Safeway in Hybla Valley is closing
The Safeway near the intersection of Richmond Highway and Arlington Drive will soon close down.
The Safeway in the Mount Vernon Square shopping center is closing its doors later this month.
The store, located at intersection of Richmond Highway and Arlington Drive, will shut down March 26. A Starbucks located in the store will be closing the same day.
“The store has been identified as underperforming for some time and we had to make the tough decision to close,” said Safeway spokeswoman Beth Goldberg. “We remain focused on growing our business and reinvesting those resources into remodeling our existing store base and in opening new stores.”
The Safeway opened in April 2006.
A Safeway employee said they were informed of the closure last week, and said workers were asked to fill out paperwork indicating which nearby Safeways they would be most interested in transferring to.
“We are working to place as many employees as possible,” Goldberg said. “Our Associate Relations team will be diligently working with each affected associate and the labor unions to attempt to find other work that is both consistent with the applicable law or labor agreement.”
Safeway workers are members of The United Food & Commercial Workers union. A representative for the union did not immediately return a phone message.
KLNB, who manages the Mount Vernon Square shopping center, is looking for a new tenant to sublease the Safeway space. A KNB spokeswoman for KLNB would not say if any businesses had expressed interest yet.
No surprise – worst service anywhere, ever. I was a lifelong Safeway shopper, never went anywhere else. Then I moved from McLean to Hybla Valley, near this terrible store. Physically, it is huge and attractive. It looks great until you go inside, and encounter the incompetent management and horrible staff .
There were NEVER more than 2 checkout lanes open, even with lines down the aisle, as workers stood around and watched. I went in before last year’s big snow – easily 40 people in 2 lines, while 3 cashiers stood around drinking coffee and doing nothing. Mind you, there are no self checkouts at this store. The customer’s needs were never any sort of priority at this place, and the manager should have been fired years ago.
The staff was rude, unhelpful and self-absorbed. The only travesty in this store closing is that those despicable employees will be sent to bring down other stores and drive away customers.
I shopped at Safeway exclusively for over 35 years, but this store has ensured that I will never shop at Safeway again. Many of my neighbors would tell you the same.
Hey Corporate – great work monitoring your brand standards. Good riddance, Hybla Valley Safeway. See you at Giant!!!
I’ve been to this store numerous times since it opened, and I have to agree with the above comment……It’s something about this store that never clicked. Maybe it was the demographics.
Worst store ever
Have you been to the Engleside Safeway?? Two lanes open tonight with about 15 people waiting to be checked out in each line. I would have preferred that Safeway leave Hybla Valley open and close Engleside. The whole shopping center at Engleside is bad.
I look for engleside to close it stinks in there bring in a food lion they have lost all old employee and young have no aptitude to do extra there are some good ones but that store has gone downhill did albertson take over
I avoid Engleside like I avoid mimes. Too seedy, and they have to have a security guard there at all times in the parking lot. Go to Belleview, at least they have self-checkout and it’s not shady like Engleside!
Bell view is the best one
Hybal Valley the worst ever. The store was great clean… it was just like everyone said horrible staff please do not send them to Bell view
We have a Wegmans people!
I shop the Engleside Store and have for about 40 years. I find the employees extremely helpful, can’t believe some of the comments above.
I think Safeway is suffering like a lot of these stores, they need MORE help. You can’t run a store of this size with 5 people including the management. They skimp on help and when you can’t find help or the store parking lots feel unsafe you’re going to lose business and fail. Look at Wegmans near hayfield the place is packed day and night and its because it has everything and A LOT of employees. Just my take on it.
Safeway has a lot of wonderful people working for them who are under stress from the corporate takeover from Albertsons ( I think ). At any given time there are several workers on the floor who are NOT authorized to run the checkout. As backup checkers, the store will use a stocker/checker when needed, and supervisors and managers, when possible. If you see a worker standing around in the aisles, and not on break or lunch, then you can be sure that they are not a checker, or not on duty.
I agree with linda. Engleside safeway is the worst safeway on the east coast. Very easy to throw up when you walk in. Smells like dead meat.
I am surprised they lasted this long and that the other Safeway, on Richmond highway, has not closed yet. Both stores had notoriously horrible management and poor service. They were poorly staffed as well. I remember waiting in line to cash out and spending more time in line than actually shopping. Also had issues with expired food for awhile. That was my last straw and once Wegmans opened up on Telegraph, I bolted for them and never looked back