Safeway
350 Bay St
(between Mason St & Powell St)
San Francisco, CA 94133 (415) 781-4374
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Garage
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
69 reviews
Neighborhood: Marina/Cow Hollow
"Aside from the Chestnut St. bakery, the deli here was my other main source of nourishment. Huge selection, yummy sandwiches, and decent…" read more »
29 Reviews for Safeway
You get two stars for having security guards who follow honest, decent customers around the store and for me having to return a VERY rotten bag of chicken and nearly as gross cheese. Naughty. Naughty. Tsk, tsk, tsk.
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I am totally disappointed with this Safeway. Not only is the produce few and far between, it's not fresh. The soy milk is consistently out of stock.
But, most of all, the lack of urgency among the cashiers is appalling. With only two lanes open and lines of shoppers down the aisles, the employees checking us out could not have looked more bored. They had to TRY to be as slow as they were, and had the most lax attitudes I have seen. I really felt like I was watching a movie in slow-mo.
I am sure the job is boring, but it's your job. Particularly during a rush hour, it is your job to get people through as efficiently as possible. These employees had no interest in doing their jobs well and getting their customers through.
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Good morning, Safeway shoppers. Today we are running a special on highway robberies. We are going to rob you blind but leave you enough to catch the bus home. Enjoy and thank you for shopping at Safeway...
I work here. Yes, I do and I hate it most of the time. But the rest of the time, I enjoy it very much. I also said that I would never review any of my current and past job places. That didn't last very long now did it? Let's get down to it, shall we?
Now, there are lots of stories I can tell you. All are true and all are not very flattering of certain people. But all are funny to a certain degree. Now since this is a review of the place, I need to always remember to review the store and not go overboard and start ranting about certain choice individuals that have pissed me off over the years...
All in all, the store is very mediocre. If I wasn't an employee, I would have started this off by giving it a negative star rating. One star is for me working here and making life somewhat bearable and the other is for the people I actually enjoy working with. We're open from 6am to midnight and closed on Christmas Day. We close early on certain holidays but that may change knowing that our CEO is a money grubbing bitch. We are part of a "mall" complex with garage parking available. Validation for an hour and a half. We tend to get really busy on days when the large cruise ships come in or tourists from other countries need stuff. Japanese love jerky and Ghiradelli chocolates. Chinese love the same chocolates and anything unique to the City. Germans just buy anything. And then you got the local tourists that buy provisions for the trek through the City. Also get busy on drinking holidays and the official major ones like Christmas Eve and Thanksgiving week.
The store is stocked at most 90% full. I am not putting blame on the Night Crew because I love them and they are my friends but more blame goes on the manager of the store who doesn't think adding another person to Night Crew will help them stock better, faster, and fuller. Actually, that concept goes with all the other departments because this store is terribly understaffed. But the less he hires, the more hectic it gets. Maybe he's trying to show people he works well under pressure...Sure...
The lines are incredibly nasty and long at most times of the day. You can constantly hear people calling for more checkers and hear the customers bitch and moan about it to the checkers. I feel your pain, I really do. Why do you think I am getting surgery on my right shoulder for? I hate lines and I hate seeing people wait. I wish more people would understand this and check a little faster. I know a few have medical conditions that prevent them from going at it at warp speed like me but the others have no excuse. Especially those that are in charge. But maybe they check slower is because they are in control of a little power and that get's them all high and mighty. Oh well. Just makes me hate them even more. And people say I have an anger management problem. Moi?
The one thing that pisses me off the most is how we are now told that it is mandatory to ask for donations for what ever flavor of the period is. It's always some sort of charity that needs money. I am all for that but we shouldn't have to forced to ask for donations everyday. Especially the regulars that we have from the neighborhood. Totally ridiculous and uncalled for. Unfortunately, our manager is a corporate lap dog on a very short shit list and his front end manager, the one in charge of controlling the lines and courtesy clerks(aka baggers), is one of the biggest morons ever to work here. Unfortunately she thinks she's wonderful but customers tend to disagree with that. If you want to donate you will donate when you feel like it, right?
And for those that keep complaining about the parking situation and the security guards...They do not belong to us. The parking is part of the North Point Center and the uniformed security guards you have following you are part of King Security. Contract goons I like to call them. Don't blame the store...Not like this will make us look any better...
I have always said that I could be a stand-up comedian because of the places I have worked at. It's true. And I must thank Safeway for allowing me to soak in the stupidity that flows through here. Fortunately, I use it for my future career in stand-up. None of the stupidity has reached my own brain, thankfully. Thank you much, Safeway. I'll make sure to change the name so you won't be named in the routine. You know, to save your dignity. Or what left there is of it...
One more thing. Please don't mention this to anyone. It would be in good taste for you not to ask for me or try to find me at work. I mean, it is a place of business. Unless, you're a hot chick. I think I can bend the rules for that...
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They use recycled paper bags. Not plastic anymore.
Gets 5 stars in my book.
Clean, large, lots of checkstands open. Great place to shop.
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I live not too far from Chinatown, and used to always turn up my nose at those Chinese grocery stores with all that quasi-rotten produce and old ladies hanging around near the back either clipping their fingernails or picking their noses or noisily eating something strange. Not me, I shop at SAFEWAY, which is part of a CORPORATION and corporations have STANDARDS and they are CLEAN and the pricing is FAIR and the product must be more or less FRESH.
I really, really tried to like this store (it is close to where I live), but now I am giving up and have to admit the truth:
This store is dirty. I saw the deli person spit into the sink a couple of days ago, in full public view. I can't imagine what happens behind closed doors.
The produce is usually of very poor quality, and somehow strange in both taste and texture. Can't imagine where this stuff comes from.
The overall vibe is also weird. This is probably the only store where I am actually afraid of the customers.
And it is EXPENSIVE. I guess the Safeway-Super-Saver card thingy is a good psychological mechanism to make you think you are getting some kind of a deal. I almost always walk out of that place in complete bewilderment, reading the receipt, trying to figure out why a small bag of groceries costs $30-$40.
I'm not ready to shop in Chinatown quite yet, but will admit that I have been paying more attention to the stores that I pass on my way home.
Is there like a whole "San Francisco Filthy Grocery Store" thing going on in this city, or does this just explain why the Whole Foods on California street is so darn busy....?
It's a bit pricey but why bother going to a grocery store when you can just shop online! Service is great and they just bring it right to your door!
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First off... Fanny and Deanna at the floral department deserve 6 stars by themselves. Love those two. What else also makes this Safeway stand out?... People actually wililng to take the time to help you find shit. I mean honestly... customer service is hard to find these days... but walking up and down the aisles here... I get asked atleast twice if I'm finding everything okay. That is just super. Props to John too for taking time out of his busy ass day and helping me put together a gift basket.
4 stars for being super convenient to me... 5th star for validating parking in the 2nd most expensive parking district in the city. It's a steal.
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I like the convenience of having Safeway right next door to me--makes my grocery shopping so much easier. However, I am not too happy about how small it is (although I guess they can't be blamed for that, hm?). They stock most everything I need and have a very large selection of wine/beer/liquor. Fruits and vegetables are a little pricier than what you would find in Chinatown (well, of course I guess), but I like buying fruits/vegetables from Safeway more because of 1)convenience in location and 2)freshness.
The service has always been good for me ever since I moved here--one cashier was even gracious enough to trust me when I ran back to Safeway to get my $20 cashback after we had both forgotten about it, haha.
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The best and worst part of this Safeway is parking on the second deck. To quote my roommate "I feel like I am on a rollercoaster." It is alot of fun to go up and down the ramp, but a pain to find the exit.
As for the quality of what is inside- it is not my favorite Safeway in the city and Safeway is not my favorite grocery store so that goes to show how low it is.
I used to have this as a one-star review because a few members of the management team made this store suck. But they -- or at least the worst offender -- has left, and what a difference it makes to the overall vibe of this place.
Though it's smaller than the average Safeway, I've been told it stocks almost everything its more zaftig sisters have. Crowd is a combination of neighborhood residents doing their grocery shopping, office workers grabbing a sandwich (they make a great one at the deli counter here) during lunch, and tourists stocking up on snacks before heading back to their Fisherman's Wharf hotels.
Sometimes you'll even see the street performers from the Wharf in here. So strange to see the guy who dresses up like a robot, silvery makeup on his skin and all, in line with everyone to get a turkey on sourdough, hold the mayo.
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The Safeway/Walgreens/24 Hour Fitness, etc parking lot is where all the angriest drivers in SF hold their weekly meeting.
They gather together to give each other the round about bird, scream "Fuck, Asshole, Bitch, etc" as loud as possible, and exercise the use of their horns. Sounds fun, no?
I'm scared every time I come here. I usually make a trip on my way home from work (in Marin) and have to cross two lanes to get into the parking lot. Unfortunately, there never seems to be a break in traffic, and when there is, and you inch forward to wait in the car line to get your ticket and have the bar raised, you get verbally raped by the a-holes you've blocked (even if they are waiting at a red light) and the by the people in the garage who won't let you in, so your ass is sticking out into the street.
By the time I actually get into the garage and find a parking spot I'm sweating profusly and shaking violently.
I try to go grocery shopping as little as possible.
I'm not a big fan of this Safeway. It smells like stale Chinese take-out from the creepy restaurant across the way, and is too big and spread out awkwardly, so finding anything is like working on a NY Times Sunday crossword puzzle.
They are always out of the little cottage cheese cups I love so much, as well as the Planters nut mix the South Beach Diet told me would make my ass smaller (no such luck, I think the Planters peanut guy is putting extra starch into my mix).
The aisles, however, are wider than the ones at Babeway, which makes maneuvering the cart with the fucked-up wheels a little easier. I also enjoy the employees at this Safeway, as they're always very sweet and accommodating. They can be a little on the slow side, but at least they give you a dose of smiles, which may be the only saving grace of the whole shopping experience.
I also appreciate the validated parking. Getting anything for free in this great city is like finding a pot of gold, or a pot of excused parking tickets.
Although trips here make my want to dunk my head in a tub of Oxiclean, I will continue coming back, because I'm lazy, it's in my neighborhood, and TJ's food tends to go bad in about 10.2 seconds.
I'm mentally preparing for my next trip there in two week, where I will probably be beat up by a Marina couple in the garage for stealing "their" parking spot, that they passed, then backed up for, while honking and screaming at me to reverse.
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while i readily admit this safeway is 98% less annoying than some of the other locations, the produce department sucks (people: please stop shucking corn in the aisles), the store itself has a limited selection of certain items (always missing something random that you need) and the tourist factor comes in hard.
however, i never really have to wait in line at this location and they took out the BK and replaced it with a WAMU... which is rad.
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The deli in this Safeway makes a MEAN sandwich. I never really did much shopping at this store, but I worked nearby one summer and ate enough sandwiches that I got a free one!!!!
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The last thing I expect to see when getting frozen veggies out of the freezer on the left, sitting on the shelf to the right, is toilet paper.
That is how this Safeway is set up. No rhyme or reason at all, not a lot of selection, but, damn, they have location so it doesn't matter. Plus, some of the nicest cashiers of any Safeway I have been to.
The TP next to the veggies? Well, I guess that will teach me not to buy frozen veggies...they are just wrong anyhow!
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I finally got my first free sandwich from their deli. Good stuff for the price. I always tell them to slice the meat fresh because I don't trust that pre-sliced turkey that's been sitting there for 2 days.
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See also my terse review of the Muni #1 line. Here's another place I love to hate. That said, they have everything I need about 75% of the time. The wine is always on sale and you can always get an additional 10% off if you buy six bottles (mix and match, feel free). Sometimes nearly everything on my shopping list is "on sale" (with the club card, of course); other times, they expect me to pay $5.49 for a 12-pack of Diet Pepsi or $53.99 for a box of damn Lucky Charms. It's maddening. The meat/fish staff is very helpful--they get five stars--assuming you can find them. Where else can you ask, "Will you please debone this pork shoulder?" and get a friendly smile in return? The ugly: the missus had her wallet snagged AT THE CHECKSTAND by a very wily crackwhore who pretended to be shopping the soft drink cooler. Surely the security cameras caught this malfeasant in the act, right? No, they weren't operational that sunny afternoon. "Sorry for your loss. Here's a $50 Safeway gift card for your next visit. Don't forget to validate your parking."
Tip for SF newbs: go to Target in Daly City and get as much as you can there first, then finish off at the Safeway if you must.
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This is the weirdest Safeway I've ever been to. I mean, I'm sure (actually, I know) strange people work at every Safeway, but the workers at this particular one have got to be the most disgruntled, senseless, awkward people I've ever encountered in a supermarket.
The manager of this Safeway rang me up once. I was buying quite a bit that day and I'm sure it was not the most enjoyable thing to have to ring up and bag it all by herself but I really felt like she went out of her way to seek revenge on me for buying so much. She was taking her time, which didn't bother me much, but in the midst of scanning she completely stopped, slowly uncapped her water bottle, and drank at a snails pace while staring directly at me. I found that a little...unsettling but not too annoying. She began scanning again than about 5 seconds later she repeated her whole hateful drinking thing. When I gave her a look of disbelief, she explained with a sneer "I need to drink water." Wtf? I began to wonder if I had done something to her. Did I say something mean? No.. Did I kill her first born? I'm pretty certain I didn't. She eventually bagged all my groceries and threw my receipt at me. I left bewildered.
This place is good for basics and whatnot. My advice is to avoid eye contact with the workers if you don't want to be tempted into some kind of verbal confrontation or full-on combat.
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Wow. Can't believe I am actually reviewing Safeway but there are some things yelper's should know.
For starters, if you buy 6 Starbuck's - the seventh is free on the Club Card. Also, the pharmacy prices here have always been at least 10% less expensive than Walgreen's across the street.
But most importantly - the handles of vodka, bottles of champagne, and specialty liquors are almost ALWAYS on sale and are much less expensive than what you find at Trader Joe's or Cost Plus.
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I really am starting to hate Safeway. I used to think it was ok but now I am thoroughly getting disappointed every time I go. Week after week they have old gross produce and a poor selection of it too. The fruit I got this past week, plums and peaches, were both flavorless and had weird textures. The avocados I got from them the week before never ripened and had a gross sour flavor. Where do they get their horrible produce!? Other grocery stores do not seem to have this problem, so what is the deal? It also annoys me that they hardly ever restock their shelves when an item has sold out on the floor. They have more in the back but they won't put it out during normal business hours. It is soooooooo frustrating. The more I go to Safeway the more frustrated I get. I wish I lived in Berkeley and could go to the Berkeley Bowl.
Its sad that I go here once a week, but hate it. Its the closest grocery store to my place and usually has everything i need that Trader Joe's doesn't. The staff seems friendly enough, but the customers are the complete opposite. So much so that one woman, noticing that the guy next to me shoved his way in front of me at the deli counter, said "Everyone is rude here, I hate coming here but..."
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Well, the main reason I like this particular Safeway is that they play the best cheesy pop music to sing along with as you peruse the aisles. It is so good, in fact, that I have even started to use the term "Safeway Music" - even though the selection is, to the best of my knowledge, exclusive to this location. :)
The Marina Safeway uses Coldplay and a fancy view to draw in its shoppers...but all it took was a little Journey and REO Speedwagon to keep me coming back to the Bay Street Store. Well, that and its convenient proximity to Trader Joe's.
Just don't forget to validate your parking!
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Maybe I'm spoiled by he big, nice grocery stores of the suburbs I grew in, but this store doesn't have the best selection. I couldn't even find magic Erasers there.
I love the convenient and validated parking and the great location.
Gah! Third time I have come here and you have been completely out of carts! It's not like you don't have them, it's that you don't bring them in. That is just a grocery store deal breaker for me, having to wander around the parking lot to get my own cart.
Although this location has yet to run out of Muni passes like other locations, and the selection isn't to bad.
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This Safeway is fairly small, similar to the one in Embarcadero and near Caltrain. The handy thing is the parking lot with validation.
An average Safeway. It's in a fairly scummy shopping center that smells bad and has shady characters loitering around always and you have to smell this nasty cheap chinese food that's nearby. Selection is not bad, but not great. Usually friendly help and not much of a wait. Looks like they are remodeling to class up the joint, but the mall will remain scummy, sadly. Validated parking.
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I go here occasionally because it's really close to my school. I don't shop here because of deals, but because of convenience. I like the muffins in the bakery section that are filled with jelly and topped with huge sugar crystals. Sometimes the checkers are nice- if you're a Safeway customer, they say your name and thank you for shopping there.
OK so this place has this one tall lanky? security guard that wears black sunglasses day or night. sorta creeps me out cuz when ever i go there he's just standing there in the same position. newho, when they restock the floors are messy and piled with food that doesn't seem worth buying. a little too messy. but it does the job when it is basically the only grocery shopping store around the north beach area.
A certain type of vodka I like was on sale here. Booze here has a device affixed over the boozecap to prevent booze smugglers from boozing when they get it home. Anyway the bagger couldn't get the device from off the boozecap with the key. They went and got me another bottle (after waiting about 4 minutes) and a different bagger twisted it so hard the boozecap came off with the security device, so that the boozecap was stuck in the device and therefore would have no top. The bagger asked "is this ok?" I said "no." So they grabbed me another, and the same thing happened. The bagger showed a checker, who proceeded to rim his finger around the top and then gave it back to me saying "is this ok? I said "no" again. They got me a third bottle and the same thing happened. The bagger told me that I would be allowed to take home the security cap with the boozecap inside and pretend it was a cap that worked. He showed me that it would rest on top of the opening if I kept the bottle upright. What if I want to freeze it, do I pour it into a ziplock?! After it happened to the fourth bottle, ($120 worth wasted) I had to wait in the return line, then get a different brand, then wait in the checkout again. If I hadn't sold my car, I would much rather go to BevMo and get it for cheaper with no security device.
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This is a nice, clean Safeway and we can always park right outside on Bay Street. No complaints!
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