'A Safeway unlike any other': Inside Oakridge Park's 50,000+ sq. ft. flagship grocery store | Daily Hive

'A Safeway unlike any other': Inside Oakridge Park's newly opened 50,000+ sq. ft. flagship grocery store

Aug. 27, 2026 opening of Safeway at Oakridge Park mall. (Kenneth Chan)

After an absence of more than six years, Safeway has officially returned to Vancouver’s second largest shopping centre — and some eager shoppers began waiting outside the doors before 7 a.m., more than three hours before the doors even opened.

The new flagship Safeway grocery store at the brand-new Oakridge Park mall opened to the public today at 10 a.m., following a grand opening ceremony, at which point there were several hundred people in the queue to get into the store.

“It’s exciting to see the reopening here at Oakridge, and I know that this is something that has been a long time coming for Vancouverites of this neighbourhood,” said Vancouver city councillor Lisa Dominato during her remarks today.

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Safeway operated at the former Oakridge Centre mall for decades before closing its previous location in January 2020, in preparation for the old mall’s complete demolition and redevelopment. The grocery store has now returned as the largest retailer at the new mall.

The new Safeway spans more than 50,000 sq. ft. across two underground levels, including a partial upper mezzanine level with a pharmacy and health and wellness products. The store’s main entrance can be accessed at the mall’s south atrium — next to Aritzia — and from the underground parking levels. A secondary entrance from Cambie Street, near the intersection with West 41st Avenue, provides direct access to the store through the pharmacy space.

safeway oakridge park mall vancouver opening august 27 2026

Aug. 27, 2026 opening of Safeway at Oakridge Park mall. (Kenneth Chan)

Safeway’s new chapter at the property is notable not only for the store’s size, but also for the breadth and positioning of its offerings, which together make it the company’s flagship location in Metro Vancouver.

Among its features are a global market and international grocery selection and greatly expanded fresh and prepared food offerings, such as Asian hot foods and dim sum, freshly made sushi and pizza, custom-made sandwiches, and a large seafood department with Asian supermarket-style live seafood tanks.

Based on Daily Hive Urbanized’s observations, the new Safeway carries the familiar brands, goods, and products found at the chain’s other stores, while building on and complementing that selection with a noticeable Asian influence and added curated range of upscale offerings, including premium meats such as dry aged beef. Ample Chinese-language signage also supplements the English signage throughout the store. As with many other Safeway locations, the store also includes an in-store Starbucks cafe.

Dominato said this grocery store will play an important role as Oakridge Park and the surrounding area evolves beyond being solely a shopping destination into a major high-density, mixed-use neighbourhood with thousands of homes.

“[Oakridge Park] is one of the most significant developments we’ve seen in Vancouver in a very long time, but growth only works when people can actually see themselves living their lives in it. And as more people begin to live, work, shop and spend time here, having the everyday services people rely on becomes even more important,” said Dominato.

She also pointed to the store’s broader international food selection and Asian prepared food offerings as reflecting the surrounding neighbourhood’s demographics and needs.

“The global market, international products, Asian prepared foods, expansive seafood selection reflect the people and families who live in this neighbourhood,” said Dominato.

“That’s good business, and it shows that Safeway understands the community it’s returning to.”

Aug. 27, 2026 opening of Safeway at Oakridge Park mall. (Kenneth Chan)

Ralf Mundel, Safeway’s vice president of operations for B.C., said the company has been serving Metro Vancouver since 1934 and has repeatedly changed its store concepts over the decades in response to ever-changing customer preferences.

“When we closed the prior location in 2020, it was tough to imagine letting go of so many great customers, but we knew that being part of this ambitious vision was so critical, so critical so that we could serve more customers long into the future,” said Mundel.

Mundel emphasized that Safeway intends to continue adjusting the new store based on what customers want after it opens.

He added that the company wants the Oakridge Park store location to stand apart from a conventional supermarket.

“We know no one needs another grocery store, but our team is dedicated to making this a grocery experience,” said Mundel.

To design and build this store, Safeway worked with New Westminster-based Align Construction, which specializes in commercial construction and tenant improvements, including other notable grocery store projects in Metro Vancouver.

For store manager Andrea Hemmerling, the opening also represents a personal milestone after nearly two decades with Safeway.

Hemmerling said she began working for the grocery chain in 2007 in the deli and never expected she would one day be responsible for leading one of its most prominent new locations.

“At that time, I could have never imagined that I would be standing here today, having the opportunity to lead one of the most unique and exciting stores,” said Hemmerling.

“When you walk through these doors today, I think you’re going to see that this is a Safeway unlike any other.”

This store team includes employees who previously worked at the old Oakridge Safeway and staff transferring from other locations, as well as employees beginning their Safeway careers at the new store.

Aug. 27, 2026 opening of Safeway at Oakridge Park mall. (Kenneth Chan)

The new mall, which is predominantly focused on luxury retail, first opened to the public in late May 2026, when the Time Out Market food hall and the vast majority of its first phase retailers also debuted. Since then, additional retailers and food and beverage businesses have continued to open, with Safeway now joining the mix as one of the mall’s key anchor businesses.

Sometime in 2027, another major retailer will open within an underground space — a 25,000 sq. ft. Signature BC Liquor store. It will be located immediately adjacent to Safeway within the P2 parkade level, replacing the liquor store’s existing location on Cambie Street just north of the mall site.

As well, in September 2026, at the start of the new school year, Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) will open its 70,000 sq. ft. campus at Oakridge Park mall.

Additional retailers, including businesses that will fill in the space previously set aside for the return of the Hudson’s Bay Company, and the residential units under the first phase of the expansive mixed-use redevelopment are also set to be fully ready in 2027. This first phase also includes 700,000 sq. ft. of office space within the base levels of the residential towers.

Moreover, the City of Vancouver’s new 100,000 sq. ft. Oakridge civic centre — attached to a new City-owned social housing tower at the northwest corner of the overall Oakridge Park property — with new community, recreational, and cultural spaces, including a new Vancouver Public Library branch, will open sometime next year.

A significant portion of Oakridge Park’s 7.5-acre public park on the rooftop of the indoor mall has already opened.

The new and expanded entrance into SkyTrain’s Oakridge-41st Avenue Station — including the additional underground station entrance — will reach full completion in early 2027. This will be a corridor with service-based businesses, including some fast food outlets and a cafe.

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