New Safeway opens Friday

The Whitefish Safeway grocery store, which has been closed since Sept. 1, 2008, will open Friday.

The rebuilt and expanded 52,226-square-foot grocery store will have several specialty departments, including an organic-food section, a scratch bakery and a Starbucks coffee kiosk.

The final cost of the new store is $16.6 million.

Whitefish City Council member Nancy Woodruff said she is pleased with the new structure.

"It's a really nice-looking building," she said. "The landscaping is looking great."

Woodruff said the building's successful design is a result of the combination of Safeway's intention to create an upscale store and the city's process of repeatedly reviewing the corporation's design plans.

"I've only heard positive comments so far and I like it," Woodruff said. "Safeway has been here a long time and we're glad to have them."

Safeway has been a part of the business community in Whitefish for 71 years.

The store's reconstruction plans got off to a bumpy start in 2007. The Whitefish Architectural Review Committee met with Safeway officials several times before approving the project. As the City Council dealt with concerns such as landscaping and the location of a loading dock, a petition signed by 1,500 Whitefish residents supporting the expansion project nudged the council's decision forward.

At a June 2007 public hearing, the council approved the conditional-use permit in front of a standing-room-only crowd. The Safeway project was the first commercial building subjected to a new city law requiring conditional-use permits for buildings larger than 15,000 square feet.

"Some good things take a long time," Safeway spokeswoman Cherie Myers said. "We're pleased we're going to be opening this store. We will always be in Whitefish."

Myers said that the increased size of the store will help Whitefish economically.

"The tax base will double from what it was, which will help the city," Myers said.

Woodruff also said that the new jobs the larger store created will benefit the Whitefish community.

Of the 38 employees who were furloughed when Safeway closed for reconstruction, 33 have returned, Myers said. Of the five who did not, one retired, one found another job and three students moved on, she said. Safeway has hired 92 new employees for the store.

"People need jobs," Myers said. "They need to work for a company where they never have to worry about their checks bouncing."

Safeway Inc. is one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America, based on sales. The company, which began in American Falls, Idaho, operates 1,775 stores in the United States and Canada.

"I think people are curious," Woodruff said of the grand reopening this week. "A lot of people will be ready to check it out."

The store officially opens at 8 a.m. Friday, but there will be a public preview party on Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m.

Reporter K.J. Hascall may be reached at 758-4439 or by e-mail at kjhascall@dailyinterlake.com