The Safeway at the Watergate complex will shut its doors Dec. 3.
The announcement comes after months of speculation that the 45-year-old store would close shop because of increased competition following the opening of the more upscale Whole Foods Market at The Avenue, in addition to the Trader Joe’s store on 25th Street. Nearly 1,300 local residents signed a petition to keep Safeway open, citing concerns ranging from affordability to convenience and a desire for brand-name products.
Safeway spokesman Craig Muckle said the store will board up after its lease expires in December, due to issues with the property’s landlords. He said the petition was not given heavy consideration in the corporation’s decision.
“We certainly appreciated people’s support of the store, because obviously there were a lot of regular customers, but at the end of the day, this is a business decision,” he said.
A new lease would bind the grocer for another 20 to 25 years, Muckle said, adding that the “uncertainty was unsettling.” He declined to say if the store’s revenues dropped after Whole Foods opened just a few blocks away.
Trish Hoffman, a spokeswoman for Capri Capital Partners – the group that leases out Safeway’s space – declined to comment.
“It’s the loss of an important choice for neighbors to do their grocery
shopping, especially for senior citizens and people who are on fixed incomes,” Armando Irizarry, who represents the Watergate area on the local Foggy Bottom and West End Advisory Neighborhood Commission, said.
He said there have been talks to replace Safeway with another grocery store. The ANC will bring up the topic at its meeting in two weeks.
Watergate resident Marija Hughes began collecting signatures in June for the petition sent to Safeway leaders in September. She said the store’s loss would be devastating for the neighborhood, especially the elderly who live in the complex.
“There are a lot of people who are not so affluent,” Hughes said. “Where are these people now going to shop? Day-to-day where are we going to go?”
She added that Safeway serves as an anchor for other stores in the shopping center, which she considers a “ghost city.”
For junior Alec Hemingway, Safeway’s shutdown means losing out on products that are not offered at other local grocery stores.
“Whole Foods carries all the organic stuff, and that’s great, but at the same time, you can’t get the name-brand stuff at Whole Foods,” Hemingway said.
Kimberly Bryden, a marketing and community relations team leader for Whole Foods, said a potential senior-citizen discount is on the grocer’s radar to accommodate local residents, but no decisions have been made.
safeway will be missed, it was nice to have a real supermarket near campus for those who didn’t want to deal with the pretentious products and people who shop at trader joes and whole foods. if i want a bottle of heinz ketchup or a can of campbells soup, where am i supposed to go now?
Well, for the Heinz ketchup you can go to whole foods. That’s where I got mine.
Safeway was not the nicest or best equipped store in the Foggy Bottom area but it was definitely a place to find essential foods for a relatively low price. It was the best of the available choices price-wise. I hope the current Safeway employees can find other jobs, and that the store’s socioeconomic niche in our community is quickly filled.
Mike, if you are looking for another option there is a very nice and fairly new Safeway located near Georgetown at 1855 Wisconsin Ave NW Washington, DC 20007. You can take a 31, 32,or 36 Metrobus (in the direction of Friendship Heights) to get there from FB metro if you don’t have a car. It’s a short and affordable bus ride that basically goes through FB & G-town.
Correction: Catch the 31 at FB Metro in the direction of Friendship Heights or catch the 32 or 36 at Pennsylvania and 22nd in the direction of Friendship Heights. It will be appx. 17 min. on any one of those to Safeway. If you have a car, it would be about 6-7 min., if there isn’t any traffic going through Gtown.
Safeway Shopper,
A better driving option from FB is to take Rock Creek up to Mass Ave then cut to Wisconsin on Calvert, assuming it’s not when RC pkwy is one way. M street/ Lower Wisconsin can get jammed for the darndest reasons.
The route I take is up 26th (either from Pennsylvania Ave or from the ramp up from 66 to L Street), left on M for one block, up 28th (yes, 27th is non-existent there) to the end, left where there is no choice on R, then either R to Wisconsin or turn right after Dumbarton Oaks and left on S to Wisconsin, turn right on Wisconsin to go up to Safeway. This route avoids all but one block of M and all of lower Wisconsin.
I wish to transfer to a real college. Me no like gw
Hey Gw, Fu
Even 15 years ago the place was a dump. The prices and groceries (canned goods, packaged goods, mixes, housewares) were average in price and quality, though the fresh food (meat and produce) left a lot to be desired in selection and quality. I wish there were a Whole Foods for fresh products back then so I didn’t have to go to Dean and Deluca.
GW should look into offering a stop at the Safeway that is near the vern so that foggy bottom students have an option to buy more affordable groceries. Whole Foods may only be $0.10-0.20 more per item for the basics, but that quickly adds up. I’m sure that the safeway up there would be willing to make a deal with GW for what would surely be in increase in business. Lets how GW takes this as an opportunity to remember that there are students who struggle financially and to put student’s needs first.
I dropped out of GW Law specifically because I hated this Safeway.
thats a stupid reason to drop out of law school. i really hope you’re kidding
hahah Carl, you’re hilarious.
Safeway was such sad, broken, and lonely place. Thank god Gelman still sucks.
Override!
The vern express should stop at the Safeway near the Mount Vern Campus.