ACME – Trolley Square, Delaware

SPECTACULAR REMODEL

Location: 1401 North Dupont Street, Wilmington, DE 

 

Today's post is a guest post, so hello everybody, it's Zachary from The Market Report! Thanks again to Acme Style for letting me pop in for the day. It's time to check in with a store featured on Acme Style long ago, and in the years since, it's gotten some really nice upgrades. This is the Trolley Square ACME in Wilmington, Delaware, which opened in 1961 as a pitched-roof store (that roofline is hidden behind the Super Saver awning, which has gotten some updates).

BEFORE RECENT REMODEL >>>

Here's a look at the outside back in 2011, from the original post. The apples and awning are gone, with a pretty minimal look for the outside. Exciting? No. A nice upgrade of the old building? Yes, definitely.

With a handful of small expansions over the years, this store today measures around 25,000 square feet. There may be a basement, but it didn't look like it to me (and as I understand, pitched-roof stores generally weren't built with basements). The Trolley Square neighborhood is a dense area with a small town feeling, meaning there isn't really an opportunity to expand further.

While that 2011 post didn't include many interior photos, we do know this store most recently had the Premium Fresh & Health 2.0 decor prior to its updates which happened around 2023.

The layout wasn't really changed much in the recent remodel -- heck, the layout doesn't appear to have changed much since the 1970s -- but that's not to say the remodel wasn't thorough. We see new flooring around the perimeter, new fixtures and refrigeration in most of the store, and of course new decor. When I visited, this store was in excellent shape and seemed busy.

Hmm, maybe I could've centered that a bit better. But I must say that this decor works well in this smaller store with lower ceilings. It looks good in a variety of locations, such as this slightly-larger store in New York.

The lower ceiling over the first aisle is a holdover from the 1970s setup. Here's what it would've looked like back then.

The first aisle, which is double-wide (probably expanded back in the 70s), contains produce and packaged deli items. The service deli is in the back-left corner, with service meat/seafood just to the right of that. Meats line the rest of the back wall, with frozen and dairy on the right side. There's a tiny bakery in the front-right corner.

The recent upgrades here are likely a sign that, despite its age and size, this store is doing just fine. To me, another indication would be the fact that it's remarkably full-service, even including a service seafood counter and in-store bakery.

Remarkably, this store has only seven aisles, and that includes the produce/deli aisle. This isn't the smallest ACME out there, but it's definitely one of them.

Older freezer cases and refrigeration that has been painted here, it looks like.

The distinctive rounded ceiling in the front corner is definitely a 1970s holdover, now refreshed with some new decor. You can see how they got creative here to work with the walls and ceilings that were already here.

"The House that Quality Built" on the front wall...

It's good to see some serious upgrades here in this small, old-school store. As I visit ACMEs across the chain, I'm seeing more nice upgrades like this, though of course not in every location, but it's a nice thing to see. Over and out for now, but stay tuned for more from Acme Style!

Flashback Fun!

ACME's 70's Décor

Today, we're taking a jump back to ACME's décor package of the 70's which continued to be rolled out until the mid-80's. The photos seen here were from American Stores Company's Annual Report. Coming up this Friday, we will be taking a look at ACME's latest décor package, which is absolutely spectacular! 

While most avid Acme Style followers will be familiar with the photos in the new Flashback posts, many new visitors may not. Even I keep stumbling across pictures on the blog and think "where on Earth did that come from?". So Mondays will be a day when we look back at some of the amazing photos on the blog, many of which were provided by dedicated followers, as well as revisiting interesting chapters of ACME's history.

My family's ACME was remodeled with this décor package when I was a kid and I used to ask my Mom, "why aren't those lights on? Can we ask them to turn them on?" Little did I know at the time that they were fake and not wired to anything. 

Back in the 70's, a lot of supermarket chains had similar interior designs. In fact, the font seen on the produce wall was a pretty standard font for department signage. ACME though took their décor to another level in most of their stores compared to competitors. Even in the photos shown here, you can see how ACME was big on signage and fun decorations in their stores while chains like A&P, Pathmark and ShopRite leaned more generic and bland with their décor. 

Some additional photos from the Somers Point ACME, a more basic version of the package. 

To explore posts with more photos from this era, please click here. 

Former ACME — Stevensville, MD

BLAST FROM THE PAST

Location: 1169 Shopping Center Road, Stevensville MD

An update on the former Acme in Stevensville Maryland coming your way today. The first round of photos takes us back to the early 2000's when the store had the extremely deluxe version of the Checkerboard Arch décor. Not long after, that décor was swapped out in favor of the Albertsons Marketplace, which was a horrible match to the 80's flooring. 

ACME opened here on August 7, 1953. It is difficult to pinpoint the original ACME in the historic aerials as views of all those years ago are limited. I would guess the original building was torn down and replaced with this 33M model but I cannot verify. The store closed for good on November 1, 2012, having taken a big hit by a brand-new Safeway that opened down the road.

When these photos were taken, the store appears to be very successful. Produce is piled high with the rest of the store busting at the seams with inventory. Interesting twist here with the decor. I have never seen wood paneling in this décor package as we see behind the produce sign. 

As I've said many times, this is probably my favorite décor package of all-time. It feels very ACME to me and goes perfectly with the 80's remodel flooring which was left behind. 

Notice one of the deluxe elements here with lighting added to the top of the cases to illuminate the walls. Interesting to note, the dairy aisle is the first aisle with frozen at the other side of the store. 

Awnings around the store too in deli and bakery, not seen often in these remodels, which ultimately were more décor swaps, leaving cases as-is and no new features added to the stores. Wonder if this guy was going to address all the burned-out ceiling lights!

You can see the awning down in the bakery department here. And the blue light boxes added over frozen, which was not often done in smaller stores. 

CLOSING TIME...

And now for a quick look at the Alberstons Marketplace décor swap. 

The odd paneling behind the produce sign remained. 

Truly one of the worst décor/flooring pairings of all-time. Just dreadful. 

THE ACME TODAY...

The ACME is now the Cult Classic Brewery and Taproom. Definitely one of the coolest reuses of an ACME we have ever seen! They even play up the building's original use with the sign saying "A Brewery in a grocery store"! Some interior photos below...

Here we can see some of ACME's backroom space and the walls having been removed around the sales floor. You can jump back to previous coverage of this store by clicking here. 

Edgewater ShopRite opening on Sept. 19th?

As I mentioned on Monday's post, the Edgewater ShopRite is due to open on September 19th. Yesterday I stopped by to see all the incredible work being done to convert the store. Oh wait. Nothing is being done. Both the interior and exterior are untouched since my post went up on September 1. In fact, not a single worker seen on the entire property. How is this place going to be ready in 9 days? Obviously, at this point, Inserra purchased all of ACME's equipment and is leaving everything in place. Are they even going to paint the interior? It would be a shame if they didn't replace some of the cases. Freezers left over from the Pathmark days freeze everything into blocks of ice and the milk dases are severely dated and nasty. As of now, this is an absolutely terrible conversion unless some crazy miracle happens in the next 9 days. Of course, I will be covering the store on grand reopening, so we'll get a closer look at how all of this shakes out. 

UPDATE: Former ACME, Parsippany, NJ

 

Location: 3053 U.S. 46, Parsippany, NJ

Today we're jumping back to one of the very first ACME locations ever covered on the blog. The original post went up on February 26, 2009. A few things have happened here since then, with BIG coming for its future. We'll get to that soon. The ACME opened on 8-20-1957. Closed in the late 80's with its 70's Colonial Décor still intact and topping out at about 20,000 square feet. Looking at the aerial images over the decades, there always seemed to be a very decent crowd at the ACME but nearby competition from much larger stores like Pathmark and ShopRite most certainly helped do this place in. 

Back in 2009, Michaels was the tenant here but just a few years later, around 2011, Michaels ditched this former ACME in favor of the former A&P just a few miles away in the Troy Hills Shopping Center. That location has recently closed as Michaels' troubles grow now that they are owned by private equity. Service has been gutted and prices are absolutely out of control. I personally used to be a regular shopper at Michaels and have completely given up due to the astronomical rise in prices. 

As you may remember, this location continues to have a fantastic artifact remaining in place from the ACME days. This colonial-style window near the former entrance used to house the weekly circular for shoppers to view before entering. It is currently a legit window with ACME's original frame virtually untouched. 

Just around the corner, we can see that scars still remain from the magic carpets and railing. Shoppers would have entered here and walked along the front of the store to get to the produce department which would have lined the far wall. 

Today when we look inside, we see remnants of the for blink fitness which closed in August 2024 after the company declared bankruptcy. ACME's entrance and exit right there on the left. 

The above photo is from this article announcing the closing of this blink location shortly after the company declared bankruptcy. 

A quick look around back...

The Morris Hills Shopping Center has been in serious decline for years. Aside from blink closing, both Marshalls and Home Goods have left the center and relocated to the former Kmart in the nearby Westmount-Arlington Plaza. While Morris Hills has been fading into total abandonment in recent years, word has come that Trader Joe's is planning to move in! While the exact location has not been confirmed by the company, there is a lot of speculation that Trader Joes' will take over the former ACME space. Would be great to see the building operating as a food store once again! 

I discovered this sign on my most recent trip to the shopping center. On first look, I thought for sure it had to be leftover from the ACME days. In fact I was convinced of it as ACME used to install ridiculously large signs in their parking lots back in the day. After reviewing historic images of the shopping center, I unfortunately have to conclude that this is NOT leftover from the ACME. Part of me is still not convinced! 

A quick jump to the Troy Hills Shopping Center, looking at the former A&P/Michaels with a very interesting facade upgrade. The building is now being prepped for a Ross Dress for Less. Interestingly, the shopping center, while currently looking pretty great, is going to be refreshed soon. Most work entails improvements in the difficult-to-navigate parking lot. Below is a photo of the current smaller-format Target which operates in Pathmark's former space. 

1987

Still looking like ACME was drawing a decent crowd in its final years. The ACME is the larger building on the right side of the image. 

1963

Jumping back to 1963, about 5 years after the store opened. 

Leaving you one a bonus pic! This appeared on the blog years ago but it so good not to share again here. Up on the wall you see ACME's famous built-in clock just above the customer service office.