Safeway

I often go to this store, but foods are all fresh. People are pretty nice, this store is my favorite!

Food here is ok. The slob manager who approached me to remove my service dog, that guy gets 0 stars — big bearded man with lots of mustard stains on his shirt, easy to spot

This place is located at the heart of Santa Clara, by SCU! I am privileged to live close to this area, so at time after work when I have to pick up something, it is conveniently close by! I always get the soda, milk, eggs, and yes… my beers (you read it right… beeerrrrrssss). They have a great selection of alcohol, so they get tons of kudos for that! The checkout though is a hit-​or-​miss situation, and not because the staff is incompetent or rude, it is because depending on the time and day that you shop, it can get quite busy! And remember, this place is very close to SCU, so you are competing with college students, with tons of beer at checkout!

Very limited options, but the convenience of it being right next to SCU. Lots of college students, long lines. There’s a Starbucks and a deli inside as well, both of which aren’t the best with two actual Starbucks locations located around campus, as well as Ike’s. I do commend their ice cream options, they have a lot more Ben and Jerry’s flavors than my local Safeway does, but still, I’d rather go to Safeway near my place.

I hate Safeway. I’ve never been in a Safeway that didn’t feel dirty. However, since this is the closest grocery store to the Rose Garden, that’s where I have to go. Someone explain to me why there are multi-​million dollar homes in the Silicon Valley, yet we cannot get a decent grocery store. Bristol Farms? Gelsons? come on. This Safeway specifically is ridiculous. They don’t carry many items I need, their ‘bakery’ section is a joke and no one who works there knows what they are doing. Why would you have a man working in the meat department that doesn’t know what Proscuitto is? And why would you have a man working in the produce department that doesn’t know how to tell if a watermelon is ripe? Their ‘bakery’ is always out of bread and the donuts section is always empty. The ‘deli’ has items that look like they have been sitting out for ages.

Chocolate mousse and drinks… could not get any simpler than that. in and out in ten minutes… the cake was delicious

Love the local Safeway! The deli workers are awesome and make huge sandwiches (the all meat). This place has been a god send for me during my time at Santa Clara University. I have a lot of friends at other universities who say that they hate going to the market because there isn’t one within walking distance of there campus. I don’t have a car, only a bike, so this Safeway has been essential for my quality of life here in Santa Clara. Awesome savings every week as well!

I’m happy to report a follow up regarding the towing incident:
I contacted Safeway regarding this towing incident, and I must say they were professional, and after a bit of persistency, they responded to me by e-​mail and a phone call. The district manager Kelli offered to give my son a store gift card (to help him with the hefty towing fee), so he can at least get back some of his hard-​earned summer money.
I appreciate the gesture and will be happy to resume my own shopping at my local Safeway.
Just beware… the property manager of that parking lot tows away many cars (he has a problem with limited parking due to several stores there using that parking lot, not just Safeway), so DO NOT PARK THERE unless you’re in and out of Safeway. You will be towed unfortunately (parking violation doesn’t seem to be an option according to Safeway).
Happy Shopping!

This place needs some work to be decent. This is the grocery store a lot of SJSU students use when school is in session. Its too small to handle so many people, I usually do my shopping during the evening to avoid this. Otherwise its pretty average for the most part. They don”t have super premium health food items but they have your typical fresh and frozen items, most of which are priced well.
They don’t have a large alcohol selection either, so if your looking for some special craft beers or something then it’s probably not the place. A huge improvement would be to add more cash registers and cashiers as the lines are usually long and slow. Unfortunately the deli is just terrible too, there was a new guy making my sandwich and he forgot a fair amount of the ingredients including onions which i love. I can forgive that, hell I’ve been there, but no matter the Safeway location I still end up disappointed with their sandwiches to the point where I’m just not going to bother anymore.
I have a feeling this Safeway will be hit or miss for a lot of people. My advice is if you live close then you might find it useful to shop here, otherwise I suggest you find another grocery store in the area.

Sandwich Section — ⁰⁄₅ — It’s really sad. Safeway sandwich used to be a great value. I noticed they took off the sign that says ‘your sandwich in 2 minutes or free.’ It was never 2 minutes, but it was at least close. The big lady that works here is awful. She made a very messy sandwich for the person in front of me very very slowly using one hand the whole time. The customer looked at me like «can you believe this?!» and I looked at her like «I don’t believe it.» The customer eventually spoke up at the end and asked «can you at least align the bread before wrapping it?» The worker reluctantly did and wrapped a messed up sandwich. I saw the avocado spread all inside the wrapper. When the worker got to me, she started coughing all over the place without covering her mouth. I just walked. I couldn’t do it. Where do you guys find these people?
There is ALWAYS a line at this Safeway. This Safeway has decent traffic from college students but yet always has 2 cash registers operating which results in a line all the time. Try 1pm or 9pm, the line is always long.
Parking is awful. Cramped and crowded.
On the bright side, the store is clean and produce /​meat /​dairy are very well stocked neatly. Great job to those guys and the reason why this Safeway gets 1 extra star.

It’s s Saturday at 4:30pm.
There are 2 cashiers open.
Each cashier has a line stretching halfway to the back of the store.
I’ve been coming here for over a year and this staff issue is a constant problem.
The selection isn’t the greatest, either.
The only reason I didn’t give 1 star is because the staff are nice and friendly.

I have visited many SafeWays in my years and this one is one of the stranger ones.
Strange parking lot set up and strange store layout. The aisles are narrow and its hard to navigate on a busy shopping day, and it seems this place is ALWAYS busy. If you have a plan you can be in and out in under 45 mins but it will take 20 mins to get to the cashier because they have so few working.
Obviously, they want more workers to help out and some of the people on here posting 1 star reviews, why dont you help them out and go get a side job there? You would think with USC across the street more kids would want that discount and extra cash, but nope.
Endless lines of people buying 3 or 4 items but they are standing in the regular line (not express) do you think that will get you out any faster? Seriously?
When I shop for the week or two with my lady, we are always between 2 people that are buying either: Vodka & Cran or Rum and Coke with Bud Light.
I get it, I was in college once too, but honestly some of these kids should consider getting a job there instead of complaining that there are not enough cashiers.
#FFS

I had a great experience at this Safeway, particularly with the deli and the Starbucks. The baristas were super friendly, conversational, and one of them even ran after us after we left because she wanted to make sure we got our receipt so we could get a pastry after 2pm for $ 1. Now THAT is great customer service! In terms of the deli, the worker was very accommodating and service-​oriented for whatever toppings we wanted on our breakfast sandwich (which are DELICIOUS) by the way, and definitely worth the $ 2.50.

It’s a pretty small Safeway, but it is open late (2am).
I generally get most of my shopping done at Trader Joes & the farmer’s market, but occasionally head to Safeway for stuff that I can’t get at either (generally that means packaged stuff that Trader Joes doesn’t have, like certain types of crackers, etc.) & household stuff (detergent, paper towels, etc.).
One time, I apparently was in line behind a 49ers player & ended up helping him. He was on his phone & trying to unload his basket of groceries onto the conveyer belt, then couldn’t find a spot to leave the basket because there was stuff in the way in the usual place where you leave them, but some room further back by where I was standing, so I told him «here, sir, give it to me, I’ll put back here» & took it from him. I didn’t know until the cashier said something to me about who he was after he left. And no, I don’t remember who it was.
Otherwise, there are a lot of SCU students that frequent it since it is right by campus.
The parking lot is kind of weird shaped, but at least it’s not really sketchy (unlike the one on San Carlos in San Jose).
Located between The Alameda & Park Ave. (there are driveways from both streets to enter the parking lot), near the intersection of The Alameda & El Camino Real.

This Safeway is average. Couple pros and cons.
Pros: It’s open until 2am on weekends, so that’s convenient if you need to get stuff late night. Also, it has a sandwich bar and sushi for lunch, which I don’t believe all Safeway stores have.
Cons: this Safeway is on the smaller end of grocery stores. It obviously has all of the essentials, but some of the specialty items and aisles aren’t as well stocked simply because of lack of capacity (eg Asian foods). Also, the lines are often super long at night. It’s kind of frustrating. I wish they had a group of self checkouts, but again space constraints.
I think 3 stars is a fair assessment. Not great but certainly not bad by any means.

I’m a fairly patient person. But this Safeway is probably the worst Safeway I’ve been to across Washington, Oregon, and California. They lack the consistency and quality of the other safe ways I’ve been to so far.
I inquired about the lack of self check out to a cashier and she mentioned that the store was «too small.» I’ve been to smaller stores with that service to its customers. That would remedy their biggest issue they have with long lines. They clearly don’t have enough employees at the register. Only two or three registers are open any given time I go there and there is ALWAYS a line.
I hate to complain but this has been my experience each time. Gotta fix that problem because I don’t mind the extra time driving to whole foods, flea market, or tj’s just for a better and seamless shopping experience.

I really want to like this Safeway! The others near my home have the worse parking lots! But I’ve just bought way too many expired foods here. Last week I bought Melt honey butter and it expire two months prior (2 months!!! does nobody check dates there?!) and yesterday I bought some iced coffee which expired 6 days prior. Not to mention the picture of the strawberries I posted. Those strawberries were on the corner of the display. It was literally the first thing I saw when I walked in. I mean come on! They had to have been molding for at least 2 – 3 days to be THAT bad. I swear I’m going to get sick one of these days! Is it even worth my time to exchange something I bought post-​expiration date worth a few bucks?!
The only reason they are getting 2 stars is I like the cashiers. Some have a lot of personality. But I’ll have to stop coming here in fear of getting sick. Buyer beware!
CHECK EXPIRATION DATES BEFORE BUYING!

Really, this place is kinda nasty. I mean their produce is meager to say the least. Sometimes it seems like the produce is actually rotten so I tend to stray away and only come for some of the staples. The staff is nice but during the evening there are generally really long lines, especially because it is the main grocery store for the students at Santa Clara University.
Here is the main reason for 1 star: I have also been coming here for 8 years and I have to say it really bothers me that the cashiers always give me shit for my ID. Look, I was young when I had the picture taken, but I have shown you my credit cards (all with the same name), and you have swiped it so stop giving me a hard time and holding the freaking line up! I understand that this is an issue as there are college kids who pull this crap all the time, but when you swipe it and it works and I show you other forms of ID, SELL ME THE PRODUCT and DO NOT GIVE ME A HARD TIME! That is rude and poor customer service!

What a nightmare of a Safeway. This place is a mess from when you walk in the door to check out. First problem, walking up there is only a single lonely cart outside and the wheel is locked to prevent it from being stolen. No big deal, there MUST be more carts inside. Nope! none inside either. I needed to send the husband out to the poorly lit parking lot to hunt down a cart.
Back inside, first stop… produce. Ugh what a disappointment!!! The fruit was moldy, bruised or badly damaged. Think strawberries covered with fuzz and bruised so bad that the cartons leak juice when you pick them up to move them out of the way trying to find something that might be edible and avocados smashed and split open. The whole department was in disarray. I ended up buying some green bananas that I’m just going to have to wait a few days to eat and a couple bags of spinach.
After walking around and filling our cart, we went to get in line. There were two express lines open with only one or two customers each and then a VERY long line that was helping everyone else. The line extended to the middle of the magazine aisle and moved terribly slowly. Here’s a thought, when this many people are waiting with full carts, close an express line and open a second line for those with full carts.
What a let down of a trip. I was so excited to think that I could combine my trip to Round Table next door and knock out my grocery shopping at the same time. I’ll need to make another trip to the Rivermark Safeway tomorrow.

When I first moved to this area I was a little leery about this Safeway and that it wasn’t new or remodeled yet… but I have definitely grown to love it. I now appreciate and love that this Safeway is still so small and most the time the staff is familiar and always so friendly too.
When college is in, this place can get really packed… but I haven’t experienced any super ridiculous lines where I just forfeit my cart and take off, like I’ve read in other reviews.
Anyway, this is my neighborhood Safeway and is always convenient for me and my family. Obviously I will be back!
Ohhhhhh and a Starbucks inside! Yes!