cheese, just vacuum-packed orange cheeselike substances. And no low-salt/organic-type soups – there is a wall of 100,000,000 cans of Campbell’s Soup, but none of my favorite Health Valley no-salt-added hippy-dippy soups.

There’s sort of an odd character to this Safeway that I’m trying to figure out how to describe. There is an aspect of sketchiness (there is usually a security guard/cop hanging out near the exit) but I have never felt unsafe. It’s more a quirky randomness. For example, this past December, there was a guy near the checkout (not an employee as far as I could tell) performing Christmas carols. Not well. Very off-key. Very loud. Everyone was like, “Whatever.” Nothing seems too unusual in that store.

I needed to use the bathroom at teh SW Safeway once, it was pretty frightening. Reminded me of the abandoned bathroom in the horror movie “Saw”!

I live just a few blocks from the Southwest Safeway. It’s okay, not great. Depending on when you go, it can be a good experience or a nightmare. My biggest gripe about the Southwest Safeway is they run out of stuff. If they do have a procurement department, it ain’t workin’. The store will stay open during the renovation of Waterside Mall.

I was there a couple months ago and was approached 3 times by 3 different individuals asking for money. I also saw someone chowing down all the food they had just gotten at the deli in the aisle for a free meal. If you have the means to travel elsewhere for groceries, I would do so, especially at night.

They have not “cleaned up their act” the past couple of years. It’s probably been 6 months or so since I’ve been there, but it was awful.

I don’t think anon at 2:54 made it clear but I think s/he was referring to people begging for money IN THE STORE, not outside. It certainly goes on outside (mothers with children in tow), but it’s a bit unsettling to get hit up in the aisles. “Management” knows what’s going on but does nothing about it. Ever seen a manager-type walking around in here?

I’ve actually found the Giant on 8th Street to be improving and the store is well stocked and clean. Sure, there’s security there, but by comparison the SW Safeway should have a small army for what goes on there.

The Giant at Brentwood was a favorite of mine for a while, but they must have hired someone from the SW Safeway, because the store has quickly gone downhill in my opinion. Dirty, neglected and poor stocking.

What amazes me about these stores is that these huge chains have so little control (or concern) about their brands. You will never encounter a Harris Teeter or Whole Foods operated like this.

thanks for all the comments. next up for a look will be the Trader Joe’s in the West End.