A pile of plexiglass letters is all that's left of the Safeway sign

After 16 years in Steinbach, the Safeway on Highway 12 closed its doors for the final time at 6pm on Saturday.

The grocery store was one of 50 Sobeys-owned stores across Canada closed for underperforming.  Lavina Thiessen was one of the shoppers at Safeway on its final day, and she describes what it's like to see it go.

"I waited a long time for Steinbach to get a Safeway and I've been a loyal shopper here," Thiessen notes.  "It's just sad.  I feel bad for the workers, I don't know where they're all going to go.  It's a sad day."

The doors are locked and the windows covered in paper

Thiessen explains she had been shopping at Safeway for a long time.

"Ever since they opened," she says.  "I grew up outside of Winnipeg, so to come here and get used to a different store was...different.  So I was just happy to have a Safeway here, and it's just not good."

She notes there was quite a bit to like about the grocery store.

"It's bigger aisles, there was more room to move around," Thiessen describes.  "I found the staff helpful and friendly, and I knew where stuff was.  Nobody likes to take too long grocery shopping, they want to get it done and go.  I knew where stuff was here, and now I have to figure out a whole new way.  But that's life I guess."

The decision to close the Safeway was announced in June after Sobeys purchased Safeway Canada for $5.8 billion last year.

Safeway in Steinbach with signs removed