Safeway

Clean & friendly, but that’s no good if you can’t make it to the checkout in a reasonable amount of time! The lines for checkout blocked the aisles & wrapped around others. Asked an available employee if there was any help available, he said the aisles that were open were the only that would be open. Unpleasant shopping experience.

I wish I liked this place more. It is not the worst grocery store and it certainly is not the best.
The cashiers are SLOW, SLOW, SLOW. I have stopped coming here because there is always a line and only two cash registers open and they move as though we all have nothing better to do than read the People magazine on the rack.
My major complaint about this Safeway is the produce. Too many times have we purchased stuff that goes bad quickly. And we once bought sunflower seeds that were super expensive and were rancid.
I come here when I absolutely have no other option. I even go to the Kahala Whole Foods before here and this Safeway is 10 minutes walking from my house. Prices seem comparable to Whole Foods so why should I shop here?

Wow, I shop here all the time and the customer service female was awful!!! I called to see if they sold pumpkins and how much they are. The answer I got from her was «yes, we have pumpkins but I don’t know how much they are»…with the tone that I was annoying her. So my next question was «How much are they? Can you give me a price range because I have no idea?». Her answer was «I don’t know because I’m not a cashier!». With the tone of you are really bothering me now! I just said «Wow!» Then… at least she transferred me to someone in the produce Dept that was helpful. But her attitude needs to be fixed because Safeway has probably lost some business because of her and in the grocery industry, the margins are so low that you can’t afford this kind of customer service.
Management, so you can train your customer service agent properly or take corrective action… this conversation happened on Oct 26, 2015 around 4:45pm.
By the way, your cashiers are awesome!!!
Hope this helps!

I normally do most of my shopping at Safeway but after seeing this moldy mochi still on the shelves tonight, 3 days after the sell by date, I may start doing my shopping elsewhere. I always just assumed that someone went through the baked goods daily and pulled out the expired products… two days maybe… but leaving food out long enough to grow mold is disgusting and unacceptable. If I come back you can bet that I’ll be taking a closer look before buying any of their breads, bagels, donuts, etc and I would advise everyone else to do the same.

The staff here at this Safeway is extremely friendly and outgoing. They go out of their way for you and in my opinion provide the best customer service of any Safeway store. The store is also always fully stocked and well organized.

This is hands down my favorite Safeway. It’s never too crowded and most of the employees are extremely friendly. The selection is your average Safeway fare. While I readily admit I’m no Giada in the kitchen, I really just go for the basics: eggs, milk, bread, etc.
I appreciate that the store is relatively small compared to the other locations, so I don’t have to embark on a long journey to find my items. The Deli counter is also a great place to grab a quick, cheap lunch.
Cons: During peak hours (4 – 6 pm), they typically only have 2 – 3 check out stands open and their old-​timer cashiers tend to lack a sense of urgency as they favor briefly talking story with the regulars over expediency.
Parking: Ample, but may be difficult to find during the lunchtime hours (11 am-​1 pm).
Fun fact: I was told by my Wisconsinite cheese-​bleeding friend that he answered an online survey and commented on their lack of a cheese selection. The manager promptly responded and noted his recommendations. So, for you cheese-​loving folks, be on the look out for a (possible) expanded cheese selection.

While on our way to visit the Manoa Falls on scooters, with only hours left on our vacation to Honolulu, we stopped in this Safeway to refill our water and get some snacks. I bought a bottle of SmartWater ($ 1.79), a container of poke garlic soybeans ($ 4.64 — priced by weight), and an 8oz sea salt grinder ($ 6.99 — with dried vinegar and red chili flakes too). Sandi was our cashier and she was really nice as I checked out with my 3 items.
It was really easy to find the few items we wanted and service at the deli was very friendly. The deli girl recommended these soybeans and I’m glad she did — they were delicious! I actually had a few left by the time we boarded our flight and wanted so badly to snack on them during the 5.5 hour airplane ride home, but they were a little too fragrant and I didn’t want to make all the other passengers jealous.
A $ 0.05 cent deposit was charged for the water bottle, and a $ 0.01 fee was also on the receipt under the sea salt grinder. (I wonder what that penny was for — because it was glass perhaps?) It’s super yummy salt and reminds me of our great vacation every time I put it on food now that we’re back at home.

Eddie was amazing and gives a can do attitude! Super nice he found our products.
We will be going to Manoa more often!

I am signed up with Safeway’s Just For U program, and I like some of the personalized discounts they offer, as well as their Club Specials. They offer some pretty good deals on some of the items I often buy. However, a couple of different times when I shopped at this Manoa branch, I got into a checkout lane where each had a different supervisor cashiering, After ringing up my items, each of them loudly made comments in a derisive manner about how I was really good at saving money, or that I really knew how to shop, then made a point of loudly and clearly «thanking» me and announcing my name so everyone could hear it. They seemed to be doing their best to embarrass me in front of everyone there. Very unprofessional and downright rude. If they don’t want their (former) customers purchasing these offers, then they shouldn’t offer them.

These guys never get the good kine!
I gotta go Hawaii kai safeway,
sometimes i wait long time over there too!
for someone notice me…
Unreal…

Since I was looking for Zevia colas, I was very pleased that I was able to travel all the way over to this location to buy it. Believe me, it was well worth the bus ride over here because I found out that the other locations did not have theirs until either today or tomorrow. I really would like to give a big thank you to Gary for informing me that they had the Zevia colas at this location after the previous stores were out of stock and he did return my call, which I really appreciate. So if I ever need to come back to this Safeway, I can. I hope that I can be a return customer to this store as well as being able to keep shopping shere. I would like to see is self checkouts, which will make this a trip worthwhile and I will totally recommend this location as a alternative backup store if cannot find what I am looking for.

6:45, at least 6 people in each of only 3 cashiers open! Terrible service. They aren’t even calling for help to open more registers. The pitfall of living in Manoa Valley, no other grocery stores here.

Seems a little odd to write a review about Safeway … But why not? LOL
Prior to my Safeway experience, I always thought all grocery stores were created equal. We’d stop at whatever was nearest, and if we were driving, well, then we’d just go to the next nearest grocery store. Coming from a very small town with only mom and pop grocery stores, anything else was a luxury.
However, when I had to stay in Manoa for an extended period of time, Safeway became just that. The one stop go to shop. And over time, I became accustomed, and one might even say, spoiled.
After going to other Safeways, I became convinced that this one at Manoa Marketplace and the Safeway on Beretania and Piikoi are my absolute favorites.
First of all, its not dim or dingy looking like some other ones. Its very clean and isn’t too crowded and the lights aren’t turned way down as if trying to seduce customers (I swear there are some Foodlands and Times that are like that).
They have a decent selection of organic produce, which makes me happy — I don’t have to drive a million miles away to Kahala to go to Whole Foods. (Sarcasm people, lighten up, I know its not THAT far)
And lets be honest, when I was pregnant, the most important section for me was the bakery and the hot food Lol! The bakery in the Manoa Safeway kept their stuff stocked always! Sometimes I got to other Safeways and they barely have any cakes, desserts, or pastries. Their hot foods section seemed to always have fresh hot items. It didn’t look like the whole chicken was sitting their all day long. Lol
I think I like this one more because the staff was super friendly, they were always well stocked, they always had what I wanted or needed, and the overall cleanliness/​neatness of the place was just so awesome. And parking is never a problem!
I am not on Oahu anymore, but when I do go back, I go to Manoa just to go to the Marketplace there and you better believe that Safeway is one place I stop in at.

Okay Safeway, I’m hooked. This Safeway is located in the Manoa Marketplace and the store is clean! Tons of thing to get here, but my favorite is the poke /​fish section.
I ordered a pound of the Korean raw crab poke ($ 6.99/lb), and it was delicious. You can tell the raw crab isn’t from the islands (It is from China), but it was delicious and did the trick. Prepared in a Korean Ko Chu Jang sauce and it was ooh so ono!
I also ordered a half pound of the fresh aku poke ($ 17.99/lb) with limu and kukui nut. Again, fresh fish, super ono and prepared just right. Loved it!
Checking out seemed to be a bit of a challenge, as there are a lot of people in here, with less than adequate staff to help the lines move through.
Food Grade: A!
Service Grade: B
Worth the Money Grade: B+
Overall Impression Grade: B+

Safeway Manoa Deli: best sandwich and breakfast burrito makers who ever walked the face of this earth!!! But! The Manoa Safeway Sandwich Deli is always missing key ingredients for breakfast burritos or sandwiches. I come here often and notice that they do not properly restock the egg whites or pepper jack cheese for the breakfast burritos and the bread, and cheese selection is very minimal and sometimes uniquely hard at times… This is Safeway right??? There should be No Excuse on not having ingredients or bread especially if theres a bakery? Other then that love the service and the vibe when in Manoa Safeway. #lifer

It’s OK enough for me to go here, but this location usually seems understaffed in the check out lines. Some cashiers are nice, some are indifferent, and one was very rude.
I went to Safeway during lunch, pick up some mac and cheese from the deli, and waited in the check out line. The cashier told me to come up in a hostile voice. When I noticed that the price of my mac and cheese was inaccurate. I informed the cashier, and she talked back to me with sassy attitude and fixed the price. I told her that I was just telling her the price was wrong. Instead of apologizing or doing anything to diffuse the situation, she replied «Well, people make mistakes.» Not the wittiest response, and she didn’t even attempt to address the issue. It seemed like she only wanted to «one up» me. In fact, that’s something a fussy first-​grader would say.

We’ve been going to this store for over 3 years now since moving to Manoa, and I’ve never taken time to recognize the awesome folks who work there. We especially get great service from the bakery; our son loves to get the hot French bread, and when he goes up and asks the bakery staff, they’re always super nice to him. One time, uncle let him pick a free cookie from a odds ‘n ends pack, and my boy was really happy.
The store is decently clean though windy days make this tough with the leaves blowing in the door. Flowers are good, produce as well, beer and wine usually have decent deals. Very well stocked, can usually find whatever I need. And the staff is very nice all around, especially at check out. There’s always a polite smile and acknowledgement of you, especially if they recognize you.

What can you write about one Safeway that you can’t write about in a different Safeway?
I never go to Manoa Valley. It’s very nice and all. But I’m just never there. Truth be told, I didn’t even know there was a Safeway there.
I wondered if the people who work there live around the area and if not how far did they have to travel.
I mention the workers because that’s what stood out to me. This older gentleman saw my gf and I in line and quickly jumped on register to help us check out. He got onto a register to help out his co-​workers at a busy time. In my book, great customer service.
If there were more people like him, there would be less 1 – 2 star reviews I’m sure. Regretfully, I did not get the mans name. We only had 1 item.
A good experience, none the less.

5 stars for service! I gave it 3 stars because it’s an much older store. Also it’s one of the smallest Safeways I’ve been to. Bathroom was not very clean and was out of paper towel.
Now back to the 5 star service… staff was AWESOME! So friendly and helpful. It totally feels like a large «mom n pop» store instead of a big corporation. I highly recommend it if selection isn’t a big deal.

Late night shopping with no crowds to me is always win. Since this store is 24hrs and just down the road it is perfect for late night food runs or weekly shopping trips. Around 11pm the store is usually deserted except for a handful of workers.
Parking Wise: Great big huge parking lot in front of the store and on the side. Though parking can be a headache when there is a play going on at the Manoa Valley Theatre.
Service Wise: Service is usually great here. With managers and employees who have been here for a long time.
Stock Wise: Merchandise is regularly restocked so there is usually a good selection of items. They have a deli counter, seafood counter and bakery counter sections.
#Yelp 365 ⁰⁴⁴⁄₃₆₅