There is no true defining line that represents the distinction between Northern and Southern California, but it’s still a widely popular debate.
Some Californians believe the transition from SoCal to NorCal happens when sports fans cheer for the Giants and 49ers as opposed to the Dodgers and Rams. Others say the defining factor is shown through music or slang.
However, most Californians believe the transition happens when Safeway becomes Vons, or vice versa.
In NorCal, most residents visit their local Safeway for their weekly grocery shopping, while in SoCal, the go-to store for many is Vons. Both store chains are almost exact copies of the other. Both have the same bright interior, loyalty program and the same color red in their logos. The similarities are likely attributed to both chains having the same parent company, Albertsons.
But why do residents in one part of the state refer to the grocery store as Safeway and the others call it Vons?
“It’s a common industrywide practice to keep the brand name that locals are familiar with in their region. There is a sense of pride among shoppers when they shop at their local supermarket,” Safeway spokesperson Wendy Gutshall told SF Gate, who first reported the story.
Vons can trace its history back to 1906, when entrepreneur Charles Von der Ahe opened the first Vons store in Los Angeles. The business was successful and later grew to 87 stores before Von der Ahe sold it to MacMarr Stores, which would eventually be acquired by Safeway.
His sons, Ted and Will, later restarted the Vons and by the 1970s, the company had grown to over 150 stores across Southern California, becoming one of the largest supermarket chains in the region.
On the other hand, Safeway began after M.B. Skaggs expanded his father’s small grocery store business to over a hundred stores in Idaho. The company later merged with Los Angeles-based rival Sam Seelig’s stores and adopted the name Safeway.
While Californians can be passionate about where they shop, like the debate, there are likely more similarities than differences between them.