In late July, the Safeway at 4th Street and M Street SW re-opened after an extensive renovation. In addition to a ribbon-cutting and giveaways, the store offered contributions from the Safeway Foundation to neighborhood organizations. Courtesy of Perry Klein
By Beth Hall
Over the last year, customers have noticed changes and improvements to the Safeway at Fourth Street and M Street SW. On the morning of July 26, Safeway held a Grand Re-Opening to celebrate completion of the remodeling and introduce neighbors to some of the new additions. There was a large turnout.
Safeway took the occasion to present several large grants to area organizations including the Capital Area Food Bank, the National Foundation for Cancer Research, Medstar Georgetown Medical Center, Children’s National Medical Center, Arlington Free Clinic and DC Central Kitchen. Together, the grants totaled $225,000.
Safeway also has a relatively new manager, Steve Newman. He is not a stranger to the neighborhood, as he was also here to close down the old Safeway in 2010. Newman is on site daily.
“We are particularly proud of our sushi, enhanced floral selection, larger produce area, hot bar, taco bar, made to order sandwiches, expanded beer and wine and charcuterie section,” Newman said. Among other highlights are fresh oysters in the seafood department.
According to Newman, the 125-person staff is a mixture of veterans and newcomers.
Safeway is pleased to have a strong pharmacy team in place, under the direction of Peter Mina. “The transition when CVS closed was a challenge, but everything is running smoothly,” Newman said.
Newman noted that security efforts have had an impact and lead to a decrease in shoplifting. He urged neighbors who have not explored the significant changes in the store to come take a look.