Safeway Food & Drug

I shop for all of my meat here. I eat lots of salmon and their pre cut salmon is always fresh. I occasionally will buy steak when it’s on sale. My favorite is when the Primo Taglio meat goes on sale for five dollars on Fridays. They also are the only place that carries sprouts out of the three grocery stores in my area. The only complaint I have is that their prices are a little high and I do the majority of my shopping at other stores to save money.

This was Rita Ranch’s first grocery store and it’s still an adequate and serviceable supermarket. The parking lot rarely overflows with traffic and there are always parking spots available relatively close to the enterance.
The problem lies with the setup of the store. For starters, it’s minuscule in comparison with most other Safeway locations and there are only a small handful of checkout stations; none of which are self-​service.
When it does get busy in there, it takes forever to shop and the checkout lines become absurdly long. Grocery stores or competitive with one another and always claim to have the lowest prices, but if Safeway ever makes that claim, they are flat-​out lying to you.
But what makes this supermarket passable is the quality of the vast majority of their products. At 4 pm daily, they put the most delicious fresh French bread out on the shelves in the bakery and the quality of their produce is difficult to beat.
In comparison to any nearby grocery store, you come here to avoid foot traffic and for a better quality product (for the most part). You won’t be blessed with elite customer service or low prices and during the more active shopping periods of the year, it can be a hassle to get around. Still, there is no reason to go out of your way to avoid this place and if you want impeccible bakery goods and produce, Safeway in Rita Ranch may be the place for you.

We always like Safeway. The store is smaller then the larger Fry’s in the neighborhood and it is easier to find what you want with out all the crowds. We also prefer there flower and balloon selection. The employees are great and always friendly. We also like the US Bank on the inside.

This is pretty much the closest store to my house, so I’ve been going there for years for grocery basics. It’s easy to find things, the staff is helpful, and overall, not bad at all for a supermarket.
Unfortunately, when I headed over to pick up some allergy medicine at 11ish on a Sunday night, I was robbed as I got in my car. The parking lot for the whole shopping complex, McDonald’s and all, was completely dead, so it was easy for two guys to drive up next to me, wave a gun in my face, and demand my purse before squealing off into the night. OK neighborhood, but next to no traffic in the evenings, so despite the good lighting in the lot, they had no problems causing trouble.
Granted, it’s not Safeway’s fault, it could happen anywhere, I suppose, but I will definitely be shopping elsewhere– somewhere busier, most likely– if I need to pick up groceries after dark.

I usually go a little out of my way to come here, because I don’t live in Rita Ranch. Why would I do something like that when there is a Fry’s a lot closer and the Commisary on base is convenient and both are cheaper? Simple, the Commisary annoys the shit out of me with all of the retirees trudging through there and the Fry’s on Irvington scares the shit out of me. Most people say that a Safeway is the same no matter where you go, and this is mostly true, but I’d put this one 2 steps above the Safeway on Golf Links and Wilmont and a step below the Safeway on Tanque Verde and Bear Canyon. I put it just below the latter for one simple reason: they do not have a consistent supply of ground bison at their meat department. I’m a bison whooore and if I can’t find it when I want it, I get cranky.
Lately this Safeway has bumped up its beer selection by adding in O’Dell IPA and a few Deschutes selections (mainly Black Butte Porter and Red Chair NWPA) so good on them for that. As for price, you ultimately get what you pay for here, I’m willing to pay a little extra to no almost run a retiree over at the Commisary or get shot/​stabbed at the Fry’s on Irvington.

I want to be very clear in saying that I don’t usually shop here. I was driving by and I saw a sign that said they were now roasting chilies. In my mind. .. . my tires screeched, the car came to an abrupt halt, the people in my car all lunged forward, a record scratched, and cars behind me all crashed into each other. In real life. .. my new car has new car breaks (besides I was driving like 5 MPH), I was driving by myself and no cars were behind me. Sorry for the lackluster dramas of real-​life.
Anyway, I was completely thrilled to see that there are chili roasters in my area now. Back in Texas, my grandma would buy some roasted chilies, remove the seeds, use some for salsa, freeze the rest then she’d give that all to me. Ah. .. I never had to worry about where to get salsa/​green chilies from. They came from grandma’s house, of course. It’s not the same case here. (I have to confess that she still sends some frozen packages over when my parents come visit) I used to live in a place where they roasted the chilies for you at every grocery store. I never even had to think about it. Here, I couldn’t find any roasters in the area. I’m soooooo glad to finally find one. Now all I have to work on is perfecting my grandma’s salsa recipe. The green enchilada recipe is in the bag!