ACME MARKETS TO ACQUIRE
76 A&P STORES!
STORE COUNT TO
SKYROCKET TO 183!
ACME RETURNS
TO NORTH JERSEY!
List courtesy of A&P:
A&P (2007 State Route 35, Wall Township, NJ)List courtesy of A&P:
A&P (100 Triangle Center, Yorktown, NY)
A&P (137 Lake Street, Midland Park, NJ)
A&P (125 Franklin Turnpike, Mahwah, NJ)
A&P (1260 Springfield Avenue, New Providence, NJ)
A&P (610 Columbus Avenue, Thornwood, NY)
A&P (2160 Lemoine Avenue, Fort Lee, NJ)
A&P (520 Chestnut Ridge Road, Woodcliff Lake, NJ)
A&P (660 Mclean Avenue, Yonkers, NY)
A&P (3105 East Main Street, Mohegan Lake, NY)
A&P (123-125 Main Street, Denville, NJ)
A&P (125 18th Street, Jersey City, NJ)
A&P (45 Demercurio Drive, Allendale, NJ)
A&P (2005 Albany Post Road, Croton on Hudson, NY)
A&P (1511 Route 22, Brewster, NY)
A&P (801 Kenilworth Boulevard, Kenilworth NJ)
A&P (907D Oak Tree Road, South Plainfield, NJ)
A&P (5774 Berkshire Valley Road, Jefferson Township, NJ)
A&P (530 Route 515 Unit 1, Vernon, NJ)
A&P (1233 Nepperhan Avenue, Yonkers, NY)
A&P (507 Prospect Avenue, Little Silver, NJ)
A&P (614 Clinton Street, Hoboken, NJ)
A&P (Route 22 and Route 138, Golden Bridge, NY)
A&P (829 Route 82, Hopewell Junction, NY)
A&P (12-14 Cedar Street, Bronxville, NY)
A&P (510 Valley Road, Montclair, NJ)
A&P (1201 High Ridge Road, Stamford, CT)
A&P (422 Old Post Road, Bedford, NY)
A&P (3 Village Center, Mahopac, NY)
A&P (1060 Raritan Road, Clark, NJ)
A&P (230 Saw Mill River Road, Millwood, NY)
A&P (5 Ortley Plaza, Ortley Beach, NJ)
A&P (455 Route 23, North Sussex, NJ)
A&P (261 South Ridge Street, Rye Brook, NY)
A&P (160 West Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, CT)
A&P (1886 Pleasantville Road, Briarcliff Manor, NY)
A&P (152 Route 94, Blairstown, NJ)
A&P (1261 East Putnam Avenue, Riverside, CT)
A&P (777 White Plains Road, Eastchester, NY)
A&P (199 Kinderkamack Road, Park Ridge, NJ)
A&P (103 Knollwood Road, Greenburgh, NY)
A&P (1366 East Main Street, Shrub Oak, NY)
A&P (55 Riverwalk Drive West New York, NJ)
A&P (23 Quaker Ridge Road, New Rochelle, NY)
A&P (Route 44 and North Avenue, Pleasant Valley, NY)
A&P (288 Elm Street, New Canaan, CT)
A&P (990 Shrewsbury Avenue, Tinton Falls, NJ)
A&P (3500 Route #9, Old Bridge, NJ)
A&P (75 Mayhill Street, Saddle Brook, NJ)
A&P (177 Washington Valley Road, Warrenville, NJ)
Pathmark (321 Stadium Plaza, Jersey City, NJ)
Pathmark (58 Broad Way, Elmwood Park, NJ)
Pathmark (481 River Road, Edgewater, NJ)
Pathmark (2101-41 Cottman Avenue, Philadelphia, PA)
Pathmark (4100 Park Avenue, Weehawken, NJ)
Pathmark (80 New Bridge Road, Bergenfield, NJ)
Pathmark (281-295 Ferry Street, Newark, NJ)
Pathmark (5100 Wellington Avenue, Ventnor, NJ)
Pathmark (7700 Crittenden Street, Philadelphia, PA)
Pathmark (100 College Square, Newark, DE)
Pathmark (4365 Kirkwood Highway, Wilmington , DE)
Pathmark (643 Conchester Highway, Boothwyn, PA)
Superfresh (180 West Girard Ave, Philadelphia, PA)
Superfresh (9507 Coastal Highway, Ocean City, MD)
Superfresh (1305 West Chester Pike, Havertown, PA)
Superfresh (609 East Bay Avenue, Manahawkin, NJ)
Superfresh (800 2nd Street, Pike Richboro, PA)
Superfresh (1812 Marsh Road, Wilmington, DE)
Superfresh (305 South Fifth Street, Philadelphia, PA)
Superfresh (800 West Avenue, Ocean City, NJ)
Superfresh (1001 South Street, Philadelphia, PA)
Superfresh (18578 Coastal Highway Rehoboth, DE
Superfresh (2400 Delaware Avenue, Wildwood, NJ)
Superfresh (250 East Lancaster, Wynnewood, PA)
Superfresh (1025 Youngs Ford Road, Gladwyne, PA)
Superfresh (401 New London Road, Newark, DE)
Note: Competing bids could still be placed for any of these locations.
A&P has requested that any additional bids
be placed by September 11, 2015.
Thanks to everyone for sending in the list!
I had called it a day when the news broke.
A couple of thoughts as all of this sinks in...
WOW! Acme to return to it's spot in New Providence. NJ!
And returning to the same property where it once
had a store in Ortely Beach!
The Shrewsberry Acme relocating to a bigger store!
Acme taking over a very high-volume Jersey City store!
A second location in Ocean City, NJ!
A second location in Wildwood, NJ!
My area is going from ZERO Acmes to EIGHT NEW locations!!!
Acme Style to become an ACME SHOPPER once again!
Congratulations to Acme
for nearly doubling its count!
Pretty amazing what can happen when our favorite supermarket chain
is owned by a company who wants to keep it in business!
One final item:
Yesterday's visitor count to Acme Style
was the largest in the blog's entire history!
A second location in Wildwood, NJ!
My area is going from ZERO Acmes to EIGHT NEW locations!!!
Acme Style to become an ACME SHOPPER once again!
Congratulations to Acme
for nearly doubling its count!
Pretty amazing what can happen when our favorite supermarket chain
is owned by a company who wants to keep it in business!
One final item:
Yesterday's visitor count to Acme Style
was the largest in the blog's entire history!
Pretty amazing turn of events. They are going to have CT stores also! This must be a huge investment for them....these stores are going to need a lot of work.
ReplyDeleteI wonder why they didn't take the other Jersey City Pathmark which is in a very gentrifying area.... Instead they took the one on the lower-income side of town. Maybe Key Food got it instead.
Just when you thought you were almost done covering the Jersey stores! Now you have your work cut out for you...but in a good way.
All of the Patohmarks/A&P's that they're getting in my area are extremely nice stores. Won't take much work at all... initially anyway. They probably skipped the Stadium Plaza Pathmark because you literally cannot breathe the air down there.
DeleteYes, a lot more work indeed although the classic Acme locations will remain the priority for blog coverage.
Acme IS taking stadium plaza and skipped the newly renovated Grand Street store. But it dawned on me before that Stadium Plaza is on the Bayonne/JC border, where they have name recognition due to the store the closed there a few years back.
DeleteYes--Fort Lee, West New York and JC are in great shape (haven't been to Hoboken in years). I wonder why they didn't take Fairview.
The best news here is for the employees--I really hope they can work something out with the unions because those A&P/Pathmark folks have been through the wringer and they need stability. This is one of the best outcomes for them.
Oh! Thanks for clarifying that. I thought they did get the Grand Street store. A little hard getting all of this to sink in first thing in the morning.
DeleteThe Hoboken store is small but it does have the original "Fresh" remodel.
I wonder why they didn't want the last Delaware Pathmark (New Castle)?
ReplyDeleteI’m not sure New Castle has the demographics Acme’s looking for. I wonder what they’re going to do with the smaller stores like Branmar in Wilmington and Society Hill in Philly. Does Acme/Albertson’s have an urban store model for their new acquisitions?
DeleteDon't they still have a few small stores of their own (thinking of that one that had the last fish eye sign, the one in Cape May, one they just replaced on the shore? So they seem to be able to work within smaller footprints OK.
DeleteAren't most of Acme’s smaller stores tend to be in small towns and/or near vacation spots? I would think that those types of stores would have a different mix than those a typical suburban or urban shopper would want in their neighborhood store.
DeleteI think Acme does best with smaller stores. Traditionally, the larger ones are the ones that give them trouble.
DeleteI don't know if Acme has a specific model for smaller stores but some of the nicest, most pleasant and functional stores in the chain are ones like Cape May and Fair Haven. The Morris Plains store, at about 30k square feet, is just about perfect when it comes to size, and offers most of what people could ever want or need of a neighborhood store.
They have local experience with a small format store at the Trolley Square store in Wilmington. Very high sales per square foot. I imagine they will be just as successful if not more successful in Branmar Plaza, though they will be siphoning off some business from Fairfax and F&N. Speaking of Fairfax, it is also a relatively small store. Don't forget that Acme once had a strong stable of small stores before moving to larger and larger locations. I am sure that there are enough seasoned veterans still around to know how to run a small store and run it right.
DeleteI am also surprised they are picking up College Square and Kirkwood Highway, but leaving both New Castle locations behind? One has to wonder what will become of them because they will be on the outskirts of the "new" A&P footprint.
I am impressed that they have faith in College Square. That center is all but dead. It needs a new anchor to come in and breathe some new life in to it. Supposedly the plans are to extend Delaware Ave to Marrows Rd, thus cutting the shopping center in half (it basically is already with the parking lot/access road setup they have now).
When was the last time Acme was at 183 locations ?
ReplyDeleteSomewhere in the mid to late 90's. In 1995 they had 195 stores. By 2002 it was down to 144.
DeleteLooks like Albertsons led Acme is really going to go full in and expand their footprint. Good for them and good for these communities. They won't be losing a traditional grocery store like what happens so many times when a grocer implodes (ie stores go to ethnic grocers or other retailers). I hope that Albertsons/Safeway has the resources to do this. I would hate to see Acme end up being another Haggen which is having troubles with their huge purchase out west.
ReplyDeleteWell people are furious with the prices at Haggen. Acme should coming in to these stores with better pricing than what A&P/Pathmark is currently offering. My local Pathmark has been out of control lately with their prices. The store has been a ghost town for months now.
DeleteSignificant difference. Haggen was a tiny regional supermarket with about 16 stores before, whereas Albertsons Companies is a 2000+ store behemoth. Acme just nearly doubled a store count, whereas Haggen expanded by tenfold. Haggen went into areas that were well outside its geographic area (stretching down to ARIZONA) while Acme is mostly going into areas nearby. However, seeing that there's some Connecticut stores, I'm wondering if some of the stores that "Acme" is getting will actually reopen as Shaw's instead.
DeleteOther than those questions, I am actually pretty excited for the news. Special note goes to that 55 Riverwalk Drive location, an A&P Fresh location, seems a bit small, but at the base of a 6/7 story apartment building with Manhattan just across the bay.
The Riverwalk A&P is small but it is a gorgeous store and has TONS of people within walking distance.
DeleteThat's actually the Hudson River. The A&P is also close to the ferry to and from the city. I used to shop here a lot but the produce is pretty terrible. Hoping Acme can do a better job with it!
DeleteWhat I'm wondering is how this all goes about (at the store level). Are the stores going to liquidate everything, close for awhile and be remodeled into whichever chain bought them or will they leave them open and just do the work while they're operating?
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking it will be similar to the way Shop changed over the Grand Unions it acquired. Keep the stores open but at some point close for a day or two to swap out the registers and do some updating of the department signage. I believe this is the same way Jewel handled the Dominick's conversions. The only liquidating to be done will be the products that Acme won't be carrying.
DeleteWhen AppleTree imploded in the early 1990s, crews had to change all the pricetags, even though most of the inventory remained. That sort of thing takes a while.
DeleteThe technology over 2 decades later is going to help things go faster. They won't be closing stores for more than a day or two.
DeleteI'll note that both Price Chopper and Hannaford did similiarly with the Grand Union stores they bought up this way in NY - close for a short time (a couple days) to change whatever needed to be changed sign and such wise. And that was (as noted elsewhere) 10+ years ago so it could be easier now.
DeleteAlso noting that they kept the pharmacies accessible during the closings (if any of these stores have them).
When Ahold purchased Ukrops in Richmond they closed the stores in small groups for a week at a time for a remodel and switchover to the Martins name. I think it took Ahold a couple of months to fully switch everything over from Ukrops to Martins.
DeleteYou bring up the switchover with GU and S&S...I wonder if we'll see these stores starting to sell Acme products on the shelves, like GU did with Stop & Shop stuff.
DeleteDoes anyone know what will become of the remaining A&P/Pathmarks that are not on any of these lists? Will A&P continue to operate those?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think that it is necessary to close the stores from a union point of view so that A&P will layoff the workers and then the new operator will hire them.
They are still attempting to sell the rest of the stores aside from the 25 that are bring closed outright.
DeleteYou'll notice that only 3 chains are listed as purchasing stores so far, which leaves quite a few other potential purchasers (depending on where each store is located) so it's likely that many, if not all will eventually be sold.
Unfortunately, the 4 stores in my area: Washington NJ, Belvidere NJ, Blairstown NJ and Mount Olive NJ don't seem to have buyers yet- why didn't Acme take those? It would've brought the count to the initially reported 80 stores, and they aren't going to either S&S or Key Foods, so who wants em? They don't do that terribly- Washington and Belvidere have Fresh remodels (well Washington has exterior signage), although Mount Olive is still a Super A&P (as is the Randolph one, but Acme doesn't need that), but it seems to hold it's own. Never been to Blairstown, but it's the only supermarket in the area, which is somewhat isolated, so that probably means they do somewhat well.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that Acme or Stop and Shop did not take anything in that area of the state. You can add Clinton and Califon to your list as well.
DeleteThere are probably a few options - someone like ShopRite (or one of the ownerships) could grab a few here and there.
DeleteOr there are a couple smaller chains that are not too far away - you have some Price Chopper stores on the PA side of the border that are reasonably close (Scranton area) and also Weis is in that area and has had a couple stores in NJ at times. Or the smaller groups (like IGA or Food Town, which is in East Stroudsburg just over the river from these areas).
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DeleteYeah I just thought of Weis- they've got a Hackettstown location, if they scoop up those stores they could really start expanding.
DeleteWeis could possibly buy a few stores, especially in the more rural parts of New Jersey. ShopRite is sure to take some of the largest locations (many Pathmarks are huge) and don't forget chains like Whole Foods and Kings could be zeroing in on a few.
DeleteAcme is taking Blairstown.
ReplyDeleteAh, didn't see that on the list at first, sorry.
DeleteGreat to see Acme returning to North Jersey. Also grabbing up more stores on the shore seem to be a great idea. Especially moving into the Superfresh in Ocean City MD. Interesting that they are going for the Rehoboth store when there is a Safeway about a mile and a half away.
ReplyDeleteI suppose it's possible the Rehoboth Beach and Ocean City stores could be branded as Safeways? At first I was surprised that Acme didn't gobble up more Jersey shore stores until I realized they pretty much dominate the southern half of the shore and haven't left much room for competition. The stores in Manahawkin and Ventnor should be nice additions to the chain. Now they just need to reopen those Genuardi stores in Barnegat and Egg Harbor!
DeleteAt least, I feel like the Ocean City store would be better branded as a Safeway, since you have alot of people coming from the Baltimore/Washington area and Safeway has a strong presence there. Acme definitely seems to like the shore stores. If you cant beat them, just buy the stores out. They should reopen some of the closed Genuardi's under Acme.
DeleteHI, Albertsons isnt interested in growing Safeway in and Acme territory. They intend to maintain what ever they currently have in the area. Just like they have no interestin opening Acmes in Baltimore or Washington.
DeleteA&P has a long history in Rehoboth Beach going back to the 1970s. The current Super Fresh is the third A&P/Super Fresh store in town. The previous ones were a 1970s model on Route 1 south of the canal bridge and a 1980s slant front Super Fresh which was located where Wal-Mart is now. The current Super Fresh is a large store in a strip mall with some other major retailers whereas Safeway is kind of by itself with only some other small shops adjacent. The current Super Fresh is also farther away from Wal-Mart which currently is not a supercenter but has space to expand. Perhaps Albertsons is looking to move Safeway to a better location. Given that most people who go to the Delaware and Maryland beaches are from the DC/Baltimore area continuing with Safeway makes the most sense. But then again there are folks from northern Delaware and the western Philly burbs who go to Rehoboth and would know Acme. Would Albertsons be able to maintain both stores? Once the Food Lion merger goes through the Delaware and Maryland beaches will essentially be Albertsons and Ahold.
DeleteActually there are two Superfresh stores in Ocean City - would have been interesting if they picked up both and put an Acme sign on one and Safeway on the other. That way you'd get the benefit of both names for those coming from different areas to visit and knowing one or the other.
DeleteOne of the two Super Fresh stores on Coastal Highway in Ocean City, MD closed in a previous round that A&P completed last year I think. There is a Super Fresh on the way into town on Route 50. One thing I've never understood about Ocean City, MD is why Giant-MD both pre and post Ahold never opened a store there. It took Giant-MD until the mid-1990s to open a store in Rehoboth and the 2000s in Bethany Beach. With Giant's DC/Baltimore name recognition (and dominance pre-Ahold) I'd think Giant-MD would want to try to get some traction in the Ocean City, MD area. Maybe they are finally going to do that with the Food Lion buyout. That's probably why Ahold didn't go for the Super Fresh stores in MD and DE.
DeleteAccording to the Superfresh store locator as on July 20th, it still listed 2 stores in Ocean City MD:
Delete- Superfresh 12741 Ocean Gateway Ocean City, MD 21842
- Superfresh 9507 Coastal Hwy Ocean City, MD 21842
Only one of which Acme is taking over (the 9507 Location).
I remember the two stores not being (all that) far apart - one was in kind of a "mall".
There used to be a Super Fresh at the Gold Coast Mall in Ocean City, MD that closed in 2011. That is probably the store you are thinking of. I always wondered why there were two Super Fresh stores so close together but figured they did OK especially in the summer with all of the tourists around. The Ocean Gateway store is not on any of the buyout lists or on the closing list. Ocean Gateway is Route 50 which is the main route into Ocean City. Perhaps Giant-MD is interested in this store if it doesn't conflict too much with the Food Lion buyout.
DeleteOne thing I've been confused about is the stores that folks say aren't on any of the lists. Is A&P going to somehow emerge from bankrupcy and run what is left? The way the news spins this it sounds like A&P is done, gone, out of business. But that doesn't account from the few stores that aren't on any of the lists.
A&P still has about 150 stores. I think the plan is to unload them as soon as possible. Problem is, Acme and Stop & Shop already snapped up the most profitable ones so they're going to have a tougher time finding buyers for the rest.
DeleteDo you think it's maybe a matter of some of those remaining stores being very valuable and A&P isn't yet ready to commit to a buyer with hopes that there will be a bidding war?
DeleteFrom what I've been told, all these stores will be branded as ACME and will be supported by their Distribution Center 8790, located in Denver, Pa.
DeleteT.
Talk about a comeback! It's cool that they're returning to places like Jersey City and New Providence, where they once had stores before!
ReplyDeleteThe Jersey City A&P is a very high-volume store even with a ShopRite a few blocks away. The place is only getting busier as more condos get built in that part of town. Acme will do much better there than it did in its former location.
DeleteIf Acme returns to North Jersey, that means it also returns to the New York City area (including New York and Connecticut), since it also buys stores in New York and Connecticut, including Pathmark. Keep in mind, Albertsons sister chain Shaw's, which operates in New England, recently withdrew from the Connecticut market, so now it makes sense that in the New York area (including Fairfield County) Acme comes to Connecticut.
DeleteA couple questions:
ReplyDeleteWhen are the stores going to be switched over?
and
How soon is the "immediate" closing of the 25 other stores?
Also, if my calculations are correct, there will be 2 SuperFresh locations left.
The stores will switch over later this year. The deal won't be finalized until October.
DeleteThere has been some clarity on what "immediate" means... within the next 3 months.
What are the two SuperFresh stores left that you have found?\
DeleteThe one that I saw that doesn't appear on any lists is New Hope, PA, a very dated former Clemens that SF took over in 2006. I'm really surprised Acme didn't make a go at it. There is a Giant down the road, but there really isn't much else in the immediate area except for one or two independent stores (Doylesown, about 10 miles away has an Acme, Weis, and Giant).
I don't know which stores specifically, besides New Hope. I'm just estimating by the numbers. I hope ACME does take that store at some point.
DeleteAnother Super Fresh that is not on the closing list or on the Acme list is the one on Route 9/New Castle Avenue in New Castle. Just like the Pathmark on US 13 in New Castle.
DeleteThe Super Freshes not picked up yet (not counting the ones closing) are New Hope, Roxborough (7162 Ridge Ave in Philly), New Castle, DE, and the second Ocean City, MD store on Ocean Gateway.
DeleteRoxborough is close to Shoprite and two Acmes, any of which could relocate into that spot.
Closing signs went up for both New Castle, De A&P properties this week.
DeleteHoly crap! This is amazing! The New Providence Store is back in business! (That's the same store that ACME had before, right? Talk 'bout sweet revenge!)
ReplyDeleteBut a little bit of a bad moment, too. None of these stores are near me! Unless I want to drive 1.5 hours to a freakin SuperFresh!
The store is in the same spot but A&P tore down the Acme and built a slightly bigger store in its place. There's absolutely nothing left of the original building. The entire shopping center has been made over as well.
DeleteYep, I remember that... but wow! What a comeback! That'll be something for flickr:
DeleteAcme/A&P/Acme! Never seen that before!
The A&P in Saddle Brook, NJ on Mayhill St. is becoming an Acme. Can't believe one is coming to my town!
ReplyDeleteSo much for you being off this summer, Acme Style Blogger. This is most likely the most exciting season yet for Acme since you created the blog!
ReplyDeleteWell I'm happy to take a break from my summer break to report on one of the biggest developments in Acme's entire history!
DeleteJust a bit of irony here is that in 1999 Ahold was planning to purchase Pathmark but was denied by the FTC due to competitive concerns in the NYC market. Me thinks Ahold is probably happy to be picking through the remnants of Pathmark instead of having to take on the whole chain. Though I'd think Pathmark was in better shape back then than now after suffering through A&P ownership.
ReplyDeleteI even remember the Pathmark employee newsletter with the Ahold logo on it.
DeleteAhold got to pick through GU after their bk, and now gets to do the same with A&P. They also strengthened their market share in the greater Philadelphia area by buying Clemens and opening a number of new stores without having to actually enter the city.
I think Pathmark was probably in better shape in 1999, but there was probably struggling we didn't know about that later surfaced. And then their disastrous marriage with A&P that brought on the latter's demise much quicker.
I just don't see the Ahold-Delhaize merger going through without some major divestitures. They battle in Richmond VA where Ahold entered the market by acquiring Ukrop's (and rebannering them Martin's). Though Ahold did save themselves some trouble by exiting Bottom Dollar. But there are a lot of Giant and Food Lion stores in the Mid-Atlantic that will have to be sorted through and locations sold off. I imagine they'll take the high road and keep the Giant stores, although they are no longer the crown jewel they once were.
When I worked for Acme there was a rumor that they were also going to try to acquire Pathmark.
DeleteWho is out there that would be interested in the stores that Ahold has to divest to get Food Lion? I see DC, Baltimore and Richmond as being the biggest conflict areas. The Food Lion stores just aren't big enough for what a major grocer wants now. Maybe Aldi or Lidl (who is ramping up for a US expansion) would be interested. Kroger is already in Richmond and has Harris Teeter in the DC area. Maybe Wal-Mart Express or Neighborhood Market stores? Perhaps if Ahold unloaded an existing Giant in favor of a Food Lion you could see Shop Rite or someone like that move in.
DeleteI worked for Acme for 4 summers when I was in college in the 1960's in Succasunna and Dover. An aunt told me that people in the A&P where she shopped told her that Acme was leaving NJ. During the ensuing years that almost seemed to be the case. By the time we moved from NJ to Washington state 5 years ago the only Acme's left in Morris County were Morris Plains and Randolph. We usually drove an extra 20 minutes to shop in Randolph rather than at a Shop-RIte that was close to home. It is so ironic that now A&P is the one leaving and Acme is making a comeback. Hopefully the new Acme management will be aggressive enough to compete with Shop-Rite.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to witness the Albertsons-Safeway merger in the Pacific Northwest. The nearby Safeway was sold to Haggen and the adjacent Albertsons has been converted to a Safeway and received a major remodel. As a shopper it is frustrating to see so much Safeway private label on the shelves and less variety of regional and national brands. However the employees wear name tags that say Safeway Albertsons. The weekly circulars for both chains are almost identical, with just a few items that are unique to each store. I am happy that they have kept Dietz and Watson deli meats, but the real push is Safeway's Primo Taglia which I refuse to buy. A block away the Haggen is usually empty, but they are now supplied by Supervalu, so there's a lot of Essential Everyday products on the shelves. Haggen has let a lot of former Safeway employees go, but they do carry a lot of local products. It will be interesting so see if Haggen can capture enough customers to remain open.
Was that the Oak Harbor stores? I hope that Albertsons Companies does away with Primo Taglio entirely, at least the divisions it got forced on (Randalls went from Boar's Head to Primo Taglio under Safeway, though under Albertsons, United has kept Boar's Head).
DeleteYes, it is Oak Harbor. They run out of Dietz and Watson fairly often now, but they always have Primo Taglio. When the store was Albertsons the meat department had grass fed beef from Oregon. Now it's from Australia. Fortunately we can buy locally raised beef at Haggen, Red Apple and at the farm's store.
DeleteWhile I'm happy that Safeway kept Dietz and Watson, most prices went up by about $2 per pound. Primo Taglio is equally high priced. One clerk figured they can get away with it since they now have a majority of former Albertsons and Safeway customers. We're used to having cold cuts sliced when we buy them. Safeway likes to pre-slice Primo Taglio products and let them dry out in the display case. Albertsons had a nicer deli.
That kind of stinks, I was hoping the "best of the worlds" for the store. As that was one of the first "conversions", I would hope that as time goes on, they make changes. Namely, killing Primo Taglio chain-wide.
DeleteIt's amazing how Northwest delis are different from what I grew up with in NJ. Even the small Sparta Acme had a big variety of brands of deli meats. Albertsons had several brands before the conversion, but now as a Safeway it's really just Dietz and Watson plus Safeway private labels. They've expanded Dietz and Watson since the store reopened but there's still not as much as before. In addition they are out of D&W for days at a time. Albertsons used to get a delivery every 2 weeks but they seemed to order enough that it was rarely out of stock. I don't know if that is still the cycle, but the D&W portion of the case is full of holes for days at a time.
DeleteThe Albertsons employees who now work for Safeway are great. I get the feeling that a lot of them miss being an Albertsons.
Several things that have been kept are the Albertsons recipe for fried chicken and precut fruit bowls (pineapple, melon, etc).
What interior did the Albertsons turned Safeway get? The Lifestyle interior has been around now for 10 years or so. Me thinks it is probably time for something new. Maybe something from Albertsons? Near me in the DC area since the Albertsons takeover the Safeway stores have been cleaned up and brightened up with new lighting. With the Lifestyle format the stores were on the dark side especially in the perimeter areas. Safeway is closest to my house so I shop there quite a bit. Wegmans is second closest but it is always a zoo and I can't deal with the crowds. I'm glad Albertsons has done something to improve Safeway because they were starting to circle the drain prior to the buyout.
DeleteOak Harbor got Lifestyle produce bins, improved lighting, and a lot of new shelving. The original store was very dark in the frozen aisles at the right side of the building. The Pharmacy had been in an enclosed island near the front of the store. It got moved to the former courtesy area and small meeting room. Removing the old Pharmacy opened up the store making it look much bigger.
DeleteOne employee told me that there is one more phase to go with the remodeling. So far the store has the original meat, produce, dairy and frozen cases. It is amazing how much was achieved in the middle of the night with the store remaining open during the day.
The checkers complain that the scanning system is 20 years old and was brought in from other Safeway stores.
While I feel that they are forcing too much Safeway brand product on consumers, they certainly have a big variety of organic grocery products.
Before the conversion we did about 90% of our shopping at Albertsons and 10% at a small Red Apple store. Now it's about 60% Safeway, 30% Haggen and 10% Red Apple. I like the overall improvements that the remodeling brought, but the store has failed to "wow" me.
I had seen a Yelp review that indicated Albertsons had the Theme Park decor. Prior to the redo, did they have Boars Head?
DeleteThe only Whidbey Island store that I know of with Boars Head is Payless in Freeland. Albertsons primarily featured D&W and Albertsons Signature, with some national brands like Jennie O.
DeleteWow! I'll be happy to see them return to the North. Although I can't help but wonder how they'll work with the size of most Fresh A&P's, like Allendale...
ReplyDeleteI see the Jefferson A&P was on the list...I wonder what it means for the Jefferson Pathmark, which is on NJ 15 south.
ReplyDeleteIt would have been nice to see them grab that store. A sort of return to the Rockaway/Sparta area. The Pathmark certainly doesn't do the business it once did and now with ShopRite coming to Route 15 in Sparta, it's probably only going to get worse.
DeleteThat PathMark also happens to be the only one left of 9 ex Grand Unions they scooped up when Ahold wasn't able to.
DeleteThe Jefferson Pathmark is quite a distance from the A&P, which is on the other side of Jefferson. The latter has no immediate competition.
DeleteThe Jefferson Pathmark was never a Grand Union.
DeleteI thought you meant the Lake Hopatcong one- that was an ex-GU.
DeleteThe Pathmark located at 757 Route 15, Lake Hopatcong, is not an ex-GU. It's been a Pathmark since at least the late 70's when my family used to drag me there to go shopping. It was a much smaller store than it is today.
DeleteYou're both right. The one you're talking about has been a Pathmark for decades but there is another Pathmark on the other side of the lake that was a Grand Union before being converted to a Pathmark.
ReplyDeleteGlad we got that settled! I didn't know there was another one across the lake.
DeleteYeah, my middle school art teacher told me about a few years back- she showed me a picture, it had the green facade of later GUs, but with Pathmark signage.
DeleteThere's been some discussion as to what banner some of these purchased stores will have. I'm not sure why since ACME is buying the stores and not Safeway or Shaws. According to Philly.com....
ReplyDelete"All the stores will be renamed Acme."
http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20150722_Acme_to_buy_76_A_P_stores.html#Imya8vWhCqosBUrr.99
Interesting. I was thinking that the Connecticut stores would be Shaw's, which is closer to Shaw's territory in Boston, and the fact that it's not really Acme buying it, its Albertsons, unless Acme has achieved the sort of quasi-independent autonomy United got (they opened a store in Brownwood, TX earlier this year), which I don't believe Acme has. Of course, Acme's territory used to be far larger than today, and this can represent getting closer to that.
DeleteOn the other hand, all this seems fairly preliminary. We have no idea what the timetable for converting these stores to Acme (presumably this will be done in waves) or if Acme will be outbid for any locations, and we do know that "division trading" can happen without notice (there was no big announcement that the Florida Albertsons went to Safeway's Houston division, but it happened!)
All I'm saying is that it's still plausible that some of the acquired A&P stores won't open as Acme.
It is plausible, but I don't see the CT stores becoming Shaw's locations. If you are able to map everything (or at least imagine it), you'll see that the few CT stores are very close to the stores that Acme is purchasing in New York... which are very close to the stores Acme is purchasing in northern NJ. It seems that the whole area is going to be a reborn northern NJ/lower NY state region, probably for the purposes of marketing and distribution. I believe Acme bought the NY and CT stores so it could make a business case for the northern NJ stores. To reach a Shaw's store from A&P's current CT locations, you'd have to travel across the state, so it doesn't make sense that the new acquisitions would be branded Shaw's.
DeleteOf course Acme doesn't have the cash to purchase 76 stores from A&P but they are the company being named as the acquirer. If the plan was to use 3 different banners for these stores, I would think Alberstons would be named as the bidder with a mention that the stores would be converted to Acmes, Shaws and Safeway. We'll see if any trades happen but Acme has been working closely with A&P for a while now to determine what stores they would most be interested in.
DeleteIs this the first time that Acme has ever had stores in New England? I don't recall ever hearing about any past locations in CT, MA, ME, NH, RI and/or VT.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct.
DeleteTruth be told, Shaws closed thirty five stores in Conn.Has not been sucessful as Acme has been in regaining same store sales, so I dont think that you will be seeing any new Shaws stores, any time soon. As far as Safeway, Albertsons stratergy is to expand the ACME BRAND in in these markets And simply maitain the Safeways in Acmes territory. IT makes sense from and advertising view point. JUST LIKE IN THE WEST,Safeway is dominant and will be the recipient of most of the development money.
ReplyDeleteNearly every brand in the Albertsons Companies is damaged goods, sadly, either abused by Safeway, Cerberus, or SuperValu. Remember, even six months ago, it was dubious that Acme would ever open brand-new stores, and now look.
DeleteOf course, the reality is that the new Albertsons is patchwork and hasn't accumulated lots of reserves, so some divisions will get more (NorCal, Jewel-Osco) than others (Houston, Shaw's).
They made a great choice with Ortley Beach. Acme is great, but that building will forever be an A&P to me. The store was remodeled over the winter with the second version of the "fresh" theme. In order to make that store work, all Acme has to do is change all of the A&P logos to Acme logos.
ReplyDeleteOld Bridge brings Starbucks back to Acme, as that A&P has one, I have never been to that store so I don't know how much work needs to be put into it.
I bet that the East Brunswick Pathmark will just sit and rot there, as that is a bad and dated location with a brand new Autozone as the only other tenant, along with a newer S&S and an older but more modern ShopRite down the road, so when it closes, I don't think anyone will move in.
Does anyone know who is acquiring the North Brunswick A&P? That would've been a great one for Acme because they already have a presence in the area and they can double it with that store.
Over all, I am sad to see the A&P brand disappear, I have grown up with it being the only supermarket on the south side of the barrier island in Ortley, and it was a familiar name. My dad will be as will because his first job was stocking the shelves in the old location on Rte. 1 in North Brunswick, where Barnes & Noble is now.
Isn't the North Brunswick A&P only a couple miles from the Acme in Milltown? That is probably why they didn't want it.
DeleteI was kind of surprised when they left the East Brunswick Pathmark open and closed the A&P next door a few years ago.
It is but I would say they probably draw shoppers from different areas. I was thinking Acme didn't take that one since it is completely dead every time I have been in there. Actually the last time I was there, the self-checkout person was so rude to me I never went back.
DeleteI would assume they kept the Pathmark over the A&P in East Brunswick simply since it was much more visible?
DeleteI could never could figure out why A&P wanted to hide their stores at that point in time, they did the same in Woodbridge by building facing Route 35 and being hidden behind the ShopRite from Route 1/9 (as that store replaced one on Route 1 further down that was smaller, but much more visible to what may be the busiest road in the area).
As to East Brunswick, didn't know that someone had taken over the Rickel spot (after Home Depot was there) - one thing that does come to mind is that, should that Kmart next door ever close would someone like Walmart buy both properties to build a store? They don't seem to be in that area (unless hidden somewhere) which is strange as that is also a busy shopping area.
There is a new Walmart 5 minutes north of that area by Shoprite and one 10 minutes south of the site in Old Bridge. Both are on 18 and are less than 2 years old. The one in old bridge is at the intersection south of Ferry Road, the road that leads to the Old Bridge A&P (a future Acme).
DeleteOK - That makes sense, I guess it's been that long since I was in the area. I knew they had a Sam's next to the Shoprite plaza (the building that also used to have the flea market in it) but didn't know about either Walmart. So scratch that idea :)
DeleteThe Sam's closed. They tire it down and built the Walmart.
DeleteHello everyone,
ReplyDeleteTo give you all a better idea of just exactly WHERE all these stores are, I broke down the list above by State and County. If you want to see a more detailed list of State, County, and City, I will post that on the Ames Fan Club Forum.
NEW JERSEY - 36
- Bergen County (10)
- Hudson County (5)
- Union County (3)
- Essex County (2)
- Morris County (2)
- Sussex County (2)
- Warren County (1)
- Somerset County (1)
- Middlesex County (2)
- Monmouth County (3)
- Ocean County (2)
- Atlantic County (1)
- Cape May County (2)
NEW YORK - 20
- Westchester County (16)
- Putnam County (2)
- Dutchess County (2)
PENNSYLVANIA - 10
- Philadelphia City (5)
- Bucks County (1)
- Montgomery County (2)
- Delaware County (2)
DELAWARE - 5
- New Castle County (4)
- Sussex County (1)
CONNECTICUT - 4
- Fairfield County (4)
MARYLAND - 1
- Worcester County (1)
Great list! I can't get over those numbers for Bergen and Hudson counties. I'm going to need someone to remind me it's 2015 and NOT 1975!!!
Delete@Acme Style, I always go past Fort Lee when returning from NY, so I gotta get some ACME & Hiram's hot dogs (If anyone goes there :) )
DeleteI agree. It's also worth mentioning how happy I am to see them strengthen their numbers in the city of Philadelphia, as well as continue their dominance on the Main Line and Northern Delaware, plus a return to Worcester County Maryland.
ReplyDeleteHappy days are here again, 'cause ACME days are here again!
Is Tinton Falls the only store that is close enough to seem like a replacement for an existing Acme?
ReplyDeleteI haven't gone through all of the Philly stores to see if any might replace older Acmes. The Tinton Falls store is right across the street from the Shrewsburry Acme. I suspect they have kept that Acme open for the past few years in hopes of eventually moving to the A&P.
DeleteA number of the Delaware stores are in fairly close proximity to the Superfresh and Pathmark locations they are acquiring, but there is probably enough distance between them that they will draw from different neighborhoods and geographic areas.
DeleteAcme is #1, and they are using these acquisitions to strengthen that position. I imagine ShopRite is running a close second - they have opened a few new stores in the past few years. Safeway has two stores as does Giant. Then we have a few Sav-A-Lots and a couple of independents.
I hope they plan on putting some money into the stores - the Pathmarks are all outdated and have that weird Pathmark smell/vibe to them. First and foremost they need to upgrade the fresh departments.
The Super Fresh locations are in good spots, but A&P has really been neglecting them.
I think it will take time for Acme to fully integrate all the new stores into their business, and then they will have to go about remodeling all the stores. All the Acme locations around here are in generally very good shape.
Though I am still curious as to what is going to happen in my town - New Castle. There is a small Super Fresh and a Pathmark. Neither is on the closing list or the buyout list from Acme. They will be pretty far away from the new A&P core area. Unless they plan on selling the locations to other chains. The Super Fresh would probably do well as a Food Lion.
As far as it reads they are trying to sell all the stores - they just announced these three "bigger" groups as a starting point.
DeleteFood Lion could be an option (depending on their location in relation to the Giant stores in any area, since those two companies are also in merger talks and wouldn't want to add extra spots too close that might mess those up).
If they are smaller stores (and in an area that works) you could see one of the "non traditional" chains interested too, either food related or not.
Giant is some distance from the Super Fresh, so I doubt it would be an issue.
DeleteThough you are correct. I forgot to mention we also have a Sav-A-Lot. It opened in a former Thriftway location.
Maybe Aldi could make a go of it. Funny how we don't have any of them here. You have to go into Maryland or to one of the former Bottom Dollar locations that Aldi has reopened under their banner.
There was already an article in the Baltimore Sun about a Lidl coming to Aberdeen, MD. That's still a few years away. They haven't even started building their HQ or DCs yet. But somebody probably saw the new site plans and reported on it. There is already an Aldi there, along with a Walmart supercenter, a ShopRite and a military commissary. A 5th store, a Mars supermarket (out of Baltimore) closed up a few months ago and is set to become a Planet Fitness.
I never suspected that but maybe it is the case. It would explain why the Shrewsbury store has gone to hell but not closed... unless Acme holds a very favorable lease on the property, which would also explain that situation.
ReplyDeleteGone to hell??? Maybe in your opinion.
DeleteThey are well stocked and have a very clean store. Prices are in line with the clientele.
T
Did someone send you the pictures of the Franklin Mills Pathmark whilst it was open? It had the dreaded SAV-A-Center decor.
ReplyDeleteI have a couple pics of the interior of the Pathmark of Franklin Mills on Flickr
DeleteFor those of us who are feeling a little bummed-out about seeing A&P go down after struggling for so long, Judann Pollack wrote a fantastic piece in Advertising Age about the history of A&P. It's called "An Ode to A&P, a Once-Proud Grocery Brand", and she included YouTube links to awesome A&P commercials through the years: http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/ode-a-grocery-giant/299645/
ReplyDeleteIt made me a little sad to see all the hope and pride they had during the 80's and 90's, that the company was headed for better days.
One could say.... Summer is indeed better at Acme.
ReplyDeleteThat's for sure! Maybe their next tagline should be...
Delete"The future is so bright, we gotta wear shades!"
All this talk about about how Acme is buying all of these stores is great. However, their prices are again the highest of all of the grocery chains in the area. A great sales ad, and sky high pricing on everything else. And to ditch Wild Harvest for O Organics? Compare O Organics prices to the 365 Everyday value brand at Whole Foods Market, and it makes Whole Foods look like the dollar store!!
ReplyDeleteAcme prices are more competitive every week...their prices are very close or better than Wegman or Shoprite.
DeleteT.
I believe part of this is the merger as well. Since they are no longer connected to Supervalu, why continue paying to use their brands when they can use brands they now own (Safeway's, like the O line)?
DeleteI live in Bedford NY where two of the tired old A&P's are bid on my Acme. Raised in Wilmington Delaware where my mother shopped at the Acme on Trolley Square (it wasn't called Trolley Square back in the early 1960s), I remember a dingy tired market so I can't imagine how Acme can be a better brand that the already tired A&P. We lost our Grand Union 15 years or so ago when Grand Union pulled their entire distribution center out of Bedford Hills. That space is now a CVS.
ReplyDeleteLet me get this straight - you're basing your opinion of Acme on your experience at one store 50 years (and three or four owners) ago?
DeleteAcme in Trolley Square (or whatever it was called back then) opened in 1962. It may have indeed been dingy, but "tired" is certainly not correct because the store must have been darn close to new when you were there.
DeleteThey may not be number 1 in market share anymore but Acme has a very bright future ahead. They really don't have a lot of competition. Wegmans, ShopRite, and Giant all present threats but none of those three thoroughly cover Acme territory. Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and The Fresh Market are only going to attract moneyed folks. Save-A-Lot, ALDI, Grocery Outlet/Bargain Market, Walmart, Target, Sam's Club, BJ's, and Costco all have a relatively small slice of the pie and mostly are where poorer folks go.
ReplyDeleteNot a surprise at all that Super Fresh and Pathmark are collapsing. Back in the 80's, both were great chains, but lately Super Fresh has been like a really bad imitation of Grand Union. And as for Pathmark, they under A&P have tried to be a no-frills brand just like Giant was 30 years ago...
I do have to think Acme will eventually close a lot of these acquired stores (but will hopefully build relocations for a lot of them eventually). Lots of these A&P stores are in very good locations but some will probably be duds for Acme. That happens with every acquisition of this size. Look at when Ames bought Zayre, Rite Aid bought Eckerd, Giant bought Clemens, Giant bought Genuardi's, etc. Acquisitions like this always mean a chain will buy a lot of very valuable stores but inevitably a lot of duds.
At least Acme now can return to a lot of areas where it (under the direction of reckless management) closed stores that probably weren't necessarily losing money. I do hope Acme will eventually reenter ALL the territories it has withdrawn from: Central PA, the Lehigh Valley, the Wyoming Valley, Baltimore, Washington DC, Northern Virginia, West Virginia, and the Finger Lakes region of New York (state) all are waiting.
Not sure I see Acme expanding much further - they're already stretching themselves thin by increasing their store count by more than 50% and going into areas where they have little, if no, name recognition.
DeleteI also don't think they'll reenter either the competitive DC Metro or Baltimore markets especially when their new corporate sibling Safeway has a long history and well-established brand in both places.
Also, I disagree with you about Giant and ShopRite. With the exception of the Delmarva Peninsula, ShopRite's territory from Hartford, CT to Baltimore, MD is actually more extensive than Acme's. Giant-Carlisle may have a smaller footprint but you also need to look at its Ahold siblings, Giant-Landover and Stop and Shop, to get the full picture of Acme's competition.
Delete"I do have to think Acme will eventually close a lot of these acquired stores (but will hopefully build relocations for a lot of them eventually). Lots of these A&P stores are in very good locations but some will probably be duds for Acme. That happens with every acquisition of this size. Look at when Ames bought Zayre, Rite Aid bought Eckerd, Giant bought Clemens, Giant bought Genuardi's, etc. Acquisitions like this always mean a chain will buy a lot of very valuable stores but inevitably a lot of duds."
DeleteWell, that's not a great bunch of comparisons...the Ames/Zayre merger caused Ames to go bankrupt and the loss of the Florida market Zayre had, Rite Aid's Eckerd acquisition was after the chain had sold a lot of its stores to CVS, and even then Rite Aid had to divest some (especially in Louisiana), and while Genuardi's was bought by Safeway, we know what happened there.
Really, though, there's no obligation that Acme even has to re-open these stores, they could just buy the stores and sub-lease them as non-grocery.
Additionally, while I agree with Mr. Ruffles about Acme not going into areas where Safeway is, I think that the name recognition is still enough of a pull that they'll do okay. For comparison, the Haggen fiasco would be kind of like Acme entering South Carolina or Georgia.
DeleteAcme will do just fine in the Northern NJ and New York state areas. Acme covered MANY areas of New York state and their name will be their asset in these areas. The once operated two distributions centers in New York state. And these stores weren't bought in batches, they were hand picked by corporate leaders based on volume and sales.
DeleteT
The Wynnewood SuperFresh is less than1.5 miles from the Narberth ACME. I think it will be replaced.
ReplyDeleteWait, what is going to be replaced?
DeleteI seriously doubt Narberth will be replaced.
DeleteMaybe along with expanding Acme's "footprint" they are hoping to make a FULL comeback. Acme ruled the mainline along Lancaster Ave. for many, many years having stores within only a few miles of each other.
DeleteWhat is Acme going to do with the adjacent Best Cellars stores that have them?
ReplyDeleteThat's a good one, I don't know.
DeleteHow old is the Hoboken store? I know it just remodeled to A&P Fresh this January, but it looks like from Historic Aerials it was built in the late 1970s.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how old it is but it got the fresh remodel in the mid 2000's. Still has the first version. You'll get a look at this coming Friday.
DeleteThe A&P on Nepherhan Ave in Yonkers NY was supposed to have been purchased by Acme but the Landlord won't redue the parking lot so Acme backed out of Deal.......Any truth to this
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lohud.com/story/money/business/2015/09/20/aandp-bankruptcy-sales-acme-finalized/72503452/
ReplyDeleteNumber of stores to be acquired has dropped to 70, with the following stores being nixed....
NY:
Yonkers (Nepperham Avenue)
Millwood
Bedford
Croton On Hudson
PA:
Gladwynne
DE:
Newark
Here's another article:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.northjersey.com/news/judge-oks-sale-of-a-p-owned-stores-to-acme-stop-shop-including-11-in-north-jersey-1.1414836
According to this the conversion of stores will occur in mid October (at least for North Jersey stores)
Midland Park closes Saturday 10/10 and will reopen as acme the following Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteJust received a circular in the mail...A&P switches over to Acme on October 11, 2015 in Montclair, Essex County, NJ. (510 Valley Road)
ReplyDelete