Former Paramus Grand Union!

I received an email a few weeks back letting me know of this Stop&Shop/virtually untouched former Grand Union in Paramus and how it would be a good store to cover for the blog. It was just the kick-in-the-butt to finally do it! I photographed this store back in 2010 but upon looking at the results, I realized I would someday need to return for a reshoot. The interior pictures turned out particularly bad but that was about 3 iPhones ago. I returned just a few weeks ago with the latest, greatest iPhone which is proving to do the best job yet at taking interior pictures.

I've actually been familiar with this store since 1999 when I had a job in the Paramus area. You'd often find me here at lunch hour hitting up the Grand Union's salad bar, which was always among the best of any supermarket chain. Actually any excuse I had to stop in here was a good one. I fell madly in love with Grand Union during their remodeling phase in the mid to late 80's. They went from being an outdated, dumpy chain to be the absolute best around practically over night. While Acme's 80's remodeling was more of a catch-up strategy, Grand Union shot itself far into the future. Aside from the beautiful new interiors, the quality and selection in the service departments was as good as it gets. I've mentioned before how great their in-store bakeries were. One of the few chains back then where the baked goods tasted as good as they looked!

Grand Union certainly had its share of troubles over the years. 2000 proved to be the year the chain reached the end of the line. The company's finances were in such dire shape, there was no other option than to liquidate. It was devastating news. Soon after that Stop&Shop stepped in to acquire a large number of their stores. Paramus obviously among them. At that point I'd already had enough of Stop&Shop after Edwards got nixed in favor of the traffic light themed banner. My hope was that they would leave some of Grand Unions best qualities intact. They did not. This store closed down for a few days in 2001 while the conversion was made. The place was never the same again.

Before we move onto the photo portion of this post, I just want to comment a bit on the interesting similarities Grand Union and Acme had during the 80's and 90's. Both chains were lagging behind their competitors in the 80s. When the mid-80's arrived, both companies launched the most ambitious remodel plans in their respective histories. By the end of the 80's, both Acme and Grand Union saw their sales reach record levels. Then came the 90's and a knock back down to reality. Competitors had started building larger stores. Acme and Grand Union both had a fleet of nicely remodeled stores but the stores were rapidly becoming undersized. Acme in particular was still operating a large number of stores in the 20,000-30,000 square foot range. GU was in a little better shape with stores in the 30,000 to 40,000 range. As the 90's wore on it was becoming more evident that neither chain was expanding existing stores or building replacement stores fast enough to starve off sinking market share. American Stores threw in the towel in 1999 and was swallowed up by Albertsons. Grand Union gave it one last shot, launching yet another ambitious remodel plan in the late 90's. One that was equally impressive as it's 80's remodel. Problem was… they weren't in a position to invest so heavily in their stores. While business at remodeled locations increased significantly, it was too little, too late. I seem to remember that spending in general was out of control at Grand Union, particularly with the remodels. By October 2000, Grand Union was done. Never again could I stroll in and buy just one chocolate chip cookie from the bakery that just so happened to be one of the best money could buy. Some Grand Unions remained opened as they were spun off but they were never the same. All that's left today are a handful of locations that have been largely untouched since 2001, like this one in Paramus.


The photo above is from a few weeks ago. The one below is from August 2010. You can see how "STOP" was replaced and is now bigger than the rest of the logo.




Even though this facade is over 20 years old, it's still looking pretty cool. It has aged significantly just between my two visits when you compare the above two pictures with the very first shot.




We're headed in to see the 80's remodel still very much intact...


The hood lights over the checkouts were so futuristic looking back in the 80's. The frames were originally painted red which you can see in the photo below…




Stop&Shop simply covered over the existing department signs with new designs. With such little investment in this store, one would imagine it is very low volume. That was not the impression I got when I visited the store. The place was very busy. Pretty surprising too since there is a relatively new Fairway just south of here on Route 17.


The store is quite small by today's standards. Stop&Shop clearly doesn't want to invest a penny into this place but I would say there is potential here if they did. There's a good amount of wasted space in the produce department particularly with the single tiered produce cases.


New cases all around would do this place a world of good.

Here's a look at the original produce sign...







Something Special is Stop&Shop's usual home to their service meat department. Now it's just used for additional produce cases.


Home of the former salad bar. Just some mismatched tiles where it once used to stand.


This shot is from 2010. The bottom of the sign has started to slide down. It's only gotten worse as you saw in the photos above.


Floral is an odd spot at the back of the store.


I can't remember if this store had the light structure that ran the whole width of the store with the aisle markers hanging from it. I think it may have. Drawing a blank on that one. If you know what I'm taking about, you know it was one of the coolest things ever. Can't find any pictures of it online.


The deli and cheese department is in dead center of the store. I imagine this was shockingly ground breaking back in the 80's but now it's just weird. The deli has nice exposure out in front, right across from the checkouts. The other sections, however, get lost in the grocery aisles.












A look at the original Butcher Block sign from gustores4ever's flick collection 


The once uber-contemporary lighting isn't doing the the trick anymore. All of the cases around this section seem dark and lonely. Such a far cry from how fresh offerings are displayed in featured in today's supermarkets.




The deli out in front with the checkouts behind where I'm standing.








Dairy is located in its own aisle rather than running along one of the perimeter walls.


Nearly all of the cases throughout the store have remained since the 80's remodel.


Seafood is tucked away in the back corner.


I imagine this department was added in during the 80's remodel. Very odd location.


The bread alcove is located just before the seafood department.




The bakery in the front corner. It pales in comparison to Grand Union's bakery.






Stop&Shop did spend some money on the signage and decor for the pharmacy department.


One last look across the front-end.


The sign out by the entrance with the old Stop&Shop logo. Is this one of the very last stores in New Jersey to not have the logo and fruit bowl? They've been putting the new signage on stores whether they remodel the interior or not.






The parking lot is empty over this way since all the other stores in the shopping center are closed on Sundays.







A quick tour of the Kmart next door. Former home to Grand Union's Grandway store.








Arched ceiling still intact! These pictures were taken back in 2010. It was the first time I saw this retro orange and brown decor package. Thought it was very cool. Kmart has since abandoned this look in favor of bland and generic red signage. I've seen them put the new signage in stores just to close them a few months later.










This store was always busy when I was working in the area back in the early 2000's, I was never in here when I didn't have to wait in line at one of the many registers that were open. It must still do well, by Kmart standards anyway. No Target or Walmart in the immediate area.