Acme — Hockessin, Delaware

First time we're seeing this style of Acme on the blog! Several of these stores were built in Delaware in the very late 80's and early 90's. The red-oval logo was mounted on the plank that extends between the brick towers. The greenhouse styled vestibule was one of the coolest things I had ever seen at an Acme. It was nice to see the chain make a big leap forward with their store design. One of the locations was used in commercials back in the early 90's...

Unfortunately the 100th Anniversary logo covers the actual sign in the commercial.

What about the sign on the store now? As you saw, it was missing in the first photo. That was due to the remodel that was in progress when Ben took the picture. Previously, both "ACME" and "Sav-on" had been located on the plank. "Sav-on" has since been relocated, allowing "ACME" to once again be centered above the glass vestibule. Below are some updated photos of the new signage...






The greenhouse section of the vestibule has been walled in and used to expand the front-end. Customer Service may be located is that area. You can see in the first photo that the windows are now covered over.


The decor here had been the basic Alberstons Marketplace package. Glad to see that one finally leaving stores. A significant layout change was also made here during the remodel. Produce was moved out of the alcove and now runs along aisle 1, facing the Bakery. Bucks County Coffee and Preparred Foods moved to the alcove. I believe the Deli is there too but we don't have confirmation of that in the pictures below. A similar change was made to the King of Prussia store years ago. The Newtown store also had this layout change for its remodel last year.


Since I haven't actually been to this store to see it for myself, I'll have to let the pictures do most of the talking. That said, I'm not exactly sure what we're looking at here.


Yep, there's that 80's checkerboard floor! I believe all of the stores built with the greenhouse vestibule had the 80's remodel decor. The checkerboard doesn't extend into the grocery aisles here.


Take note of the tile on the back wall of the Deli. It will survive the remodel, as we'll see down below.






The remodel sneaking into the picture above with the new aisle markers in place and the front wall getting painted.

And now for a tour after the grand reopening in January 2013...




Former Produce alcove with all new departments...





Produce out in the open! I love this change and wish it would be made at all 90's formatted stores. It's too bad Acme doesn't have Giant's budget for remodeling. You know… the ol' remodel all the stores virtually at the same time and give them all the same look. I think Giant is the only chain in the country that manages to pull that off. Notice here… the bagged lettuce cases under the farmstand sign have doors!







More cases with doors in the deli panty. Dairy received all new cases just like this too.





The store looks great in this shot! Check out the old "Butcher Block" sign is still hanging there.




You can see the old tile from the Deli remains on the back wall.


Looks like there's a mix of new and old frozen food cases.


Would have been nice if they painted the ceiling tiles. A&P and Pathmark have been doing that in their remodels. Makes a HUGE difference!


No categoy markers up and down the grocery aisles.


The checkerboard floor is gone from the perimeter. The grocery aisles look to have the same tiles as they had before the remodel. You can see that evidence of that in the next picture...


The aisle markers get a little shorter when the ceiling dips down in this section.


The Dairy Deparemtne looks pretty fantastic!


Category markers here in Health and Beauty Aids.





All new cases with doors in Dairy.






It's the end of the line for this decor package. Acme has rolled out a whole new look which will be coming to the blog very soon!



Interesting shopping center here. Not many others in the area. One of this Acme's closest competitors is… ANOTHER Acme!











Not much to see in the historic aerials...




Below are the four other stores that are the same exterior style as Hockessin...





This store appears to have started as a 33M model and was expanded and renovated to its current format.



And finally… the one and only non-Delaware store in New Jersey. It has closed and is now divided between a Ross and Marshalls. The greenhouse vestibule was once located right there in the center.

Thanks to Ben and Mike for the pictures of the Hockessin store!