First LEED certified Safeway store opening

According to Central Coast News - KION,

"On Thursday, November 12th at 4:00 p.m. a new eco-friendly Safeway will open in the Almar Shopping center located at 2203 Mission Street in Santa Cruz. The 60,000 square foot facility is Safeway’s first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified store. The store features an extensive recycling and compost program, wind and solar power and local materials.

Over the next few months, final touches will be made on the with a goal of achieving a Gold or Platinum level LEED certification from the United States Green Building Council.The Event will also feature a check presentation to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County, live music, store tours and ‘a taste of Safeway."

I'm actually not crazy about the Safeway Bright Green products I've tried - they're ok, but nothing special. However, this LEED news is pretty cool. And so I went to check out their sustainability statement, which is pretty good actually. Also, for years now you've been able to find organics there - store brand USDA Organics, at a much lower cost than say Whole Food Organics.

Maybe Safeway is the new Whole Foods - of course they still carry a ton of non-eco-friendly products, but it's nice to see them taking steps to be greener.
 

What are the odds that you'd be a regular at that one store?! Too funny. I actually used to like Safeway a lot due to their organic brand, but right now I don't live near one - I've got a Trader Joes and Fred Meyers down the street, so I go there.

@Dana1981 - I know, it sucks that the better stores for natural goods are so few and far between, so when a larger chain tries, it's really nice. I used to go to Wild Oats ALL the time. In New Mexico there was one right by me, then Whole Foods bought them out and I almost had a heart attack. I was so used to Wild Oats, and they had their own reasonably priced organics, so it sucked. I'm waiting for another WO like store to arrive. Trader Joes is ok, but they don't have a great selection. I can't make a list and know that I'll fill it if I go there, so I don't go as often as I did to Wild Oats.