The new Beckert’s Park Safeway (415 14 St. SE) is set to open August 12, according to parent company Albertson’s.
It is the end of more than two years of work on the 60,000 square foot Safeway store which anchors the mixed-use building known as Beckert’s Park. Representatives of Safeway and developer Foulger-Pratt broke ground June 27, 2018 on the five-story building, which also includes 325 units of housing, 8,000 square feet of additional retail and below-grade parking.
The new ‘state-of-the-art’ grocery is 10,000 square feet larger than the former store, which was constructed in 1980. The site was planned to include “drive-up and go” grocery pick-up even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to a Starbucks coffee shop, the store will offer what Division President Tom Lofland called “all the bells and whistles.”
The store’s bakery will feature new items including hand made fresh fruit Danish and croissants, artisan breads made from scratch, hand-dipped and decorated caramel apples, mochi desserts, premium gelato, pudding ring cups, and more. The department will also feature a Nuts on Clark Popcorn shop, which will offer popcorn in flavors such as cheese, caramel, butter, and the Old Bay recipe.
A raw oyster bar will be part of the new seafood department. Customers will be able to choose from nine local oysters including Roaring Point, Blackberry, and Chincoteague, with a variety of flavors and salinity levels. The seafood service case will offer over 36 feet of seafood offerings, including natural, fresh, smoked, and local items.
Capitol Hill residents can grab lunch at the new deli, which will feature a sushi bar, a specialty cheese shop, a sandwich bar, grab-n-go meals, poutine, poke bowls.
Customers will be able to pre-order items from the meat department, including dry aged choice beef ribeye or New York strip steaks aged from 21 to 42 days. Shoppers will also be able to choose from a huge selection of organic, grass-fed, natural and choice grade beef items with a butcher block to cut special orders to customers’ needs.
The new liquor department will feature 76 feet of beer, three rows of wine, as well as a selection of wine and spirits that will be sold in a special new store-within-the-store, a separate liquor store connected to the grocery.
The store will be open 24 hours, seven days a week. At the July 14th meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6B, Commissioner Chander Jayaraman said the separate liquor outlet is expected to be open from 7 a.m. to midnight.
There will be free below-ground parking, with entrance is on 14th Street SE. Seniors’ shopping hours during the COVID-19 pandemic will take place Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. weekly.
Further information on COVID-19 health precautions is expected to be issued shortly.
Update: According to a Safeway spokesperson, “All COVID-19 safety measures are being implemented: i.e. masks required, social distancing required, aisle direction markers and Plexiglas shields will be in place.”
Watch progress on the store exterior (and see a time-lapse of progress) visit: https://lnkd.in/dU2g3PM
