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the reason why Vons choose to name certain Pavilions stores "Pavilions Place" is because the pavilions place name was used for pavilions stores that where in a "mall center" with a lot of little stores surrounding it....sorta like a strip mall but bigger....

Hmmmmmmm......but was not the small store on Beverwill and Olympic (not sure of this cross street) in Beverly Hills called Pavillions Place?

I do not remember any little stores next to it nor would I call it a mall. There is a 2 story parking structure next to it. The parking lot is very small.

????

:)

I gotta agree with Steve... I believe the Sherman Oaks store was also a "Place" and the only other thing with it on the property is a Wells Fargo in the parking lot.

If you look at the big signs in the parking lot, you'll see the Pavilions name with the pink and purple chevrons next to it. Where those chevrons are is where it used to say "Place." When they removed the Place name they replaced that part of the sign. IIRC, the signs on the stores had "Place" in neon but I could be wrong on that.

I think the thing that distinguised the Place stores from the regular Pavilions is that they were the size of regular markets (which makes sense because they were former Safeways) and didn't have all the stuff in a big Pavilions.

And it seems to me that the store on Olympic still had the Place name on it until they remodeled it in the last couple of years. (Again, I could be wrong. I don't drive down that way very often.)

One more thing, I was looking at some Pavilions stores using my new friend maps.a9.com and found one that still says "Pavilions Place": the store in Pasadena on the corner of California and Lake.

Picture is at http://images-yp.amazon.com/ImageServer ... BiYHzsGu0=

the pavilions on santa monica and robertson used to be called a pavilions place and that store is pretty big....the one in torrance also is called pavilions place and its a decent size with a bakery and service deli....maybe the name "pavilions place" was only for certain areas...like upper class and middle class...??

Isnt it on California and Pasadena Ave, at the 710 freeway in pasadena.
It still is a Pavillions Place.

The address is 845 E. California. According to Google Maps (which has been known to be wrong in the case of, oh, my own house) it's on the corner of California and Lake.

It looks like there's a regular Vons at California and Pasadena.

aaaahhhhhhh yes, that's right. I remember now. I was getting this confused with the Wild Oats Market that's across the way.

I agree with the reasoning of the SIZE designated the PLACE.

There was a PLACE in LA HABRA CA, on Imperial Hwy...it had been a smaller Safeway.

I'd have to look at the center again...but I believe it was located where Ross is currently.

I found a shopping center in Westminster CA...where the entire center is called Pavilions Place!

http://maps.google.com/maps/place?hl=en ... 1506249195

The site is anchored with Pavilions AND a Target. Funny how the Pavilions Place name is for the entire location. Possibly there was a Pavilions Place STORE at one time...and the name stuck after all these years?

There is even a Pavilions Place Cleaners !

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source= ... earch+Maps

I didn't realize I had missed this thread originally.

I worked for Safeway in 1988 when Vons took over. In fact my store at Santa Monica & Robinson became a Pavilions Place.

The reasoning was simple: The Safeway stores that were in affluent neighborhoods and better suited for the Pavilions format instead of Vons were not nearly as big as the ten or so Pavilions stores that had been built by that time and would not be able to feature all the specialty departments.

The largest of the converted Safeways was West Hollywood at 42,000 square feet and the smallest Beverly Hills at 15,000 square feet. By contrast the smallest Pavilions at that time was 52,000 square feet and the largest was 70,000 square feet.

So Vons created the Pavilions Place format to distinguish the smaller stores although the 'Place' designation has since been quietly dropped.

thanks klkla!

Has Pavilions evolved into more of the mainline Vons?

Walked through the site in Westminster...and it seemed like a lifestyled Vons.

Am I missing the main differences?

thanks!

The Torrance Pavilions Place is currently under remodel. When complete it will be changed over to the Vons brand.

I went to a Pavilions a couple years ago in, I don't remember, Thousand Oaks or something. There was a Fresh & Easy across the street.

Anyway I was very underwhelmed by the place. It was no different at all than a standard average lifestyle Safeway other than having a different layout. I say "average lifestyle Safeway" because I have seen some lifestyle Safeways that actually had more extensive and larger fresh food offerings than this Pavilions had. I was so disappointed and underwhelmed. My prior visits to Pavilions had been in 2000 and the stores were fantastic. All kinds of store prepared produce items, cut melon, store prepared deli salads, store prepared bakery items. Quality was excellent.

Safeway also modified the Pavilions logo so it no longer had the X or V's under it. There were sign scars on the storefront from this signage being removed.

Overall it sure was sterile and Pavilions is a sad shadow of its former self.

storewanderer wrote:I went to a Pavilions a couple years ago in, I don't remember, Thousand Oaks or something. There was a Fresh & Easy across the street.

Anyway I was very underwhelmed by the place. It was no different at all than a standard average lifestyle Safeway other than having a different layout. I say "average lifestyle Safeway" because I have seen some lifestyle Safeways that actually had more extensive and larger fresh food offerings than this Pavilions had. I was so disappointed and underwhelmed. My prior visits to Pavilions had been in 2000 and the stores were fantastic. All kinds of store prepared produce items, cut melon, store prepared deli salads, store prepared bakery items. Quality was excellent.

Safeway also modified the Pavilions logo so it no longer had the X or V's under it. There were sign scars on the storefront from this signage being removed.

Overall it sure was sterile and Pavilions is a sad shadow of its former self.

Exactly.

The uniquenesss of Pavilions is fading away into a VONS/Safeway format. Wonder how long that they will keep the name.

You mentioned the change in the logo. Seems that they have axed the purple colors as well...and gone to strictly black.