Safeway

This Safeway needs to tidy up its just dirty. Full trash bags lie by the Starbucks while the baristas chat. The Starbucks won’t let you pay for anything from the rest of the store even with your coffee order.

I have been to this Safeway quite a few times and it’s OK. The store has one of the newer designs with the sort of open area in the middle, around the produce. I don’t find their layout to be particularly logical and usually find myself circling an aisle a few times to find what I’m looking for. Their hot bar is nice and has a good variety of food, which is probably the only area where I’d say this Safeway has an edge over the Harris Teeter in Navy Yard.
But the LINES here are absolutely out of this world. I have never seen more than two cashiers working a a time, which is absurd given that there are so many people that come to this store. With it being the only grocery option in Southwest, it seems they would staff it a bit better. On the note of staff, I’ve never, ever been able to find a staff member to ask where something is, and have overall found their staff to be pretty brusque.
My review is really a 2.5 stars, which I am rounding up because their fresh food selection is decent. Bring your Kindle or something if you come here, though, because you’ll honestly probably be standing in line well over 15 minutes – and if you use the self-​checkout, it may cause some sort of weird error that usually takes a while to get corrected. If you’re close enough to the Harris Teeter in Navy Yard, I would recommend going there instead.

aaagggghhhhh! Safeway, in Pleasanton, CA does not care about your shopping experience for sure. Though this is a store that rakes in the millions for our consumerism, but we are getting the shaft. Dirty, unorganized, and I am just waiting for that giant case of foodborne illness from this dump. Shame shame.

This Safeway is arguably the worst grocery store I have ever been to. I appreciate some of its amenities such as its underground parking, but these ‘pros’ don’t even come close to redeeming the deficit of negative attributes.
1. The operations are clearly managed poorly. I have been here several times and I don’t think there has been a single instance where there hasn’t been some sort of technical issue while on line and a scrambling bewildered staff attempting to fix it. The lines are always long and slow moving.
2. The staff is almost exclusively rude and indifferent to the customers. I can empathize with them to an extent as the job is likely not pleasant due to the poor management I mentioned; however, their bad attitude is a large part of the experience.
3. This is the big one. THEY DON’T HAVE SECTIONS IN STOCK all the time. Today, I visited and 90% of their ice cream section was cleared out. The woman at the register said «they were busy», but the complete absence of that much ice cream seems to me like either a failure to order inventory, a fridge malfunction, or a failure to stock in a timely manner. I then went to buy bananas to see that the shelves were out of stock. I had to pry open a nearby produce shipment that someone had left unattended to and dig through it for bananas. Again, these shortcomings may be a staffing issue, which would further contribute to my first complaint.
Unfortunately, this place is so close to my house, that convenience alone dictates I go there at least sometimes. I can only hope management sees these poor reviews and steps up their game.

Well, there’s a Starbucks and the wine selection is pretty good. The gourmet area isn’t bad. I’ve never had a problem with the staff, pretty cordial, to me at least. For the basics, it does the job. One major thing I’ve noticed is that some packages are open! empty boxes/​bags of razors, one package of instant coffee looked it had been resealed and the contents opened. Please check your items before leaving, was pretty thrown myself. Once the wharf is developed this store better step up or another will gladly take its place. sorry, real talk:)

They have most things you need. Also they have some good deals.
Variety: OK. I need more fresh seafood tho.
Customer service: Not bad.
Parking: Free.
You should sign up their membership! They send some deals at least every week.

One star because no star and should be closed is not an option. Most ghetto employees I have ever encountered worldwide. No respect for themselves or customers.

Disappointed again with the sanitation, selection and service at this Safeway. Hands down the worst grocery store I’ve ever had to use. Wish there was another option in this neighborhood — would never shop here again if there was another grocery store in SWDC. Tonight’s disappointment — no ground pork to be found at 7:00pm on a Saturday because «we don’t grind pork.» Told by the meat department «we don’t grind pork here due to cross contamination.» However, there is ground turkey, ground beef, ground veal and ground meatloaf mix (veal, pork and beef) — all in generous quantity, but no ground pork — AND they don’t grind pork due to «cross contamination» — WOW. Really? Harris Teeter has ground pork for me before. Giant was ground pork for me before. Way to go Safeway. Wish there was a .25 star rating — have had the worst shopping experiences at this Safeway.

Yikes! I came on Monday early evening after a snowstorm hit the east coast on Friday and Saturday. It looked like they were finally starting to restock, but the shelves were extremely bare. The produce section was nonexistent, and the bread section only had some lonely dinner rolls left.
Produce prices were pretty costly. $ 3.50/lb for tomatoes and $ 3 for a small bag of celery is considerably more than what I’m used to paying, and from my memory, is more expensive than Giant (also in DC).
If you can get a Safeway card, it does make a difference. I made it out with a 5-​lb bag of brown rice for $ 5, and some dry split peas for $ 1.29. It would have been a buck or two more expensive without the card.

In a nutshell, I’m thankful to have this Safeway. If you live in the neighborhood, I’m sure you are as well. What would we do without it? It’s sheer existence is a positive in my book. Now the nitty-​gritty of my review:
* They have free underground parking with validation for 60 minutes (don’t forget to ask when you checkout) with an indoor elevator.
* Unlike Walmart, security keeps this store’s entrance safe; it’s generally free of loiters.
* It’s clean and almost always well-​stocked with dry and refrigerated foods, except when there’s a particularly good sale on a certain item. In that case, you’re better off arriving early.
* They stock options for gluten-​free, vegetarian, and other alternative diets.
* Staff can be impatient, tired, and frustrated.
* Lines are often incredibly long, and slow moving. The store frequently fails to open adequate lanes.
* The produce section is sad for a multitude of reasons. Most importantly, the food isn’t fresh. Much of it is often brown, and they frequently run out of popular items.
* The meat section could use a healthy makeover. I would love to see more organic options, not just the now outdated «antibiotic free» label.
OK. Like me, you’re going to visit this store if you live in the neighborhood, but try as I do to shop elsewhere when you can. (Or, use their delivery service and avoid the gosh awful lines! Your first delivery is free!)

This Safeway is so terrible. I don’t know why I torture myself by coming here. The selection is fine but the checkout clerks are in absolutely no hurry to check you out. This last visit was 36 mins to check out with only 4 people before me. Save your sanity and spend a few more dollars by going to Harris Teeter.

Meh, it’s ok. It’s certainly big and has a half-​decent selection, especially after coming from the «Soviet Safeway» on 17^th Street in Dupont Circle, where they sell no beer or wine. This Waterfront Safeway has a large selection of both and has most, but not all, things in stock that I’d want in a grocery store. If you go at the end of rush hour (i.e. about 7pm) there can be little produce left, but they restock it soon enough.
Also, try not to go at rush hour (6pm) or Saturday/​Sunday morning/​afternoons, the lines are ridiculously long. People sometimes forget that there is a line of self-​checkouts at the deli near the entrance, so it’s worth checking to see if that line is shorter.
Additionally, the deli and café is nice to have, as well as the Starbucks kiosk (but sometimes it can be hard to find a staff member to serve you). And they set out samples of cheeses or pastries in the deli/​bakery area every now and then. Combined with the pharmacy, the RedBox, the large floral department, a big greeting card section, and two SunTrust ATMs, this is a pretty good option for the denizens of Southwest.
Convenient that the Waterfront green line metro spits you out directly in front of the Safeway entrance (in a very nice outdoor seating area with fountains, picnic tables and benches) and there’s a CVS, DC public library, and Z-​Burger nearby too.

This is the most conveniently-​located grocery store for me but that’s really the only good thing I have to say about it. Aside from location, this Safeway is perhaps the worst grocery store I’ve been to in recent memory.
While the inside is relatively clean and modern, everything from the produce to the customer service is unacceptable. On numerous occasions, I’ve come across produce that is basically rotting on the shelf as a result of being over-​saturated with water and left in place for too long. And while I avoid obviously bad products, I’ve definitely unknowingly purchased spoiled or expired dairy and frozen foods on numerous occasions. In fact, I recently purchased a spoiled item and returned it only to receive another spoiled batch of the same. There’s clearly no quality control in place here.
The store itself seems poorly organized given the ample space available and there seems to be no rhyme or reason to the hours of the deli, bakery, or self-​serve buffets (e.g. olive bar). Often there are no staff to be found behind these counters and when I’ve asked about when the olive bar opens/​closes, I’ve gotten mixed answers that seem to indicate it’s essentially on the whim of whoever happens to be working that day.
The checkout counters are almost never adequately staffed during commonly busy hours and lines are exceedingly long at all hours of the day and night. Staff seem generally disinterested in their jobs and even less interested in actually serving customers. The customer service desk itself is intermittently staffed and requires long waits while a cashier calls over whomever is supposed to be working there.
I’d venture to say that there’s a problem with management at this store but upon reading reviews of other Safeways in the area, it seems Safeway has little interest in improving their practices. What a waste.

There’s not a lot of options for groceries in this area but Safeway is actually pretty good. If you have the cards, prices are generally good (better than Harris Teeter for several of the products I buy). The store is clean which is important for me, and the lines are generally short although I have to say that I wish the staff were more efficient sometimes.

Parking right beneath the store (they validate for at least an hour if you spend $ 8), the store is rather new, has nice wide aisles, seemed to have a decent selection (though definitely had some holes), but considering it was a Saturday, they should have been better staffed.

The store is clean and easy to get to. I don’t usually need help but if I do, I can get it.

Nice! New! And clean! Safeway in the area.
Parking garage can be tight and tricky but they do parking validation so it’s All worth it.
Produces and food options are plentiful. Everything is so organized and always clean.

This Safeway has met its match with Harris Teeter. Before HT opened there was no where else to shop in SW/​SE — you had no other choice but to tolerate Safeway. The store staff at this location can be polite and helpful, but that occurs about as often as pigs fly. During my last visit to the store, I thought I would get some «fresh» seafood. In this day and age, nothing is really fresh, it’s thawed from frozen and put on display. When speaking with the gentleman at the counter about my order, he asked me why I wanted my selection. Is that for real? I want it because I want it — why do you care? It’s your job to provide me with my selection. Avoid this location and go to Harris Teeter.

This local Safeway has pretty much all you need. It’s convenient to the locals, has gluten-​free groceries, and a parking lot, in the event you are unable to walk there. Parking is free with an $ 8 Safeway validation, which makes it super easy breezy.
For starters, this Safeway has a Starbucks! Hence the 4 star rating The lines are pretty manageable and there is a large seating area for the loungers.
The produce section is pretty large and has lots of fresh fruit and veggies to include a large variety of organic produce to choose from. The set up of the store is a little different from some of the others, to me, but it’s very functional.
The checkout lines move pretty quickly, and the validation for parking is self serve.
Elevator access to the garage for those that are driving by.
Happy Grocery Shopping OR hanging out in Starbucks!

The staff aren’t knowledgeable about food-they’ll ask me what eggplant is or try to direct me to Tabasco sauce when I ask for tahini. One time my roommate got a can of chickpeas and it had kidney beans inside.
The lines could also move more quickly if the staff that are supposed to help with the self checkout would direct people to open spaces and quickly approve alcohol orders.
Wish there were other convenient options for southwesters :(