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Thursday 13 June 2013

Safeway disappears from Winnipeg's retail landscape


Another long-time retail giant is disappearing from Winnipeg's retail landscape. Last year it was Zeller's after a 79 year run in the city. Today, it is Safeway's turn after 84 years.

Canada Safeway Limited set up shop in Winnipeg in May 1929. Their first round of construction consisted of a commercial bakery and eight stores that opened in October. With further construction and the acquisition of other chains, within 6 months it had 30 stores in Winnipeg and a distribution network that stretched across the West.

One thing that Safeway leaves behind is a rich architectural footprint. The chain custom-built their stores to fit their needs and many of these buildings are still in use, and recognizable as former Safeways, today. 

In 2010 I did a four-part series on the history of Safeway in Winnipeg

Former Safeway
1929 - 30s era store

Old Safeway
Early 1940s era store

Old Safeway
Late 1940's era "big fin" store

Old-School Marina Style Safeway
Early 1960s Marina Style store

Old Safeway
Late 1960s "Post Marina" style late 1960s

Related:
Canada Safeway Sold to Sobey's  Observations, Reservations, Conversations

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure if Safeway is going to visibly disappear, so far I can't find any news on if Sobeys is going to keep the Safeway brand or not...

Margaret Ullrich said...

Here's more info
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2013/06/12/business-sobeys-safeway.html

Unknown said...

libWhat does the purchase of Safeway by Sobeys mean for the unionized workforce?