ShopRite to undergo a TWO year remodel?

What an absolute mess this will be! Progressive Grocer is reporting Inserra will be doing an extensive remodel to the former Edgewater ACME/Pathmark which will take an unfathomable two years. Sounds fun. You can read more details of the plans by clicking here. The article falsely reports that the store has already had a year-long remodel with two years to go. Huh? How does any of that even begin to make sense. ShopRite didn't start transforming the store until September 15th, four days before opening to shoppers. The store is sorely in need of a full renovation. Floors are a mess. Cases are old. Layout is still painfully Pathmark. And honestly, it's not the best-smelling store around. Here's to better days, even though they're apparently years away. 

Flashback Fun!

SPECIAL EDITION:

GRAND UNION

Location: 859 Route 17, Paramus, NJ 

Today we're taking a look back at the handful of former Grand Unions that have been featured on the blog as we get ready forr Wednesday's Bonus Store post. (Click address to jump to origianl posts) No hints can be given at this time. Let's just say, when I visited to store, I could hardly bring myself to leave. It was truly like stepping back in time when Grand Union was a groundbreaking supermarket, leaping to the front of the pack with their 80's remodels and extensive "fresh"selection long before fresh was in. 

Location: 60 Sparta Avenue, Sparta, NJ

Location: 435 North Beverly Road, Lake Hiawatha, NJ

Location: 1506 State Route 23, Butler, NJ

Location: 625 Paterson Avenue, Carlstadt, NJ

Location: 10 Wycoff Avenue, Waldwick, NJ

Location: 1189 Broad Street, Clifton, New Jersey

Random classic photos from gustoresforever on Flickr

A few more photos from Retailpocalypse on Flickr

This photo is the only known photo on the internet of Grand Union's futuristic aile marker display. A bit difficult to see in this photo but very grateful for a photo of it at all! The entire unit, which ran from one side of the store to the other, lit up. Plastic sheets with aisle numbers and content lists, as well as product photography, were hung on both sides. Pretty brilliant, as they were easily changed out as needed. The overall effect was incredible and nothing like it has ever been seen in any supermarket chain since. 

ShopRite – Edgewater, NJ

IT OPENED!

COVERAGE AVAILABLE AT
THE MARKET REPORT

I'm unfortunately away for the week so I couldn't visit the store on Saturday. You can check out coverage over at The Market Report by clicking here. As expected, changes to the store are minimal. ShopRite even repurposed some of ACME's decor. Being a regular shopper in the area for the past 27 years, I always wondered if ShopRite would try to cram a store in somewhere. Never expected them to the steel ACME's lease but here we are. Being the only large-scale general supermarket in the area, I will probably find myself here more than I'll care to admit. I would happily take ACME or even Pathmark back over an Inserra ShopRite!

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.