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Mickey Bettis Remains a Safeway Staple
Mickey Bettis Remains a Safeway Staple
By Leslie VanSant
In 1985, “Back to the Future” was tops at the box office. Spend a Buck won the Kentucky Derby. Prince Saran took the Virginia Gold Cup, the first ever to win on the new course at Great Meadow. Gorbachev took over the Soviet Union. The Cosby Show and Murder She Wrote were the No. 1 shows on television. And of course, everyone wanted to know, “Where’s the beef?”
That same year, a young local man, Mickey Bettis, started working at the Middleburg Safeway. Now, some 38 years later, you can still find him on the job there most mornings.
“I had no idea I’d be here this long,” he said. “But I’ve met so many nice, caring people along the way.”
Bettis was born and raised in Fauquier County and attended Middleburg Elementary, Coleman Middle School and graduated from Fauquier High School in 1986. He started working at Safeway during his senior year. Over his career, he’s held just about every position and worked in every department. He started as a courtesy clerk, bagging and loading groceries into people’s cars. Then he trained to be a checker.
At the time, checkers worked on machines much closer to a typewriter than the current scanners. “You moved the conveyor belt with your left knee, your right hand was on the keys. You had to learn math, and properly count back change for the customers.”
Everyone in Middleburg knows you always run into someone you know at the Safeway. For Bettis, familiarity with the customers was a perk of the job, either regulars who shopped weekly or visits by famous people.
One day, a woman came into the store with a big fur coat, dark glasses and a bodyguard. She came into his line to check out her groceries. When handing back her change, Bettis said, “Thank you Ms. Taylor, have a nice evening.” Elizabeth Taylor and her husband, John Warner, lived at Atoka Farm and were both so kind. Warner once tried to tip Bettis after he put groceries into the Senator’s car.
“I had to refuse because we were not to accept tips.”
Other notable shoppers include many NFL stars. “Even though I love my 49ers, it was still exciting to meet Redskins (now Commanders) Mark Moseley, Charles Mann, and Dexter Manley when they were here for the Christmas parade.”
Safeway used to have a float in the Christmas Parade.
“In my first year, we built the float at a friend’s house. It was themed Winter Wonderland,” he said. Other years, the Safeway delivery truck drove the parade route with staff walking alongside and waving. Halloween is another big day and Bettis has enjoyed handing out candy to trick-or-treaters and seeing all the costumes.
Over his nearly four decades, many things have changed at Safeway. There wasn’t always a pharmacy in the store. The current pharmacy used to be the wine area. In 1985, avocado was more likely the color of your kitchen, not something on your grocery list. There was no organic section.
But Mickey Bettis was there. Then and now.
