Great job with food on the hot counter, scorching hot & fresh. I prefer the new way food is prepackaged separately. Makes it super easy to know how much items will be, without the sticker shock from weighing after you've already chosen food. The manager work's hard to keep this store up to fine standard's. I have seen him in a few Safeway stores over the year's. He is always hands on, and leads by example.
Van L.
Idk if your cashier Nick is transphobic or homophobic or just a j*** but I've had him twice as a cashier this month and his attitude was prominent. This last time it was between him and another worker to ring me up, he never really acknowledges me just talks under his breath to tell the other co-worker that he'll "ring the [uncomfortable-physical-descriptor] " as if I can't hear him.
Di L.
BEWARE OF OVERCHARGING! Stay FAR away unless you enjoy being outrageously overcharged for already overpriced items, then bullied by the manager and staff when you ask them to correct their mistake. Checker #1 charged me $8 for two ears of corn that were posted at $0.59 each, and a deli item that was supposedly on sale rang up at the regular price even though I had entered my member number. I didn't notice until I glanced at the receipt on my way out. There are very large signs above each checkout line with detailed policies about items being fully refunded when you are overcharged, plus $5 for each item. Now I know why. I have no doubt they regularly overcharge customers and most probably don't even notice, particularly since they don't provide a receipt unless you ask. Corporate HQ or the state/city probably requires them to post this policy due to repeated complaints. Safeway was also prosecuted for price gouging on hand sanitizer early in the pandemic. CHECK YOUR RECEIPTS or watch carefully when they're ringing up your items. Checker #2 said he would give me a refund but then tried to make me pay a second time for the overcharged items. I asked about the overcharge policy. He refused to honor it and said talk to the manager. When the manager Greg came around, he said he would have to re-scan every single item I had purchased instead of just giving me a refund on the overcharged items. At this point a quick trip for a few items had become a 45 minute long ordeal. I pointed to the overcharge refund sign overhead and asked how it worked. Greg argued that the policy did not apply because it was not a scanner malfunction, but that the checker entered the wrong produce number for the corn. So it's okay to overcharge your customers by 600%+ as long it's due to human error?! Not to mention the deli item was over charged due to a scanner "malfunction." After putting up a stink he finally relented but was absolutely furious about it and did not give me the full amount I was owed. Greg is a tall, burly man who intentionally stepped into the personal space of a five foot tall woman to try to intimidate me. Checker #3, who looks like a bouncer, stood behind behind him to complete the thug scene and followed me out of the store into the dark parking lot when I left. All because I had the audacity to (1) ask that they honor their refund policy for overcharging me on nearly half the items I purchased and (2) speaking up because I did not appreciate being given the runaround. Checker #1 casually watched his manager and other staff deal with this situation caused by his sloppy "mistakes" (though overcharging seems to be their standard operating procedure)...and he didn't appear the least bit concerned about the problems he caused. It's clear from the manager on down, none of the staff here care to do their jobs with any degree of accuracy or worry about being held accountable for their mistakes or blatant price gouging. There is a palpable level of contempt for their customers. It makes me wonder about their attention to health codes, particularly because they did not have any hand sanitizer at the door on my way out. (I wanted to disinfect my hands after they gave me cash instead of refunding my credit card as initially requested.) Not good on a day when the governor reissued new COVID shut down orders for nearly the entire state. This was my first and last visit to the Solano Avenue Andronico's, and I have to say it was traumatizing. I will stick with Trader Joe's, where they do not overcharge or bully their customers, gladly issue refunds on any item, and take COVID precautions and food safety seriously.
Colby S.
Shame on whomever works at the seafood counter!Ordered two pounds of Dungeness crab through Instacart and when I opened the bag I nearly barfed! It was AT LEAST 48 hours past the day it should have been thrown out, if not longer. There's no possible way the seafood counter-person couldn't tell it was bad. It REEKED. Threw it out hours ago and my kitchen is STILL hummin'! And the window is open!!Wow.
S P.
I was very sad when Safeway bought this store. I had been going to this particular store for 30 years. It was always stocked with local foods and various gourmet items. When Safeway took it over it lost its unique quality, and its customer base. Then gradually it started to recreate itself as the former store again; the deli going on and the unique products started reappearing along with their customers. They even changed the name back to Andronico's. All was fine until the Covid19 hit. Then every worker in the store became rude and unhelpful. Some were even hostile. The only pleasant person was the guard in the parking lot. The usual clerks seemed to have left and were replaced with some very unpleasant people. I don't understand it but I'm done! They could definitely learn something from Trader Joe's!
Jimmy D.
I don't understand the negative reviews. I shop at all the neighborhood grocery stores often. Natural Grocery El Cerrito, Safeway Albany, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's. They all have their strengths. Traders Joes is my least favorite. The selection is so limited, and not very healthy, or fresh imo. Natural is good, but expensive. Safeway is perfectly right down the line. The best selection of just about everything and priced well. Andronico's is Safeway, so it gives you the Safeway basics plus the bonus of a community market feel. The customers, cashiers, baggers, deli, bakery. All of them, the friendliest have all been great every time I've shopped there. It does have a lot elderly customers. Despite the critical reviews, I'm sure most of them love this store.
Abrem Wendy Estorga
Hands down some of THE BEST sourdough bread I’ve ever had!!! Available at Costco and local grocery stores. Well done.
Andrea G.
I was surprised at how rude the manager and checkout clerk were when I declined the use of their bags for my groceries. The manager berated me for not reading the signs explaining their new policy. It was dark and I hadn't noticed them. The checkout clerk piled the next customer's groceries on top of mine before I could finish collecting mine. It's clear they don't need my business.
Chester Evesong
Best sourdough bread. Ever.
Gina Welch
When our son was diagnosed with many different allergies, one of them was baking yeast. He had just started kindergarten (1994) and I was trying to figure out how to pack him school lunches that would include foods that he could eat! Eventually I came across this sourdough bread that was naturally fermented without yeast! It was delicious and he loved it!! My favorite is to toast it and enjoy with a sunny-side egg for breakfast. I give it 5 stars, or 2 thumbs up, or an A+ But, whatever scale you use, IT’S GOOD!
I called customer service today on behalf of neighbors in the Thousand Oaks neighborhood adjacent to the market at the top of Solano Ave. I explained I was on the board of the TO Neighborhood Assoc. and many neighbors were asking if there was a plan to make dedicated senior hour(s) for neighbors to shop, given the restrictions placed on seniors to stay at home, except for grocery shopping, etc. Many of our senior neighbors shop at this market and have for many years. The woman I spoke to said we could shop at the Safeway down the street, in Albany, and they now have dedicated senior hours for shopping during the Covid-19 pandemic. I asked her if they would consider a similar senior hour and she hung up. Yes, she hung up on me. This person should not be working in customer service. I know these are trying times but really.
Megan S.
My husband is elderly and has been trading at this market for a long time. We spend alot of money at the Solano Ave store...daily. Lately, he stands at the meat counter to wait for service and the person in the back ignores him completely. No one should have to wait for service, especially when they are the only customer in line. No excuses! You treat customers like the folks that are keeping your business open....because they are. Today, he waited for at least 5 minutes and he saw someone that was clearly in the back. Another employee came and asked if he had been helped, he said "No" and she just went on about her business. Finally he said "Forget this" and was walking away, when the employee in the back came out and said "Can I help you?" I mean, come on, surely you can do better than this! He says there is no bell to ring for service..... Please tell your employees in the back to check once in awhile to see if someone is there. I, myself, would have yelled out. :Can I get some service?" , but he is older and does not want to nor should have to do this. Fix it or we are going elsewhere.
Thomas C.
So Safeway is taking a page from Starbucks and opening locations every 1000 ft. It's totally stupid. There's already a Safeway on the same street, and through the tunnel on the same street is another Safeway in Berkeley about 5 minutes away. So driving on one street, you pass 3 Safeways is very...retarded. That's the only way to describe Safeway corporate at this point. It's an eye sore. You have traffic all the time. But Berkeley is the capitol of stupid.
titania b.
There was not a single head of iceberg lettuce in the produce section, and there was not a single shelf tag or sign - really, no indication whatsoever - that the store intended to stock iceberg lettuce. There was no produce stocker, and when the grocery clerk paged the produce department for me, twice, there was no response. The attitude of the grocery clerk was that finding someone from the produce department would be a waste of time. Clearly, Safeway has no intention of keeping this store open.
pam s.
What is up with the Wells Fargo ATM at this Safeway-used-to-was- Andronicos? It is out of order 1/2 of the time. I dash in to get money and milk or scones or sandwiches or ice cream and end up having to make two trips instead of one. One to the Safeway-used-to-was-Andronicos and then while the ice cream melts to the ATMs at the Wells down the street. Hey Wells, Safeway, whoever please fix this machine or get a freakin' new one that works 98% of the time. Wells is making a billion dollars, surely you all can fork over a couple of bucks for a new ATM in the Safeway-used-to-was-Andronicos. Two trips combined into one good for me, good for environment (less gas, less traffic).
Great job with food on the hot counter, scorching hot & fresh. I prefer the new way food is prepackaged separately. Makes it super easy to know how much items will be, without the sticker shock from weighing after you've already chosen food. The manager work's hard to keep this store up to fine standard's. I have seen him in a few Safeway stores over the year's. He is always hands on, and leads by example.
Idk if your cashier Nick is transphobic or homophobic or just a j*** but I've had him twice as a cashier this month and his attitude was prominent. This last time it was between him and another worker to ring me up, he never really acknowledges me just talks under his breath to tell the other co-worker that he'll "ring the [uncomfortable-physical-descriptor] " as if I can't hear him.
BEWARE OF OVERCHARGING! Stay FAR away unless you enjoy being outrageously overcharged for already overpriced items, then bullied by the manager and staff when you ask them to correct their mistake. Checker #1 charged me $8 for two ears of corn that were posted at $0.59 each, and a deli item that was supposedly on sale rang up at the regular price even though I had entered my member number. I didn't notice until I glanced at the receipt on my way out. There are very large signs above each checkout line with detailed policies about items being fully refunded when you are overcharged, plus $5 for each item. Now I know why. I have no doubt they regularly overcharge customers and most probably don't even notice, particularly since they don't provide a receipt unless you ask. Corporate HQ or the state/city probably requires them to post this policy due to repeated complaints. Safeway was also prosecuted for price gouging on hand sanitizer early in the pandemic. CHECK YOUR RECEIPTS or watch carefully when they're ringing up your items. Checker #2 said he would give me a refund but then tried to make me pay a second time for the overcharged items. I asked about the overcharge policy. He refused to honor it and said talk to the manager. When the manager Greg came around, he said he would have to re-scan every single item I had purchased instead of just giving me a refund on the overcharged items. At this point a quick trip for a few items had become a 45 minute long ordeal. I pointed to the overcharge refund sign overhead and asked how it worked. Greg argued that the policy did not apply because it was not a scanner malfunction, but that the checker entered the wrong produce number for the corn. So it's okay to overcharge your customers by 600%+ as long it's due to human error?! Not to mention the deli item was over charged due to a scanner "malfunction." After putting up a stink he finally relented but was absolutely furious about it and did not give me the full amount I was owed. Greg is a tall, burly man who intentionally stepped into the personal space of a five foot tall woman to try to intimidate me. Checker #3, who looks like a bouncer, stood behind behind him to complete the thug scene and followed me out of the store into the dark parking lot when I left. All because I had the audacity to (1) ask that they honor their refund policy for overcharging me on nearly half the items I purchased and (2) speaking up because I did not appreciate being given the runaround. Checker #1 casually watched his manager and other staff deal with this situation caused by his sloppy "mistakes" (though overcharging seems to be their standard operating procedure)...and he didn't appear the least bit concerned about the problems he caused. It's clear from the manager on down, none of the staff here care to do their jobs with any degree of accuracy or worry about being held accountable for their mistakes or blatant price gouging. There is a palpable level of contempt for their customers. It makes me wonder about their attention to health codes, particularly because they did not have any hand sanitizer at the door on my way out. (I wanted to disinfect my hands after they gave me cash instead of refunding my credit card as initially requested.) Not good on a day when the governor reissued new COVID shut down orders for nearly the entire state. This was my first and last visit to the Solano Avenue Andronico's, and I have to say it was traumatizing. I will stick with Trader Joe's, where they do not overcharge or bully their customers, gladly issue refunds on any item, and take COVID precautions and food safety seriously.
Shame on whomever works at the seafood counter!Ordered two pounds of Dungeness crab through Instacart and when I opened the bag I nearly barfed! It was AT LEAST 48 hours past the day it should have been thrown out, if not longer. There's no possible way the seafood counter-person couldn't tell it was bad. It REEKED. Threw it out hours ago and my kitchen is STILL hummin'! And the window is open!!Wow.
I was very sad when Safeway bought this store. I had been going to this particular store for 30 years. It was always stocked with local foods and various gourmet items. When Safeway took it over it lost its unique quality, and its customer base. Then gradually it started to recreate itself as the former store again; the deli going on and the unique products started reappearing along with their customers. They even changed the name back to Andronico's. All was fine until the Covid19 hit. Then every worker in the store became rude and unhelpful. Some were even hostile. The only pleasant person was the guard in the parking lot. The usual clerks seemed to have left and were replaced with some very unpleasant people. I don't understand it but I'm done! They could definitely learn something from Trader Joe's!
I don't understand the negative reviews. I shop at all the neighborhood grocery stores often. Natural Grocery El Cerrito, Safeway Albany, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's. They all have their strengths. Traders Joes is my least favorite. The selection is so limited, and not very healthy, or fresh imo. Natural is good, but expensive. Safeway is perfectly right down the line. The best selection of just about everything and priced well. Andronico's is Safeway, so it gives you the Safeway basics plus the bonus of a community market feel. The customers, cashiers, baggers, deli, bakery. All of them, the friendliest have all been great every time I've shopped there. It does have a lot elderly customers. Despite the critical reviews, I'm sure most of them love this store.
Hands down some of THE BEST sourdough bread I’ve ever had!!! Available at Costco and local grocery stores. Well done.
I was surprised at how rude the manager and checkout clerk were when I declined the use of their bags for my groceries. The manager berated me for not reading the signs explaining their new policy. It was dark and I hadn't noticed them. The checkout clerk piled the next customer's groceries on top of mine before I could finish collecting mine. It's clear they don't need my business.
Best sourdough bread. Ever.
When our son was diagnosed with many different allergies, one of them was baking yeast. He had just started kindergarten (1994) and I was trying to figure out how to pack him school lunches that would include foods that he could eat! Eventually I came across this sourdough bread that was naturally fermented without yeast! It was delicious and he loved it!! My favorite is to toast it and enjoy with a sunny-side egg for breakfast. I give it 5 stars, or 2 thumbs up, or an A+ But, whatever scale you use, IT’S GOOD!
Restaurantji Recommends
I called customer service today on behalf of neighbors in the Thousand Oaks neighborhood adjacent to the market at the top of Solano Ave. I explained I was on the board of the TO Neighborhood Assoc. and many neighbors were asking if there was a plan to make dedicated senior hour(s) for neighbors to shop, given the restrictions placed on seniors to stay at home, except for grocery shopping, etc. Many of our senior neighbors shop at this market and have for many years. The woman I spoke to said we could shop at the Safeway down the street, in Albany, and they now have dedicated senior hours for shopping during the Covid-19 pandemic. I asked her if they would consider a similar senior hour and she hung up. Yes, she hung up on me. This person should not be working in customer service. I know these are trying times but really.
My husband is elderly and has been trading at this market for a long time. We spend alot of money at the Solano Ave store...daily. Lately, he stands at the meat counter to wait for service and the person in the back ignores him completely. No one should have to wait for service, especially when they are the only customer in line. No excuses! You treat customers like the folks that are keeping your business open....because they are. Today, he waited for at least 5 minutes and he saw someone that was clearly in the back. Another employee came and asked if he had been helped, he said "No" and she just went on about her business. Finally he said "Forget this" and was walking away, when the employee in the back came out and said "Can I help you?" I mean, come on, surely you can do better than this! He says there is no bell to ring for service..... Please tell your employees in the back to check once in awhile to see if someone is there. I, myself, would have yelled out. :Can I get some service?" , but he is older and does not want to nor should have to do this. Fix it or we are going elsewhere.
So Safeway is taking a page from Starbucks and opening locations every 1000 ft. It's totally stupid. There's already a Safeway on the same street, and through the tunnel on the same street is another Safeway in Berkeley about 5 minutes away. So driving on one street, you pass 3 Safeways is very...retarded. That's the only way to describe Safeway corporate at this point. It's an eye sore. You have traffic all the time. But Berkeley is the capitol of stupid.
There was not a single head of iceberg lettuce in the produce section, and there was not a single shelf tag or sign - really, no indication whatsoever - that the store intended to stock iceberg lettuce. There was no produce stocker, and when the grocery clerk paged the produce department for me, twice, there was no response. The attitude of the grocery clerk was that finding someone from the produce department would be a waste of time. Clearly, Safeway has no intention of keeping this store open.
What is up with the Wells Fargo ATM at this Safeway-used-to-was- Andronicos? It is out of order 1/2 of the time. I dash in to get money and milk or scones or sandwiches or ice cream and end up having to make two trips instead of one. One to the Safeway-used-to-was-Andronicos and then while the ice cream melts to the ATMs at the Wells down the street. Hey Wells, Safeway, whoever please fix this machine or get a freakin' new one that works 98% of the time. Wells is making a billion dollars, surely you all can fork over a couple of bucks for a new ATM in the Safeway-used-to-was-Andronicos. Two trips combined into one good for me, good for environment (less gas, less traffic).