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I will add a few points. I haven't been in too many Vons Stores but I've sure been in a lot of Safeways. What I have noticed is stores that received a remodel to interior #2, both in Safeway and Vons branded stores, have often received what I'd call a "cheap remodel." That being one where they go in, repaint, put up the new signs, and call it a day. No new floors, few new displays, etc. I have seen some very complete remodels done with that interior, but not very many. This especially sticks out with some Vons that I have been to with that interior around Fresno (many likely closed now) and Las Vegas: they clearly had the original Vons floor, shelves, and refrigeration and the only thing that was done was a quick place of these signs and a repaint of the walls.

Flash to interior 3. Every single store I have seen that was remodeled into interior 3 received a very full remodel with new flooring, displays, etc. I have noticed it is very easy for them to do a remodel from interior 3 to a lifestyle store, especially with stores that were newly constructed with interior 3.

storewanderer wrote:I will add a few points. I haven't been in too many Vons Stores but I've sure been in a lot of Safeways. What I have noticed is stores that received a remodel to interior #2, both in Safeway and Vons branded stores, have often received what I'd call a "cheap remodel." That being one where they go in, repaint, put up the new signs, and call it a day. No new floors, few new displays, etc. I have seen some very complete remodels done with that interior, but not very many. This especially sticks out with some Vons that I have been to with that interior around Fresno (many likely closed now) and Las Vegas: they clearly had the original Vons floor, shelves, and refrigeration and the only thing that was done was a quick place of these signs and a repaint of the walls.

Flash to interior 3. Every single store I have seen that was remodeled into interior 3 received a very full remodel with new flooring, displays, etc. I have noticed it is very easy for them to do a remodel from interior 3 to a lifestyle store, especially with stores that were newly constructed with interior 3.

Your observations are correct. It's interesting because Interior 2 as you call it was Safeway's last in house design. Interior three was designed by a design firm in Los Angeles that is famous for designing Gelson's interiors since the late 1990's. Interior 3 was their first submission and was only used chainwide for a couple of years before morphing into the current lifetyle designs. There are some interesting one-off hybrids that came between Interior 3 and Lifestyle. The Pavilions at Melrose & Vine had a unique interior that I would call 'pre-lifestyle' in that it basically had the new softer decor colors and nicer flooring but kept the k-martesque bright exposed florescent lighting. I haven't been in the store for a couple of years so I don't know if it has been converted to the full lifestyle format but the stores at 3rd & Vermont and Sunset & Virgil were remodeled into the Interior 3 design AFTER Melrose & Vine and have already been remodeled into the lifestyle format, so I would assume Melrose & Vine probably has been, as well.