Manitoba Business: Safeway Stores Limited

The first Safeway grocery stores in Manitoba were designed by the Winnipeg-based architectural firm of Northwood and Chivers and constructed in mid-1929. In August 1935, Safeway Stores acquired the assets of Piggly Wiggly Canadian Limited and converted some its stores to the Safeway banner.

Manitoba Stores (1930s)

City	Location	Built	Status (2020-2021)
Boissevain	384 South Railway Street	1930	Appliance store
Brandon	164 Tenth Street	1929	Offices
Brandon	630 Rosser Avenue	1929	Store
Carberry	47 Main Street	?	Demolished (before 1984)
Carman	26 First Street SW	1929-1930	Demolished (November 2023)
Dauphin	207 Main Street North	1929	Clothing store
Deloraine	119 North Railway Avenue	?	Department store
Killarney	515 Broadway Avenue	1929	Demolished (c2016)
Minnedosa	45 Main Street South	1929	Electronics manufacturing
Neepawa	243 Hamilton Street	1929	Newspaper office
Portage la Prairie	80 Saskatchewan Avenue West	1929-1930	Small shops
Selkirk	240 Manitoba Avenue	1929	Skate shop
Souris	110 First Street	?	Demolished (?)
Virden	512 Seventh Avenue South	1929	Accounting office
Winnipeg No. 505	410 Academy Road	1929	Demolished (?)
Winnipeg No. 506	595 Broadway	1929	Pharmacy
Winnipeg	619 Broadway	1940	Grocery store
Winnipeg No. 503	627 Corydon Avenue	1929	Demolished (?)
Winnipeg No. ?	843 Ellice Avenue	1933	?
Winnipeg No. 527	920 Grosvenor Avenue	1932	?
Winnipeg No. 522	227 Henderson Highway	1929	Bicycle shop
Winnipeg No. 534	87 Isabel Street	1936	Grocery store
Winnipeg No. 502	247 Lilac Street	1929	Grocery store
Winnipeg	1784 Logan Avenue	1936	Pawn shop
Winnipeg No. 524	605 Main Street	1925	Employment office
Winnipeg No. 523	1411 Main Street	1929	Food company
Winnipeg No. 514	1793 Main Street	1938	Office supplies store
Winnipeg No. 520	129 Marion Street	1933	Furniture store, bookstore
Winnipeg No. 531	820 Notre Dame Avenue	1932	?
Winnipeg No. 530	102 Osborne Street	1932	?
Winnipeg No. 504	535 Osborne Street	1929	Restaurants
Winnipeg	700 Osborne Street	1940	Bookstore
Winnipeg No. 507	893 Portage Avenue	1929	Tanning salon
Winnipeg No. 508	1046 Portage Avenue	1929	Demolished (?)
Winnipeg No. 509	1333 Portage Avenue	1929	Pet supplies store
Winnipeg	1821 Portage Avenue	?	Vacant
Winnipeg No. 515	1849 Portage Avenue	1929	Restaurant
Winnipeg No. 525	2611 Portage Avenue	1932	Demolished (?)
Winnipeg No. 517	107-109 Regent Avenue West	1929	Massage and tattoo shops
Winnipeg No. 535	544 Rosedale Avenue	?	?
Winnipeg No. 513	577 Sargent Avenue	1929	Pawn shop
Winnipeg No. 511	785 Sargent Avenue	1929	Demolished (?)
Winnipeg	557 Selkirk Avenue	1931	Demolished (?)
Winnipeg No. 501	110 Sherbrook Street	1929	Bakery
Winnipeg No. 521	1 St. Annes Road	1929	Wellness centre
Winnipeg No. 529	222 St. Mary’s Road	1932	Martial arts studio
Winnipeg No. 528	860 St. Mary’s Road	1932	Bible Society office
Winnipeg No. 510	719 St. Matthews Avenue	1929	Grocery store
Winnipeg	470 Stradbrook Street	1932	?
Winnipeg	775 Westminster Avenue	1940	Grocery store
Winnipeg No. 532	894 Westminster Avenue	1934	?
Winnipeg No. 512	653 William Avenue	1929	Demolished (?)

See also:

Manitoba Business: Northwood and Chivers / Northwood Chivers and Casey

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Macdonald Consolidated Building / Safeway Building (313 Pacific Avenue, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Canadian Moline Plow Building (669 Logan Avenue, Winnipeg)

Manitoba Business: Piggly Wiggly Canadian Limited

Sources:

“Big system of chain groceries is coming here,” Winnipeg Tribune, 26 November 1928, page 3.

“Safeway stores establish main branch in city,” Winnipeg Tribune, 6 July 1929, page 8.

“Safeway stores receive four building permits,” Winnipeg Tribune, 10 July 1929, page 3.

“Safeway Stores to locate here,” Dauphin Herald and Press, 11 July 1929, page 1.

“250 completed stores in west firm’s program,” Winnipeg Tribune, 21 September 1929, page 32.

“Dramatic developments in Winnipeg herald important changes in retail business,” Winnipeg Tribune, 26 October 1929, page 5.

“Safeway chain to build four stores in city,” Winnipeg Tribune, 20 September 1932, page 3.

Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Henderson Directories Limited, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.

“Probe hears of Piggly Wiggly stores setup,” Winnipeg Tribune, 16 October 1935, page 3.

Souris Then and Now: A Pictorial History by William J. Sanderson, 1989, page 50.

We thank Leslie Mckendry-Smith, George Penner, Ken Storie, Jordan Makichuk, and Ray Cruickshank for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 11 April 2024