Safeway Inc. is an American supermarket chain founded in 1915. It is a subsidiary of Albertsons, and one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, with 2,200 stores. Safeway’s primary base of operations is in the western and central United States, with its headquarters in Pleasanton, California.
Safeway was founded by Marion B. Skaggs in April 1915 in American Falls, Idaho. Skaggs purchased his father-in-law’s grocery store which was then known as Safeway Stores Company.
The chain grew steadily throughout the 1920s as Skaggs merged with or acquired several regional grocery chains. By 1926, it operated 200 stores in 10 states.
In 1929, Safeway was acquired by Sam Seelig, who then expanded the company into California through a series of acquisitions that ended with Safeway’s acquisition of former competitor Purity Stores in 1946. Seelig died in 1948 and was succeeded by Robert Borschberg.
In 1959, Safeway entered Canada by acquiring the Provigo chain from Macdonald Tobacco. Provigo was then renamed Safeway Canada.
Safeway continued to expand throughout the 1960s and 1970s, becoming the dominant supermarket chain on the West Coast of the United States and Canada by 1980. In June 2015, Albertsons announced it would purchase Safeway for $9 billion.
Safeway is now called Albertsons in California.
