Safeway Mission

I grew up in a wee town, where we had a 3-​aisle Foodland. At any given time there was a maximum of 5 people shopping at one time.
Then I aged out and moved away to the ‘burbs, where the grocery stores were huge, and there was a lot of people inside.
The Safeway in Mission kind of feels like they shoved all the people from the suburban grocery stores into a building comparable to the Foodland of my childhood.
I do exaggerate, the store has more than three aisles, but it always feels like a can of sardines in there. We generally have a tough time parking at the Safeway in Mission, so I kind of avoid it. It should be noted that I have only ever been there on Saturdays, so maybe there’s a secret weekday lull that I’ve been missing out on. Now I kind of want to take a vacation day to find out.

Although in a convenient location it’s prices can be at times ridiculous. I’d rather drive 15 mins to Superstore then waste money here. Example; I wanted to buy a compact florescent light bulb, this place was charging over $ 15.00 for a single bulb. That’s crazy!

Review #15 of Unilocal’s 30 Day Challenge 2012
I usually choose this Safeway location for unexpectedly finishing my milk before the weekend or for those times that I have a sudden urge to bake something but I wouldn’t come here for my regular weekly grocery. I like that it’s along MIssion so I don’t have to go out of my way just to get a box of milk or a lemon. Since I really just go to this location to buy a few things, I like the place is just the right size so I can easily grab whatever it is I need. Though this location can be busy, I’ve never had to wait at the checkout for too long as they always have enough counters open.
Few things they can probably improve on:
— Products — this place doesn’t carry a lot of variety for some of their products. One time that I had to get 2% Lactose free milk, I stood by the milk section for a few minutes trying to convince myself that I’m missing something and that’s impossible that they only carry Lactose free skim milk in 1 L.
— Parking — too tight, the first row of parking slots is too close to the door I’m afraid I will hit someone
For a quick grocery run I think this is a perfect location/​store but if you are looking for more relaxed grocery shopping or doing your weekly shopping and planning to get a ton of items, I suggest you go checkout other Safeway locations.

On my way home from a pretty vicious New Years (tons of fun, tons of hangover), after a mid-​day breakfast/​lunch and a wee bit of shopping, I got a phone call. «We need some grapes!» (For the dinner that I was headed too). That was good and well, but I needed to stock up on my deals at Chinook mall, drop off a friend and then find a place that was still open! All this, and it was quarter to five.
As I was driving down MacLeod, it occured to me that the Safeway in Mission was my closest and safest bet for picking up the last minute groceries. I swung in, and sure enough it was still open! It was open until six, and while it was sparsely staffed it was easy to hunt people down when I couldn’t find frozen raspberries (as also directed). There were definitely some spiffy looking vehicles in the parking lot, but all of the patrons looked a little bit like I did: cute, but a little bit the worse for wear. I quickly snapped up my necessary goods, and then went to stand in line.
But there wasn’t even a line, I realized as I had just passed by a friendly teller who was a little bit hidden by the magazine stand and the angle. We chatted and laughed, and overall I was very impressed with the level of service at five fifteen pm on New Years day.
The selection is fairly small, and this is definitely not the biggest Safeway I’ve ever seen. They have a decent selection of fresh fruits and veggies, and a fairly small bakery area. It had all of the essentials, but due to size seemed to be lacking more exotic fare, but you can always snap that up at specialty stores. If I lived close by this would be where I’d go day-​to-​day for the essentials.

I have never seen so many Hummers, BMWs, Mercedes Benzs, and Jags parked in one parking lot as I do at my local Safeway. Safeway in Mission near the Elbow River caters to the affluent! Here you will see well to do lawyers, doctors, and oil tycoons shop for that last minute milk or bread item before returning back to their home by the river. Last summer it was so funny when I saw so many men dressed in suit jackets and walking shorts; did I miss something on the fashion file channel? Other than the reality entertainment, the produce and selection is varied here. It is a little more expensive than other grocery stores, but I manage to buy my groceries first Tuesday of every month and stock up … this is when Safeway shoppers can take advantage of 10% off.