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Former Super Fresh – Manahawkin, New Jersey

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Photos courtesy of styertowne 

Today we're having a look at the Manahawkin Super Fresh with its last round of décor.  styertowne took these photos in November 2015 as the store was winding down operation. Acme would take over just days later.

As we saw in last Friday's post, the signage and décor had gone missing at some point. I actually wasn't sure which chain was responsible for stripping the walls. I was leaning toward A&P since Acme left this exact décor intact at the Warren store. Seeing these photos with the walls in pretty good shape has me wondering why Acme took everything down. Perhaps it was done to facilitate a quick repaint which Acme may have deemed more important then retaining the décor. Just a guess...


The décor here is A&P's 90's package. I believe this look was rolled out once the Sav A Center consent was retired and A&P began their Food Market concept,  building new, larger stores to replace many of their painful outdated models. styertowne reports this store opened on October 30, 1973.










Funny how low the register lights are! I noticed their lack of height in the photos posted last Friday, but from this vantage point they're laughable low! The Quality Built lights will be undoubtedly taller.

Thanks to styertowne for the great pictures of the Manahawkin Super Fresh!

Super Fresh – Dover, Delaware

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Bonus Store:

Photos courtesy of Ben from Delaware

Location: 41 Greentree Dr Dover, DE


Since we've been in a Super Fresh state of mind for the past week, I figured it was about time I busted these photos out of the vault and put them up on the blog! Ben photographed the store in May 2011 as the store was in its final weeks. It closed the following month. The building has since been significantly renovated with Redner's taking over the space. 




















FINAL DAYS OF THE 
DOVER SUPER FRESH >>>



An article about the stores closing can be found at doverpost,com









AERIAL VIEWS





HISTORIC IMAGES


2014
Redner's makes its first appearance in the historic views in 2014.


2011


2007


2005


2003


1992

Acme – Easton, Maryland

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Location: 210 West Marlboro Avenue, Easton, MD

Today we're visiting the Easton Acme and I gotta say, this is one of the strangest exteriors I've seen yet! (The photo above is a little dark but the image from Googles maps below shows a little more details, particularly the odd color scheme.) Looks like the store has seen a ghost! Even more so if you compare it to the "before" photos down below...



BEFORE >>>


These photos are from 2013 when the exterior had a little more color. THIS a great looking Acme! Not sure why the landlord decided to whitewash the joint. Made Acme's poor sign virtually disappear!


The exterior was updated during the Premium Fresh & Healthy era which explains the white logo and red awnings over the windows. The store also received the updated aisle and category markers.


The green topped cart corrals have since been replaced with the newer white and red versions.


This post has a big mix of photos from several contributors who I will list at the end.


The Easton Acme opened back in the 70's mostly definitely as a 33M model. An expansion, possibly as early as 1995, was done to the right side of the store essentially adding on the whole Grand Aisle we're seeing here. This store had one of the most deluxe Grand Aisles of any Acmes probably due to the fact that it was built from the ground up rather than being remodeled from existing space. Back in the early 2000's when I would hopelessly google Acme photos, a picture of this very Grand Aisle would always pop up at the top of the search results. Took years for me to figure out exactly which store it was.


While the décor here is the Albertsons Marketplace package, it's a version that wasn't used in many stores. The Granite Run and Warminster stores were among the few other Acmes to have décor similar to Easton. Granite Run now has Quality Built and Warminster is closed.


New lighting has been put into this section of the store. I believe the change happened back in 2015 prior to the store holding a grand reopening.


A couple of older photos which show the original lighting...












Older picture here with a gaggle of geese ready to crap in your cart.












The hanging lattice structure above the checkouts was removed. You can see a "before" photo below.



BACK TO THE EARLY 2000s


The original lighting can be seen in these photos.




Register lights that were actually designed to match the décor! These exact lights have never been seen on the blog before. A shame Acme yanked them out and replaced them with the horrible generic lights which swept through the whole chain.

THE FORMER EASTON ACMES >>>


Location: 815 Dover Road, Easton, MD

The former Colonial Cottage Acme on Dover Road. I have no dates for the opening of closing of this store and historic aerials date back only to 1981. I would imagine this store closed when the West Marlboro store opened. 


Location: 134 N Washington St, Easton, MD

The original Easton Acme on Washington Street. Now a Goodwill Store. For some interior photos, click here




Sometimes google street views are so good, there's no need to visit the former stores in person!



HISTORIC AERIALS


2010


2005


1995
Hard to really tell here but construction on the addition may be happening above.


1981

Thanks to Jacob V, Ben from Delaware and Dwayne Groton for the photos!

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Discussions: 
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Post it here for all to see.
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HALF OF A MILLION NOW SERVED
AT ACME STYLE!

Exterior renovations underway at...

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LITTLE SILVER AND FAIR HAVEN! 



Location: 507 Prospect Ave, Little Silver, NJ

Quick post today showing some changes happening to the Little Silver and Fair Haven stores. So far, changes are happening just to the exterior of the Little Silver store. The landlord is renovating the whole strip mall with the Acme coincidently taking on a similar look to other upgrade Jersey Shore stores. For a rendering of the finished project, please click here. Could an interior remodel be far behind? Probably not. I think one would have been started by now to assure its completion for the summer season. 


"Before" photo courtesy of dougbalt


Location: 576 River Rd, Fair Haven, NJ


The strip mall where the Fair Haven store is located is being renovated as well. The work has not yet extended to the Acme. Our contributor will keep an eye on the situation to see what develops.

Signature brands get simplified...

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PART 3
BRIGHT GREEN OUT
OPEN NATURE IN >>>


Time for another update on the evolution of Albertsons'/former Safeway brands. (A new store post will be coming this Friday.) Part 3 reveals the demise of Bright Green, which I figured was coming when the Open Nature brand was extended to non-food products. So far, glass cleaner and toilet paper were to only two items I could find in household. Most Bright Green items are currently on sale to help move the old packaging off shelves.


Albertsons is planning to introduce 240 new Open Nature products this year. You can read more about the growing private label at progressivegrocer.com.


More evidence that the Signature Home branding is on its way out as well. Food storage bags are currently being changed over to Signature Select.


The Signature Cafe logo has been updated to resemble a tag on the package similar to the Signature Select logo.



Bread is now trading Signature Kitchens for the new Signature Select branding.


Signature Select ice cream is slowly being switched over to all new packaging. This is one product line that might not be changing for the better. The swirling candy and nut pieces on the older containers is definitely eye catching! The new design bowers heavily rom Breyers by going with black packaging.


Great new packaging for pasta! Albertsons has even gone a step further by having their pasta certified non-GMO.


And finally... Seltzer water officially looses the refreshe branding! Have to say, adding fruit images to the label will certainly help with choosing the correct variety. I have often grabbed the lime flavor thinking it was plain. While I like the abstract design of the "before" bottles, it's not very practical for a fast moving shopper.

Collegeville Acme now a KImberton Foods!

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Photos courtesy of KimbertonWholeFoods.com

Location: 222 Main Street, Collecgville PA




The long abandoned Collegeville Acme has finally returned to life as a Kimberton Whole Foods store. The photos above from the company's website show some great views of the renovated space. This is Kimberton's largest store to date. You can read more details about the store by clicking here.


The photo above is from Acme Style's coverage of the abandoned Collegeville store which you can visit here. The left side of the Acme is apparently still empty and in need of a tenant.

Thanks to "Michael from PA" for sending in the news!

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News Break: 
GOOD NEWS FOR ALBERTSONS! 


Same store sales are up company wide but of course there is no word on how Acme is fairing these days.You can read all of the details at ProgressiveGrocer.com. The article also includes some interesting plans for the company's merger with Rite Aid.

PLATED COMING TO STORES
SLOWLY BUT SURELY



Guess they're taking their time to get it right but it seems like the rollout could not be going more slowly. Meanwhile competing chains already have meal kits available... ShopRite began offering them last month. Albertsons currently offers their Plated meal kits in only a handful of stores with a larger rollout happening by year's end. Still, the company is saying only "select" stores will be carrying them in the coming months. You can read more about Albertsons plans at SupermarketNews.com.

 SHOPRITE DITCHES OWN BRAND
FOR TOP CARE?



I was shocked to see this brand change at ShopRite. The company is ditching its own brand of health and beauty aid products for the Top Care brand which is already available at other Northeast chains like Foodtown, Weis, Tops, Wegmans and Price Chopper. This marks the absolute end of private labels HABA in New Jersey supermarkets with Acme having Signature Care and Shop and Shop carrying CareOne. I find it to be strange move as the ShopRite brand is among the strongest in supermarket world. Why would they want to carry an in-house brand that's available others chains in their market?









THIS JUST IN >>>
WHOLE FOODS TO TAKEOVER 
FORMER WAYNE A&P

A&P Futurestore, Wayne, NJ

The exterior of the building has been extensively renovated since A&P closed. Wayne Natural Food Markets was supposed to take over the space last year but wound up defaulting on their lease. Now word has come that Whole Foods is set to take over the space. You can read more about it on northjersey.com

Acme – Elkton, Maryland

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Photos courtesy of Jacob V. 

Location: 101 Big Elk Mall, Elkton, MD


Acme Elkton MD
Some additional photos from Will flickr collection

The 6th and final Maryland Acme has arrived on Acme Style! Additional former Acmes of Maryland may find their way to the blog but this is the last of the currently operating stores.

The Elkton Acme opened as a 33M back in the 70's having replaced a smaller store in town. A major expansion and renovation happened in the 90's to the left side of the store erasing all of its 33M attributes. The two pyramid structures along the front were a design feature rolled out in the early 90's and were often added to expanded stores.

Acme Elkton MD
The Produce windows, a standard feature at newly built 90s stores, were included along with the expansion on this side of the store. 


Inside we find the Premium Fresh & Health version 2 package, a tanner, stripped down/cheaper version of PF&H v1.


The flooring from the 90's Red/White/Blue décor remains in place. 

Acme Elkton MD
Elkton used to be a high volume store but has been crushed by competition in the area. Walmart relocated to a SuperCenter and Redner's built a new store about a mile away. 








Light-up Pharmacy sign not seen in many Acmes. Definitely eye catching! 


Looks like this store has a walk-on floral cooler which were common features in newly built 90's stores.




Self-checkouts replaced with the dreaded express register counter. This change undoubtedly looked great on paper but in reality it's a total dud as stores rarely has any of these registers manned. I've been in Acmes that have completely given up on this newly added feature by never having any of the registers open.

AERIAL VIEWS


2010


2002
The view here clearly shows the addition to the left side of the store.


1995
Still a classic 33M!


1982

THE ORIGINAL ELKTON ACME



Location: 134-38 Railroad Avenue, Elkton, Maryland
Opened 11.20.1957

The former Acme along with the A&P have since been torn down to make way for parking lots. 



Acme Elkton MD

Farmdale Peach Preserves!

Check out this cool new Jewel!

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Location: 102 W Division St, Chicago, IL

Take a tour of this awesome new Jewel which recently replaced an older model on the same site. Not to be watched while hungry. For a highly detailed article on the new store, jump over to ProgressiveGrocer.com.

BEFORE >>>





DURING >>>



AFTER >>>




Photo courtesy of dnainfo.com

Acme – Little Silver, New Jersey

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Location: 507 Prospect Street, Little Silver, NJ


Today, the Little Silver Acme officially arrives on the blog. I had considered this store sufficiently covered since it was the subject of an extensive Bonus Store post back in June 2014 and, unfortunately, Acme has done very little with the place other than yanking out the self-checkouts and adding more lighting. The store is still quite nice but a Quality Built décor swap along with a new coat of paint would really freshen the place up. I'm surprised Acme isn't bothering to do this while the landlord is renovating the entire shopping center with a new facade. The parking lot has been reconfigured and replaced. And check out those new lamp posts! It's a no-expense-spared project for sure.


The "before" photo above shows the A&P completely intact with nothing more than a sign swap. You can see the old light poles here along with the angled parking spots which have recently been made straight.


Huge improvements to the exterior of the store!


Odd color choice for the section where Acme's sign will eventually be placed. The dark paneling is not being used anywhere else in the shopping center. According to the rendering of the completed shopping center, Acme's sign will be mounted to a white rectangular panel to help it pop on the dark paneling.


A&P's second round of their "fresh" remodel is alive and well. Looks great at this end of the store but we'll see some problems on the other side.




Some additional photos, like the one above, were sent in by dougbalt back in 2015. The organic signage has since been removed as you can see below...


This area may have been A&P's health food department. Acme has since reset the store which these aisles now being regular groceries.







BEFORE >>>










The division between the original store and the addition which came sometime in the 70's.


Acme has since added new lighting to the last few aisles. Something that wasn't done during the initial conversion of the store. Ceiling fans added as well to Frozen and Dairy.

BEFORE >>>


The photo above is one of Doug's from December 2015.




Yikes! Not sure what is happening here. A&P product mural has been taken down and is all busted apart. Why they are even saving it I don't know. Same situation in the Dairy aisle...




The signs cannot be saved. The photos are torn from the panel being broken apart.

BEFORE >>>




This store tops out at just 7 aisles.


Acme got rid of A&P's coffin cases that were here and replaced them with cookies and crackers.

BEFORE >>>




Doug's photo above showing A&P's checkout lights which have since been replaced with the Quality Built lights.


Self checkouts gone. Acme added this counter with express registers. Part of A&P Customer Service Counter is still in tact behind food donation display.


Not terribly busy for a Saturday morning but there were definitely more shoppers in the store than these photos would lead you to believe.




Workers were on the clock Saturday morning! The design of the facade is evolving from what is shown in the rendering.




Doug snapped this photo of the rear of the store. Old Acme trailer with its logo removed thanks to good ol' SuperValu.

AERIAL VIEWS





HISTORIC IMAGES


2012


1979
Expanded to its current size by 1979.


1957

The original barrel roof store in 1957.

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Acme store closing:
DOVER, DELAWARE


Photo above courtesy of Will from B-More Retail on flickr

Location: 1001 N Dupont Hwy, Dover, DE

While Acme has yet to announce this closing publicly, I have heard from multiple sources that the Dover Delaware store will close in June. Operations have been winding down for the past few weeks and the employees have been informed. Safeway has a store about two miles south so Albertsons will still have a presence in the area. For full coverage of the Dover Acme, please click here.

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Former Acme – Edgewood, Maryland

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Photo above courtesy of Will from B-More Retail on flickr

Location: 2216 Hanson Rd, Edgewood, MD
Opened October 6, 1965
Closed due to fire June 11, 1966
Reopened June 11, 1966
Final closing date unknown




Not a lot of clues remain along the front but around back the store is still all Acme....







Acme's parking lot sign is now sign-less.


Food Lion is located on the right side of the shopping center.


1982


1970


1966
The parking lot was built for a larger shopping center which didn't materialize until years later.

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News Break: 
BROWN MILLS DAYS ARE NUMBERED 


Location: 80 Pemberton Browns Mills Road, Browns Mills NJ

Really hard to believe the abandoned pitched-roof Acme in Brown Mills is still standing. It has been empty since 1996 when Acme relocated to the Pine Grove Shopping Center. The township is currently moving forward with plans to purchase the property so it can be redeveloped. If a deal cannot be reached with the owner, the township will then move to have the property condemned essentially taking control from the owner. Either way, the days of the old Brown Mills Acme are definitely numbered. For more information on the townships plans check out this article on BurlingtonCountyTimes.com.

THIS JUST IN >>>


Woke up this morning to find this incredible photo in the Acme Style inbox! Huge thanks goes out to Leetta Tamn for taking the time to provide this classic photos for our enjoyment!! 




NO ONE WANTS THE
POMPTON PLAINS A&P 

Photo above from NorthJersey.com

Location: 63 Wanaque Ave Pompton Lakes, NJ 

This store has been the topic of many discussions here on the blog. Seemed like a decent location for for Acme to acquire, especially since Acme once had a store on this very property, but the company passed and the store remains abandoned. ShopRite reportedly toured the store recently but wound up passing as well. So what gives? A&P must have done decent business to have survived until the very end. Turns out, there is simply too much competition in the surrounding area to make this a viable location for a large supermarket. Both Walmart and Target have stores close by with Stop & Shop just minutes away. I would think ShopRite could easily crush the Stop & Shop and lure plenty of people away from Target and Walmart with the extensive fresh foods they offer in their newer stores but apparently they don't agree. You can read a detailed article about the struggles of finding a replacement for the A&P at NorthJersey.com.

Soon-to-be-former Acme – Lansdale, Pennsylvania

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Photos courtesy of John from WISL1480.com

Location: 1150 Welsh Rd, Lansdale, PA 


The classic 90's Lansdale Acme is scheduled to close in June along with two other locations. Sad to see this store go as Acme has been a presence on this property for nearly 6 decades. The original store opened June 24, 1959 as the sole business on the massive property. As we recently saw with the Edgewood, Maryland store, the property was cleared and paved to make way for more stores which didn't arrive until many years later. According to the historic aerials, Acme was the lone business until at least 1971. Additional stores were eventually built creating the Lansdale Village.

Some additional information from JoshAustin on flicker:
"the original store closed no later than 1994 with the new Acme opening in 1997. originally the site of an older Acme which closed in the early 90s (no later than 1994), and a small shopping center called Lansdale Village. In the mid 90s the Acme and rest of the center were demolished for one large Acme, which opened in 1997 (and is a twin of the former Quakertown store)."

The Lansdale Acme has suffered from new competition moving into the area. ShopRite opened less than 3 miles north in 2011 and Wegmans opened about 3 miles south at the Montgomery Mall in 2013. Not helping is the fact that Acme sits alone, just like the original store once did, with no other accompanying stores to draw in customers.


I always hated those carts. Acme was never green. Not for one minute. Red, white, blue, yellow...yes. Green no.


90's Red/White/Blue décor painted over with the basic Albertsons Marketplace signage up on the walls. The floor throughout the store is unchanged since 1997.


The store received the Premium Fresh and Health aisle markers and light up store directory. You can also see the self-checkouts sign hanging from the ceiling. They have since been ripped out. John took these photos a few years ago during the "getting better" era. Since then, Acme has done nothing but get worse thanks to the company's flat out refusal to staff stores with cashiers. Their new tagline should be "Damn, that's a long line".


The Salad Bar remains in it original spot rather than being relocated to the Mellon Bar/Bakery walls.








The store is not without some nice upgrades. It must have performed well before getting stuck between ShopRite and Wegmans.


Coffin cases in frozen were not replaced with upright cases in the early 2000's like they were in other 90's stores.














The original registers remain in place having not been painted a color that matched the updated décor.



While putting this post together, I checked out the reviews on google to see what people were saying about the store. To be fair, there were quite a few positive reviews. I cherry picked the ones that mentioned high prices and/or terrible checkout experiences as these are two of Acme's mot serious problems of which they refuse to address. As you will see, the removal of the self-checkouts is a source of many complaints...

Mel
2 months ago
Pharmacy is helpful. Wish they had self checkout.

Mark D
5 months ago
Everything is overpriced, there's no more self checkout so expect a line. No reason to come here over shop rite or Giant if you have the option. 

Crystal Sackal
5 months ago
Decent, but some of their prices are WAY too high.

Nicole Lupacchino
7 months ago
Well stocked grocery store! I just wish the prices was lower.

Audrey Booker
8 months ago
They had good sales but the everyday items not so much

Stanford Burrell
8 months ago
Decent prices. No self check out.

Creativity Blog
10 months ago
Selection is ok, has no self checkout.

Andrea Jaffee
a year ago
Not enough lines open, takes awhile to check out.

Chris Faulkner
a year ago
My main complaint is that they got rid of there self service check outs which make quick trips into long trips sometimes waiting for cashers or lines.

Gabrielle Guerre-Chaley
a year ago
This ACME is going down hill fast. Very dirty and the employees don't seem happy.

AERIAL VIEWS


Still looks like a relatively new store from this vantage point.





HISTORIC IMAGES


2004


1999


1992

The original acme is at the bottom of the photo and in the photo below...


John shared this picture with us back in 2013. It was taken in May 1981.


1971


1969


1967


1965


1960



Thanks to John from WISL1480.com for bringing us BOTH of the Lansdale Acmes!

Dover Safeway welcomes Acme Shoppers!

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Photo above courtesy of Marv

Location: 190 John Hunn Brown Rd, Dover, DE

Signs are up at the Dover Safeway welcoming Acme shoppers as the Dover location winds down. Marv will be getting us some photos of the store in its final days. You can check out some interior photos of the Safeway by clicking here. 

P.S.: Store posts will resume next week. An unexpected busy spell at work and an even more unexpected nasty cold has kept me from working on the blog for the past two weeks. 

Dover Acme's Final Days...

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Photos Courtesy of Marv

Location: 1001 N Dupont Hwy, Dover, DE 


Marv received this email directing Acme  shoppers to
visit the nearby Safeway store














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