Friday's post coming on Sunday!

I am being reminded as to a big reason why I shut down Acme Style in the first place. Blogger formatting is a NIGHTMARE. In this day and age, they STILL can't get WYSIWYG right. Friday's post got all screwed up so I need to recreate today. Will post tomorrow morning. 

Closing: ACME – Edgewater, NJ

IT'S A WRAP IN EDGEWATER!

Location: Location: 481 River Road, Edgewater, NJ

Stopped by Edgewater yesterday to do a little shopping and was shocked to see the store is rapidly calling it quits. No longer being stocked and circular not being honored. Most of the store is 30% off but that's not as exciting as it sounds as ACME has pulled much of the merchandise out of the store. With four other ACME's very close by, merchandise has most likely been moved to those stores to avoid taking the 30% hit. While an official announcement has yet to be made, it is believed that ShopRite was able to obtain the lease here which was set to expire in August. So ACME is sadly out and even sadder, an Inserra ShopRite is on its way in. The last thing this area needs is another filthy, failing, Pharmacy-free Inserra ShopRite but looks like that's what we're gonna get. 

ACME is reminding shoppers that 3 other stores are very close by, with West New York being the closest. That store remains one of ACME's very last stores to be remodeled since the A&P days. 

ACME's produce department here has been outstanding, having improved dramatically in recent years. Not looking forward to ShopRite's moldy and bruised produce, which they are famous for. ACME also did an excellent job promoting healthier supermarket food options, while ShopRite fills its stores with endless displays of Doritos and Ding Dongs. 

The store will be closing "on or about" August 15th. I can't imagine it making it that long, considering how low inventory is 2 months out. 

Pharmacy signage both inside and out has been removed. I didn't see any signs saying where the prescriptions have been moved to. I would assume West New York but perhaps that's too far, considering the amount of pharmacies close by. 27 years later and this store will no longer have a pharmacy. Inserra shuttered all of their in-store pharmacies after failing to make them profitable. 

Closed – Classic ACME, Manasquan

CLASSIC ACME GONE!

Location: 71 Taylor Ave, Manasquan, NJ 

The most classic ACME in all the land closed on December 4, 2020. While reports circulated that ACME was "unable" to renew its lease, the official statement from ACME read more like "yeah, we're outta here." It would be interesting to know if CVS, which now operates on the site, made a better offer. Back in 2015, the store received a robust remodel, which would indicate ACME's success and desire to continue running this location for many years to come. 

This photo dates back to the 60's with the cursive logo on the awning. Courtesy of the Asbury Park Evening Press archives and the Monmouth Memories facebook page. 

Photos above are from Google Maps street view. Store looking fantastic here. 

Back in 2015, the last remaining fish-eye sign was replaced with the block-letter logo. While updating the sign was a step in the right direction, it was tough to see the old one finally go. 

As the store is today>>>

A ho-hum CVS not exactly loved by locals, with its meager 3-star review. 

 Revisiting ACME's interior>>>

Roughly 20 years of the Checkerboard Arch décor. 

Aisle markers from the Industrial Circus era were brought in at some point. 

2015 Remodel>>>

The remodel of 2015 had the PF&H version 3 décor brought in as well as numerous new cases. While not the most dramatic of remodels, the overall updates were extremely well done. The floors remained untouched with the classic produce tiling continuing on. 

For additional coverage of the Classic Manasquan ACME, click here. 

Closed: Stop & Shop – Paramus, NJ

APOCALYPTIC STOP & SHOP!

Location: 859 South State Route 17, Paramus, NJ

A few weeks ago, I passed by the old Stop & Shop in Paramus. Was stunned to see it still standing and in such disrepair. I tried to stop and take some photos but the parking lot entrances were chained off. When I got home, I checked Google Maps and found excellent views of the store! All the images you see here are screenshots from Google Maps, which is kinda lazy, but you know what they say... safety first! 

Stop & Shop acquired this location from Grand Union back in 2001 and as you can see, little was done to the exterior during the entire run of the store. Same with the interior where GU's 80's remodel lived on. At the time of the conversion, I was convinced that S&S would hold onto some of GU's strengths but this was not the case and a little naive of me to even hope for that. S&S stripped out the best of GU and was satisfied being as mediocre as they could be in comparison. The store would last over two decades with zero updates, closing on January 3, 2022. At the time, reports were that S&S was going to build a brand-new store on the property once the strip and former Kmart were torn down. Still not clear what happened with these plans, but they never materialized. Costco was given the green light last October to build a new store here, but doesn't seem to be in any kind of a hurry. It is pretty crazy to see this abandoned shopping center on the insane retail juggernaut that is Route 17 in Paramus. 

Back entrance is chained off. 

The strip mall to the left and the former Kmart all abandoned. 

In better days. Still.. that sign is a typesetting disaster. This store always seemed to do decent business despite being extremely outdated. 

And in the good ol' day! Loved me some Grand Union back in the day. For additional coverage of this store, click here.

For an extensive tour of the former Kmart, click here. 

Former ACME – Turnsville, NJ

Location: 2091 Black Horse Pike, Turnsville, NJ

Today, we're once again stepping back in time to visit the former Turnsville ACME. Built as a 90's Superstore, the store appears to have been extremely successful during its run. It was located in a U-shaped shopping center directly across from Walmart. The store was closed in the early 2000's with the Sicklerville location opening as its replacement. 

I believe this may be the only 90's Superstore model of this kind in New Jersey. Perhaps there's another. My mind is a little foggy on that matter. In the late 80's as ACME had exhausted its 80's Remodels of smaller, somewhat outdated stores, the company finally began building larger stores. While several different styles were created during this era, this particular model was the most eye-catching and was used often in TV commercials. Once the 90's were in full swing, ACME abandoned these Superstore models and began building even larger stores. By this point, the red oval logo was gone and stores were given the new block-letter signage. 

The 80's Remodel flooring remained with the décor having been updated to the 90's Red/White/Blue.

This is how the ACME looks today, now split between two stores. You can see the area where the sign and glass atrium used to be in the center is still somewhat intact. 

2002

This is the last available view of the ACME still in business. Below you can see how the building was split into two stores. Looking through the historic aerials, you can see the ACME as well as the whole shopping center did some huge business back in the day. 

 

2004

To jump to coverage of the Sicklerville store, click here. The store now has the Quality Built décor and appears to be doing well depsite a ShopRite directly across the street. 

Giant - Leola, PA

Location: 10 Newport Road, Leola, PA

A big day here at Acme Style! A classic 90's Giant Food has been on my wishlist pretty much since day one of the blog and the day has finally come. Interestingly, we won't be jumping back in time but seeing this store mostly in the present day. Built in the early to mid 90's, the store has had next to no changes to its interior or exterior during its entire lifespan. In recent years, some changes have been made but have proven to be extremely minor, with seemingly no remodeling or updating plans in the works. Stranger than it sounds because Giant Food has a history of being relentless with remodels, expansions, and replacement stores. For whatever reason, the store in Leola, PA, continues to exist under the radar, and I am more than OK with that! 

The photos for this post were provided years ago by catnapped, who is no longer active online. He had an extensive collection over on flickr but removed it. Prior to his exiting the retail preservation world, he gave me access to tons of his photos, many of which will be rolled out here in the coming months. The photos you will be seeing here were taken back in November 2014.

The black glass facade was standard issue for Giant in the 90's. Many of their stores built in the 80's and earlier were updated to this exact facade. Giants still exist with the black glass but are few and far between.

The glass was translucent even though it didn't quite look like it from the front of the store. 

Not a lot of wow as we first walk in. Back in the day. Giant shuffled shoppers completely through the produce department. It was tough to go off track here with your rumbling cart over the tile floor. While you could hang a left there, once you started in produce, you stayed til the very end. 

Here's the WOW! This décor package went through a couple of versions in the early 90's with minor differences between each. The package you'll see here was the final round. 

How's that for a 90's department sign!  Lots going on with the planters on the walls and the lighting structures hanging from the ceiling. At the time, this was a massive switch from Giant's previous interiors, which were as minimally decorated as they could be. 

Salad bar was built in to this model. Older versions of Giant stores would have the bakery in this spot with a salad bar free-standing just inside the entrance. Relocating the bakery to the far corner was standard procedure during the 90s remodels. 

Above photo is from the google reviews of the store showing the produce sign having been removed. Turns out all the wacky 90's signage was removed in recent years with no replacements in their spots. 

Even more changes here. Planters gone. Wall stripes painted over. Nothing new added as of this photo.

Heading back toward the deli. We can see below that the awning over floral has recently been removed. 

You can also spot at the back that the deli sign is gone here. 

This is around the corner from the first aisle with the pharmacy up front. 

A lot to see here! I remember when these remodels were happening. Seemed so fun back in the day but now it's a bit too much of an assault on the eyes. Again, this was a massive departure for Giants of the 80's, which had the bare minimum of decor on the beige-est of walls. Going all white was huge in the 90's. Photos below show ACME's and Weis 90's interiors. There is certainly some similarities between all three. 

ACME in the 90's.

Weis in the 90's. 

Seafood next stop down the way. 

These tube lights were so futuristic when they were first installed. 

Updated photo below with signage gone. 

These photos may have been taken prior to some new department signage being put up. I wouldn't be surprised if Giant added some of those wood panel signs they were using a few rounds ago but then again, perhaps not. For whatever reason, Giant has little interest in updating this store. 

Gotta love a random park bench! 

This flooring was also new to the final round of this décor package. 

These were the very first triangular aisle markers I had ever seen. Back in the day, I thought Giant was the coolest grocery store. A lot like Grand Union. Both chains did a lot to stand out from the pack. 

"Make it wacky!"

Always a great looking front-end in these 90's Giants! 

A final look at the exterior, which has had some upgrades! Updated Giant sign, now with just a hint of a leaf in the A, and an attractive pharmacy sign in place of the Deli/Bakery sign. 

And that checks off a classic 90's Giant from my wishlist! So fun to step back in time and experience this store. Will Giant ever update the place? For whatever reason, the answer appears to be no. If anyone knows of other Giants out there with this décor still in place, let me know. I'm pretty sure there is at least one other.