Aerial image of South Commercial Street (c. 1955-1975). WHC Collections 2006.001.0196 – detail

It all started with an unidentified aerial photograph.  Squinting through the magnifying glass I was just able to make out a familiar “S” symbol.  “Jackpot!” I thought! How many Safeway stores could there have been on Commercial Street anyways?  As it turns out the answer is seven – seven[1] different locations on just Commercial Street in the last ninety years.  And that is not counting the number of stores elsewhere in the city (my current tally is at least 21 different locations in all).  My jackpot soon turned into a rabbit hole, and then quasi-obsession.  As I dug through the old photographs of Safeways in the city, I would marvel at the shear number and how quickly things changed.  It has only been 50 years, but how many folks remember on their trip to browse the liquor selections at the Capital Market, that the building was once a Safeway?  While my newly envisioned driving tour of old Salem Safeways (campy pandemic entertainment at its finest) may never take off, the chain’s slow march down Commercial Street provides an interesting look into the history of Salem’s growth and the way we get our groceries.

Skaggs United: A New Approach

It all started at 162 N. Commercial Street (now part of the parking lot south of the Bike Peddler[2]) on June 4, 1921, when Skaggs United opened its first store in Salem.  The Skaggs chain was started by a Baptist Minister in Idaho who was on a mission to change the way groceries were bought.  He thought buying food on credit (rather than cash) increased prices and that customers should be able to reach the items they were buying, rather than wait for a clerk to get it for them.  By the time the Salem store opened, they advertised: “our policy is the modern idea in Cash buying and selling, and we adhere strictly to this policy.  We buy in very large quantities for CASH, assuring us the largest possible discounts.”[3]  The store also took a different tactic on sales.  Their advertisements warned they didn’t offer “’specials’ on certain articles to attract you to our store and then betray your confidence by selling you other items bearing an exorbitant profit.  But our prices are consistent throughout, and with our tremendous volume and low operating expense, we require only a small margin of profit.” [4]  What might you have been able to purchase that first week of operation?  Offerings included a 10 lbs. bag of Blue Rose rice for 59 cents, a 9 lbs. can of Crisco of $1.65 and the oddly proportioned 2 ½ cans of Del Monte Sliced Pineapple for 29 cents. [5]

Merger Creates 1st Salem Safeway

In 1926, the Skaggs corporation merged with Safeway Stores, Inc. based in Southern California to become the “largest grocery concern in the west” with over 900 retail food stores.  The headline for the merger read: “Distribution without Waste!” and pushed home the idea that the bigger the conglomeration, the lower the cost of food available to the customer.[6]  Soon after the merger, a new Skaggs-Safeway store was opened a block north of the previous at 270 N. Commercial Street[7] (now part of the Chemeketa Parkade Parking garage, just north of the Art Department[8]).

When Safeway took over the premises of the delightfully named “Pay’n Takit” store at 935 S. Commercial (northwest corner of Commercial and Kearney streets, across from today’s Konditorei) in 1935, they announced it as a marriage “for betterin’ your purse.”  They don’t make advertisements quite the way they used to.  The actual announcement in the Capital Journal, above an illustration of two cartoons characters in wedding attire with stores for heads, reads: “Everybody loves a wedding. When Safeway popped the question, Pay’n Takit said yes, willingly, joyously, unanimously!  And now Pay’n Takit takes the name of Safeway—and you’ll be happy ever after!  Seriously, though, this is the most progressive step of Safeway’s history in Salem.  It means larger purchasing power, greater efficiency of operation, improved facilities for service, and closer understanding of producer and consumer problems…”  In case you were wondering, yes they did serve real wedding cake at all Safeway stores to celebrate the merger.[9]  It is interesting to note that the merger, and Safeway’s expansion to operating three stores in Salem all happened in the middle of the Great Depression.  By the end of greatest economic disaster the country had ever seen, Safeway was operating five stores in the city.[10]

The post WWII economy saw a nation-wide housing boom.  This seems to have manifested itself locally in the development of South Salem neighborhoods.  Safeway moved south to accommodate some of this population shift.  In 1955[11], a brand-new store was opened at 2575 Commercial Street (Commercial and Boice Streets).  You’ve probably driven by the building before.  It doesn’t look much like a grocery store today, and in fact serves as the Salem Keizer School District offices and in pre-covid times hosted many a school board meeting.  The new store amenities sound fantastical.  Set in “gorgeous pastel decorator colors” shoppers were treated to “72 feet of self-service meat display cases;” “Soft, relaxing music piped into store by radio;” “Scientifically Engineered Lighting;” an “Early American Bakery Goods Alcove;” “New Magic-Carpet Exit Doors” and “Baby Seats on Every Shopping Basket.”

Capital Journal. 14 Dec 1955. Advertisement for new Safeway Store.

If anybody was wondering what the shelf life is of a new grocery store, it would appear to be about 20 years.  At least that is how long it took for the store at 2575 Commercial to be replaced by a newer store at 3285 Commercial (now Wilco) in 1975.[12]  This iteration lasted marginally longer until 2010, the victim of a tough economy and increasing competitors.[13]  One of those competitors seems to be Safeway itself.  In 2002, a new store, yet further south on Commercial (5660 Commercial St) was built according to new trends – big stores, with a lot of options and a gas station.  At the time of its opening Safeway spokeswoman Bridget Flanagan stated: “Safeway is following a national trend of grocery stores becoming larger, primarily because of today’s sophisticated, knowledgeable and well-traveled customer…Today’s consumer expects to be able to find a lot of different types of products.  They want choices and they are very busy.”[14]  While it may seem unfathomable today, at the time of its planning, the new location so far south was a bit of a gamble, banking on an increase in residential growth out south.[15]  Still going strong after 19 years, it would seem that the gamble paid off.  Although if history does indeed repeat itself, it may be getting close to time for a new store even further south?

References:

[1] City directories list stores at 162, 270, 184 No. Commercial Street and 935, 2575, 3258, 5660 South Commercial Street.

[2] Reference 1926 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map for Salem, which shows the address on the east side of Commercial between State and Court Streets about mid-block.

[3] Advertisement.  Oregon Statesman 03 Jun 1921 pg. 3.

[4] Advertisement.  Oregon Statesman 03 Jun 1921 pg. 3.

[5] Advertisement.  Oregon Statesman 03 Jun 1921 pg. 3.

[6] “Stores Announce Merger.  Oregon Statesman. 04 Nov 1926, pg. 1.;   Advertisement.  Capital Journal 12 Nov 1926 pg. 11.

[7] 1928-29 City directory lists store at 270 N. Commercial.

[8] See 1926 Sanborn Map for Salem which shows 270 Commercial as on the east side of the street between Court and Chemeketa Streets to the northern half of the block.

[9] Advertisement.  Capital Journal 09 Aug 1935, pg. 10

[10] See 1938/39 City directory.  Stores at 1108 Broadway, 1978-80 N. Capitol; 184 N. Commercial; 935 S. Commercial; 1288 State Street.

[11] Note, Marion County Assessor’s records states build date of 1956.  This is inaccurate.  Newspaper article, showing photograph of store published in the Capital Journal 14 Dec 1955 pg. 13, requiring at least a 1955 build date.

[12] Advertisement Capital Journal 05 Mar 1975 pg. 18.  Grand Opening New Store

[13] Campi, Tarah. “South Salem Will Lose Safeway Store in April.”  Statesman Journal. 24 Mar 2010 pg. 69

[14] Rorem, Shawna. “Facilities grow so firms can reach more customers.” Statesman Journal.  06 Oct 2002, pg. 37

[15] Currie, Don.  “Safeway Considers New Salem Store.” Statesman Journal. 16 May 2001 pg. 16

This article was written by Kylie Pine and appeared in the Statesman Journal April 2021.  It is reproduced here with citations for reference purposes.