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Store Count...

November 6, 2015, 4:01 am
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WOW Weehawken!

November 6, 2015, 8:44 am
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Location: 4100 Park Ave, Weehawken, NJ


The sign went up yesterday. Stopped by twice but failed to get my visits timed for when the letters were getting mounted to the store.


One more letter to go! For as much work that has been done to this store, burned out lights remain along the awning. There's many more to the right. Perhaps that's getting taken care of today.


Open for business! The interior is... spectacular! Huge difference from the Pathmark days. This is hands down the best conversion I've seen so far. Pathmark attempted to bring the "WOW" here a few years ago but it took Acme to really do it! What a difference a fully stocked store can make. Pathmark has been stingy with product inventory here for the past few years. As nice as the store was, it was always a little said with half-stocked shelves. The product selection seems to be much better as well. I'll confirm that after I do some shopping here this weekend. Full tour coming in the next few days. This is also the first store I've seen with the holiday signage hanging along the front-end. Looks really good.


The street sign didn't make it up for opening morning. Hopefully it's coming soon.
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Acme – New Providence, New Jersey

November 6, 2015, 12:00 pm
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Acme has returned to
its rightful spot in 
New Providence, New Jersey!


Location: 1260 Springfield Ave, New Providence, NJ

Acme through the years... 

Acme opened here on October 12, 1966.
 This photo was taken in 1998.

The classic Acme was torn down in the summer of 2009.

A&P builds a brand-new store where Acme once stood.
The new store opens on September 24, 2010.

Acme takes the store BACK in October 2015!


Acme reopens on November 6, 2015!
(sans a proper sign)


Let's head inside...


New lighting in Produce!


New stickers on the wall art for this store! I would have to say they look better than the white stickers we've seen previously. These seem to blend in a little bit more.


This store has the 4th-ish round of the fresh decor. A sort of mash up of rounds 1 and 3. 




Seating area with flat screen TVs remain in place.


First thing this morning so the chickens were't out of the rotisserie just yet.




Beautiful bakery in the round...


Truth be told... I'm finding the bakeries to be extremely inconsistent from store to store. This place has a great selection, as does Weehawken from what I saw this morning. Edgewater and West New York have been very disappointing. Selection of fresh baked breads have been minimal to none.


Seafood to the left of the Bakery. 



Health food aisle with no signage indicating as such. A&P did have signage here when I was here a few years ago. 


Looks like the A&P logo was painted over bore the stickers were put on.



I was beginning to think they weren't using the "Something More For Less" shelf tags in these conversions. They certainly have them here!







I'm surprised Acme to beef up the lighting in the Dairy aisle and in the frozen food section in the front of the store. It's a little dreary. 





No Acme sign at the front-end. Looks like they tried to make up for it by hanging a My Mixx cell phone sign. 


4 express registers were installed where the self-checkouts were located. 


AERAIL IMAGES


These images were included in the recent "Future Acme Markets" post and have been added to this post as well. Some of the satellite views show the Acme still standing with work starting on the new A&P. You can see how they A&P expanded out of Acme's original footprint...



And a quick jump across town to see the old A&P which has been abandoned since the replacement store opened...



Location: 592 Central Ave, New Providence, NJ


This store had a basic version of the first "fresh" remodel but the exterior signage was never updated.




You can see additional photos of this former A&P at the very bottom of the "Future Acme Markets" by clicking here.

HISTORIC AERIALS


2013
Back in the day when I did the first New Providence post, I wasn't yet utilizing historic aerial images. They are included here...


2010


2008


2007


2002


1991


1987


1979


1970


1966


1963
49 years and 25 days later, Acme once again OPENS in New Providence, New Jersey!
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Store Count...

November 8, 2015, 4:48 am
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Sign going up for Weehawken Acme!

November 10, 2015, 2:13 am
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Location: 4100 Park Ave, Weehawken, NJ

Just happened to be driving by today and saw the Acme sign going up in the parking lot. It's been bare since they took the Pathmark sign down last Thursday. Not to nit pick here, but I do think the signs with the reverse color scheme look better. Check out the parking lot sign at the Woodbury store by clicking here to compare the two different styles. 
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One More Day...

November 10, 2015, 2:28 am
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Until Ortley Beach! 



Location: 5 Ortley Plaza, Ortely Beach, NJ

The much anticipated Ortley Beach Acme will arrive on the blog tomorrow. As most of you know, Acme had a 50's store on this property which A&P tore down to build their replacement store. The small building on the right side is A&P's original location. Acme's huge parking lot sign still stands at the corner of the parking lot which you can see in the lower left-hand corner. Photos have come in from 3 contributors so we'll be having very thorough look at this store. 
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The Ortley Beach Post...

November 11, 2015, 2:33 am
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HAS BEEN POSTPONED! 



Location: 5 Ortley Plaza, Ortely Beach, NJ

Sorry folks but I lost the post this morning. I was attempting to undo an edit and the entire content of the post was erased. Autosave kicked in before I couldn't attempt another undo to get everything back. Very frustrating. This isn't the first time this has happened and I have no idea what triggers Blogger to just zap the content when attempting a simple command. Fortunately it won't be too difficult to recreate the post but it won't be ready until tomorrow morning. So for today we've got to stick with... one more day until the Ortley Beach post! 
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Store Count...

November 11, 2015, 9:45 am
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ACME sign going up in Boothwyn!

November 11, 2015, 4:32 pm
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Photos courtesy of Mr. Ruffles

Location: 643 Conchester Hwy, Boothwyn, PA


Mr. Ruffles was able to get some shots of the sign going up on the former Pathmark in Boothwyn. I've looked this place up, I'm pretty surprised Acme bought the store. It is located in a shopping center that has a Walmart and it's not far from the Glen Mills Acme and the new Wegmans in Concordville.


I imagine they will paint  this section once the patch work dries. I've noticed that the scars are often painted over after ACME goes up.



Super Fresh/ Pathmark - Boothwyn, PA
This location was  previously a Pathmark Sav-a-center. A&P switched the store over from SuperFresh back in 2008.

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Acme – Ortley Beach, New Jersey

November 12, 2015, 2:54 am
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Acme has returned to
its rightful spot in 
Ortley Beach, New Jersey!


Photos courtesy of dougbalt

UPDATE 11.13.15:
ACME sign being installed on the store today!
A picture has been posted on the A&P Fresh Memories Facebook page.

Location: 5 Ortley Plaza Ortley Beach, NJ 


The wait is over! Time step inside the Ortley Beach A&P Acme! The store is quite beautiful inside and brightly lit as well. The interior has the 4th round of the fresh remodel, which it received back in 2012 . The interior is similar to the New Providence location but rather than having artwork from the first round of the fresh remodels, it has the artwork of the second round. Here the fresh food murals are flat and mounted to the walls rather than being wavy structures hanging from the ceiling.

A&P remodeled this store after Hurricane Sandy. The store itself was not badly damaged and only took on 3 inches of water. The surrounding area fared much worse which caused the A&P to be closed for 4 months. Much of the merchandise inside was left to rot and A&P made the executive decision to throw absolutely everything away and start over. You can read more about it all on NJ.com, by clicking here.


Another beautiful produce department by Acme. I continue to impressed with the produce at the Acmes I have been frequenting in my area.


Very nice selection in the world's longest Bakery case.


The Kit-Kat wrapped, M&M topped cake is a staple at these new Acmes.










Several different varieties of light fixtures throughout the store. The lights mounted to the ceiling are original to the store and I believe the hanging lights are leftover from A&P.  They're not the same style of lights that Acme has been putting in.




Great view of the front-end with a hint of the slanted windows along the front of the store.


Might be a little hard to notice here but the candy racks are illuminated. A&P added the lighting in just the past year or so. It's quite striking in person.


A view of the front windows with a glimpse of the former Acme sign off in the distance.


Small town charm on the bulletin board.


The mini-carts are the BEST thing about the new Acmes! Not quite as deluxe as the carts at Wegmans but very nice nonetheless. I can tell you this... the cup holders do not work well with Dunkin' Donuts' cups. There a bit too soft and can slide through the holder on the left side. The cup holder on the right side is a bit too shallow. Other than that, the carts are perfection.




Another store with just a banner. A more permanent sign is most likely coming soon.  Not sure if A&P's sign, just above the windows, has been removed or just covered over with a white banner.


I believe this model was the second round of A&P's Future Stores. You can check out the first round by clicking here. For a look at an abandoned SuperFresh Future Store on the blog, click here.


The original A&P still stands to the left side. The former store is now home to a liquor store.


A shot of the magic carpet scars at the former A&P.


Entrance and exit signs have been updated. The huge parking lot sign has not.


Great view from across the street! As many of you know, the parking lot sign is leftover from the 50's Acme that once stood right where the A&P was built. The Acme closed sometime in the 80's. A&P tore it down to make way form their replacement store.







Thanks to dougbalt for the pictures above!
And now for some additional photos
sent in by Alex of Tom's River...




A&P brought back department names which were not included in the 2nd and 3rd rounds of the fresh remodels.












Surprised A&P didn't replace the floor tile. Looks a little hodge-podged in this area.


Great close-up view of the very top of the sign.

And some more submitted by
an anonymous source...




Check out this view from the second floor!













AERIAL VIEWS

A view of the Super A&P Food Market. The signage was not updated after the fresh remodel. 

Acme's original sign capped off with "A&P".


A look at the store's proximity to the shore.... 


HISTORIC AERIALS

2007

1995

1986
Acme looks closed and abandoned as of 1986 while the A&P has a decent crowd. Check out the giant shadow of the street sign in the lower left corner.

1972
Both stores open in 1972. Nearly identical in size.

1963
Acme was the first on the site. Lack of parking was clearly it's downfall. The Acme opened June 17, 1959.

1956

Thanks to our 3 photo contributors for bringing us Acme's triumphant return to Ortley Beach! 
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Programming Note:

November 13, 2015, 2:55 am
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There will be another Acme conversion going up Saturday morning. It was planned for today but since I lost an evening on the Ortley Beach debacle, I wasn't able to get another post done by today. So check back tomorrow for another new Acme!
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Store Count...

November 13, 2015, 10:09 am
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Acme – Jersey City, New Jersey

November 13, 2015, 11:39 pm
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Acme has returned to
Jersey City, New Jersey!


Location: 125 18th St, Jersey City, NJ

Opened November 4, 2015. Yet another store with just a banner and a left over Pharmacy sign. Interesting since the Hoboken store has the official sign and opened 4 days later. These pictures were taken last weekend, so it is possible a proper sign has since been installed. 

BEFORE...

This store was built in 1987 and I believe it started as a Waldbaums. The interior remained unchanged until the "fresh" remodel in the mid-2000's. I was surprised to discover the store had been built in '87. The interior was very 70's. Various shades of yellow and gold used throughout the store, from floor to ceiling. As I've mentioned before, the department signage was very odd. Each one looked like it was painted by elementary schools kids. I doubt they were original to the store. Judging from how everything else looked, I imagine the original department signage was just simple lettering.

When the fresh remodels kicked in high gear, I was puzzled why A&P was waiting so long to remodel this store. Despite being sorely dated, it seemed to do decent business. Add to that, the entire surrounding area was exploding with new apartment buildings and condos. I'll never forget the evening that I walked in here and saw a sign declaring the "fresh" remodel was coming soon! I then stared stopping in several times a week to watch the extensive transformation happen here. Once it was complete, this store became my go-to supermarket. I left it behind a few years ago when I moved a bit farther North. It also became unpleasant coming here on the weekends as the store was insanely busy.


Heading inside... we see the new lighting in Produce. I followed a woman into the store pushing a cart with her kid sitting in it. As soon as we walked in, she said "wow, they've cleaned the place up!" It is pleasantly bright even though the spot lights here did some sophistication which is lacking with the fluorescent tubes.


A look to the left of the entrance with the pizza station and café.


Customer Service across from the Café. Forgot to swing back around for a people-free shot. Nearly ran right into this woman.




New cases here for the organic produce.




Finally remembered to take a closer look to see if all of the shelving in the cases are new... they are! When I walked by that employee has started talking to someone else saying "all they want us to do is rotate, rotate, rotate..."


A closer look at the new shelving.


This was early in the morning so I'm not sure about the selections of hot foods. A&P started out with a large selection when this department was added but pared it down to almost nothing over the years.


Acme stripped this place of display. Almost looks too empty!

BEFORE...

Huge difference!


Bakery still looking great. This used to be the Deli before the fresh remodel. The Bakery was around the corner to the right and faced the front of the store.


Acme added some lighting along the back. Some of the aisles here are still very dark. I'm sure Acme will eventually add ceiling mounted lighting throughout.






You can see here how dark it seems at the far end of the aisle.




One strip of new lights above the milk cases in the corner.


And new lighting down the Dairy aisle!




More new lighting here too. During the fresh remodel the Pharmacy was moved from just inside the entrance to this corner. This used to be the soda department.



BEFORE...



A look across the front-end with the registers to the right....


Big surprise here... a brand-new front end! All of A&P's register stands have been replaced with brand-new ones. A&P had the doubled up register stands where one faced out to the left and the other faced out to the right. This style is used at most Whole Foods as well. You can see below how the register signs were paired up together.

BEFORE...



No Acme sign here yet.


A look a the new registers. I have to say, these are among the nicest I've ever seen. Very attractive and shopper friendly. The belts are nice and smooth too so you don't have to worry about bottles tipping over once the belt starts moving.


Scars left from A&P register stands.


Hopefully Acme will upgrade the facade here or get the landlord to do it. It's pretty ugly.


The view from Target's parking lot next door!


A look at nearby competition. A huge Target is right behind the Acme. The A&P didn't seem to be terribly affected by the Target's PFresh remodel a few years back. Prior to becoming a Target in the early 2000's, the building was occupied by an International Food Mart. Prior to that the store was a Bradlees. An extremely successful ShopRite is just a few blocks but it is not a pleasant store to shop in by any means. The A&P Fresh was successful in attracting shoppers looking for a nicer experience despite having higher prices.

HISTORIC AERIALS


2006
The Target was open as of 2006. 


2002
Back in 2002, the International Food Mart was still open. Word on the street was Target got the landlord to throw them out.


1994


1987
So surprised to find out the A&P was built in 1987. The interior seriously looked like it was deigned in 1975.


For a look at Jersey City's former Acme which closed back in 2010, please click here.
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Store Count...

November 15, 2015, 9:52 am
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Acme – Cottman Avenue, Philadelphia

November 17, 2015, 2:34 am
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Photos courtesy of Eddie

Location: 2101-41 Cottman Ave, Philadelphia, PA

First up a few "before" pictures of the store...


The most unpleasant aspect of Acme taking over A&P has been watching A&P's brands fade away. The updated America's Choice packaging didn't even get rolled out to all products, as you can see here. I've been surprised to see Acme's lack of earth-friendly cleaning and household products. A&P Greenway products in these categories were quiet good. Stop and Shop and Wegmans both carry a wide assortment of these products with their private earth-friendly label. Acme seems to  carry only national brands in these categories and charges premium prices for them.


This store has the Pathmark Sav-a-center decor package...


The product photos on the wall are similar to those used in the 3rd round of A&P fresh remodels.


None of this sign survived the Acme conversion.



First a SuperFresh, then a Pathmark Sav-a-center and now, an Acme!


Another sad banner, for now.








"Thank You for Saving..." completely removed. Acme seems to have run out of signs to replace the A&P and Pathmark signs along the front end. Haven't seen them in any of the stores I've visited recently.


It's surprising how new some of A&P's stores look in the aerial images. This store has been here since at least 1999.


A screen grab from loopnet showing the surrounding area. The Acme is the only grocery store in the immediate area. Not sure what the closet competition is.
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Store Count...

November 18, 2015, 9:22 am
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Acme – Branmar Plaza, Wilmington, Delaware

November 19, 2015, 3:53 am
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Photos courtesy of Mr. Ruffles

Location: 1812 Marsh Road, Wilmington, DE


No stickers on the aisles markers here. Seems strange since the black "Acme loves local" stickers would look really good. Guess Acme figured since they didn't have to cover up a SuperFresh logo they wouldn't bother with the stickers.


Mr. Ruffles reports... "D&W, no Boar’s Head in Delaware "


Mash up of a few decor packages here. The artwork is from the 4th round of "fresh" remodels.


New express register stands have been put in but the registers themselves have yet to be installed.




I imagine this sign will be around for many years to comes, always serving as a reminder of what store started out here.

AERIAL VIEWS


The surrounding area with the SuperFresh right in the center of the image.


Branmar Plaza.


The original A&P was to the right with an expansion on the left side when the store became a SuperFresh.


Haven't been able to track down this location on historicaerials.com. Putting the address in the search box does not bring me anywhere near the Branmar Plaza.


Departing shot of the store front sent in by Anne.
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Acme – Hoboken, New Jersey

November 20, 2015, 3:58 am
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Location: 614-632 Clinton St, Hoboken, NJ


Acme has arrived in Hoboken! I don't believe the company ever had a store in this town but they do now. This location opened on November 28, 2015.


While we're seeing a lot of stores getting stuck with banners, the Hoboken Acme got the real deal. Not sure why since this store opened later than others that haven't gotten proper signs. Jersey City, which is literally just blocks away, opened 2 weeks earlier and has only a banner. We'll never know how many stores are dealing with local sign ordinances and how much difficultly the sign manufacturer is having keeping up with all of the orders. A before photo is below...


I drove by the day they were putting up the new sign and once again was surprised to see they painted the facade after the sign was installed.




A&P spot lights out... Acme's fluorescent tubes in. They are covered and rather nice looking fixtures although they look like exposed tubes in these pictures. Acme worked a miracle in the Produce department which we will see in a moment.


Wine and Spirits out, health food, seasonal and deals are in. Acme was unable to keep the liquor license here or at any of the A&P's that had Wine and Spirits departments.


I'm puzzled by the ceiling being so uncomfortably low in this area of the store. There must be a second floor above this section of the store.


Acme cleaned up the Produce aisle! I was quite sure they were going to do something with the mess that A&P always had in this aisle. Just look below for the "before" shot...


Sorry but this aisle is way too narrow for all of these displays and baskets and boxes.


So here we have white stickers on the wall art and the black "Acme loves local" on the aisle markers. Notice how huge the artwork is in this store.


One thing that desperately needs to happen is fresh coat of paint for the ceiling tiles.They're all different shades of white and gray throughout the store.




This was the first time I have seen these white stickers in person. Didn't mind them one bit. They seem more out of place in pictures then they do in person.




Frozen Food aisle is clear! I remember this aisle being loaded with displays back when I shopped here in the early 2000's.


I think this store may have had a repaint recently. The colors, particularly the blue above Seafood on the far wall, are not typical to the "fresh" remodels.




Looking down the Dairy aisle toward the Bakery in the front corner.






Another Acme Bakery with a huge selection of products. I've seen much larger stores that aren't carrying the variety that this small store is.


The olive bar was filled with baked goods which seemed strange. The labels were still out for the olives but there were none to be found. Maybe the bar is on the fritz.




There used to be a full service cheese department in this corner.  You can see the leftover signage above. It's been removed to make room for rotisserie chicken and packaged deli meats.


Cashiers waiting for customers at the front of the registers. I do love this about Acme. It's been this way in all the stores I've visited so far.


Hoboken even got an interior sign! Why so many stores are missing this I'll never know. Can't be too hard to manufactor. Staples could do it.





A trailer with two different logos! 

AERIAL VIEWS


A look at the store's proximity to the Hudson River.


Very densely populated area. This used to be Hoboken's only major supermarket until ShopRite built a store a few blocks away in the mid-2000's.




As well as I know Hoboken, I had no idea these stores were so close to each other until I saw this aerial image.


The Acme is gonna love it when it rains. Doesn't take much to flood the area of town where the ShopRite is located. The place was heavily damaged by flood waters from Sandy. Closed for months. Have to say, ShopRite did an outstanding job remodeling the store during that time. It was kind of an awful store from the day it opened. ShopRite seemed clueless as to the clientele they would be serving here but clearly figured things out by the time they needed to remodel.

HISTORIC AERIALS


1987
Expanded sightly on the left side by 1987. Not sure if A&P was here in '87.


1979
I believe this store was a Foodtown in 1979.


1966
Nothing in 1966.



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Future Acme – Boonton, New Jersey

November 20, 2015, 3:59 am
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ACME ACQUIRES ANOTHER
A&P FRESH!

A&P - Boonton, NJ

Location: 550 Myrtle Ave, Boonton, New Jersey


The news broke yesterday that Acme is purchasing the Boonton store. The store was scheduled to close for good today but it won't be going dark after all! You can jump to an article on tapinto.net by clicking here.  Thanks to Dan Asnis for sending in the article!
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Store Count...

November 20, 2015, 4:00 am
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