By Andres Picon and Danielle Echeverria

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

“This Safeway is getting weirder and weirder,” one shopper muttered as he walked through newly installed security gates at the entrance of the grocery store near San Francisco’s Castro District.

The automatic gates, added to the Safeway at 2020 Market St., let customers easily enter the store but swing quickly shut behind them, preventing would-be thieves from dashing out with shopping carts full of stolen items.

The supermarket also has added barriers around its self-checkout area, funneling customers through only one exit. Checkout aisles that aren’t staffed are blocked with large physical barriers rather than just a cord, and the entire side entrance to the store has been closed and blocked off by a large display of plastic water bottles.

Read the full article