Safeway   

1855 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington, DC 20007
202-333-3223
www.safeway.com

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So you're wheeling your cart down the cereal aisle. And -- bonus! Special K is on sale. So you toss a box in your basket. Then it's off to peruse the milk section: skim, one percent or two percent? Such a bevy of choices. But what about the expiration dates? You won't settle for anything less than a fresh carton, because it has to last at home for over a week. So you reach back into the chilly depths of Safeway's refrigerator, fishing for the carton with the best date. But wait. Isn't that why you're here? Because if you're shopping at this Safeway, chances are you're looking for a good piece of meat -- even if you're a vegetarian. Welcome to the Social Safeway: your neighborhood food emporium if it's more than produce you seek. Just steps beyond Georgetown University, locals have affectionately dubbed this Wisconsin Avenue staple the Social Safeway. "That's just what they say," says one female employee, who adds that Washington area Safeways tend to take on whatever moniker natives deem appropriate. "It's got that name because we're near a college. There is dating, but that can go on at any store." But despite the fact that there are no organized social activities for singles, per se, this joint is a pretty happening place. The pick-up scene: well-dressed prospectives -- young men and women who skulk between the aisles. But it's a prowl that's as casual as one can expect from a supermarket. The Social Safeway is about shopping for a mate. It's an exercise in the art of picking up and being picked up. This is more than checking out the produce. It's about hiding expertly behind an almost-ripe honeydew. It matters not if you're stroking the hydroponic cucumbers. Or if you've stopped into the bakery to check out the fresh buns. Or if you pop in at the same time every week, in hopes that the same cute guy will be looking for firm beefsteak tomatoes. You're here to scope. Safeway's public affairs manager Craig Muckle dishes up some friendly advice. The difference between the bachelor who goes for the frozen dinners and the one who Muckle says shops for "a lot of raw materials," could be calculated in dates. As for when the times are riper for love? Well, some days are definitely more fruitful, like weekends and evenings after work, Muckle says. But dont get the idea that this is the place to be when Friday night rolls around. "Oh no," says store manager Mark Woodfield. "You need to be somewhere else on a Friday night." -- Jennifer Shapira