Location: 614-632 Clinton St, Hoboken, NJ
The Hoboken ACME received a pretty significant remodel a few years back. I believe it was not long after ACME purchased Kings in 2020 but can't confirm. The store received a bunch of "new" cases that appeared lightly used and possibly removed from Kings locations that closed after the purchase. I was visiting the store regularly to see the developments and those developments happened at a snail's pace. Retiling the floor seemed to take endless weeks with little progress each day. In the end, the store wound up looking pretty fantastic with a completely different atmosphere than the the A&P Fresh days.
Very nice black carts!
Big changes to produce. The department was expanded into the backroom space on the left side. I'm assuming this space was previously used as floral prep as that was moved out to the sales floor in the former customer service location.
BEFORE>>>
A before view showing how congested the department was, along with the green flooring, which was replaced with hardwood.
A new security gate has been added recently. They have been popping up in many ACMEs in the area, including West New York and Jersey City.
In a truly shocking twist, ACME was finally able to acquire A&P's liquor licenses. There is absolutely zero information online as to how this wound up happening but clearly ACME kept the fight going for years... and won! The liquor departments do have standalone checkouts and all liqour purchases most be made at these checkouts.
The aisles have been blocked so the only way into the alcove is near the register at the front.
Beautifully lit shelving! The liquor departments in all the ACMEs I've been in are extremely nice. ACME is very heavy-handed with "sale" tags here but the prices are not necessarily lower than nearby competitors.
A look at the expanded section. While the "new" cases are very nice, they do appear to be hand-me-downs.
BEFORE>>>
These cases remain from the A&P days but all new shelving was installed.
New seafood cases!
Huge improvements back in the seafood corner.
The funny thing is, it is next to impossible to see the produce and seafood signs on the walls due to the height of the aisles.
I had to raise my phone up as high as I could to get these shots!
Initially, ACME left A&P's lighting structures above the aisles while removing all of the light bulbs as lighting was moved to the ceiling. They have since removed these from most of the aisles to pretty dramatic effect.
Floral now where the customer service counter used to be. That has been moved to the opposite end of the registers. Floral not looking as good at the visit as it usually does.
Big display out on the sales floor.
The front-end now has six self-checkouts and three manned registers.
BEFORE>>>
Aisles with the former lighting structure removed. This store feels much larger than it previously did with the improved lighting.
I do love the classic supermarket feel of this place. It's no-nonsense from start to finish and I have to say, despite being a small store, I always leave with everything on my list. The employees are also pretty great. I'm often greeted when I'm here.
BEFORE>>
The dark days of A&P Fresh.
Freezer cases were surprisingly not replaced. They have been in many of ACME's smaller stores during the Quality Built remodels.
BEFORE>>
Looking back at these older pictures reminds me of how unpleasant this store used to be. ACME completely changed the atmosphere without a major renovation.
Some A&P artifacts remain here above the cases.
Big changes to the dairy aisles with doors being installed on the old cases. Shelves inside reveal their old age.
New cases swapped in on the right side. Again, looking lightly used.
BEFORE>>>
The selection at the bakery skyrocketed with the remodel. New grab-and-go case added. Interesting note here, after the walls were painted and new signage put on the walls, A&P's "Bakery" letters remained on the light boxes. The sign stayed for quite some time until someone realized it needed to go. To this day, you can still see the paint job that was done after the letters were taken down, as the paint is not an exact match to the walls. (I forgot to get a close-up of the paint job)
The deli case has been shortened and the former cheese department removed with upright cases now taking their place. Again, selection has skyrocketed in the deli department with some pretty minor changes.
BEFORE>>>
The ceiling tiles remain a bit of a mismatched mess but honestly, when I am in the store, I hardly notice. It doesn't seem to be as profound in person as it is in photos.
A good look at the new cases in the deli.
A much smaller customer service department now at the opposite end of the registers. What is so odd here is that there is no customer service signage, while many stores have TWO signs!
As reported in previous Hoboken posts, this store is just a couple of blocks from the huge, chronically flooded ShopRite yet does excellent business. A majority of shoppers walk to this store and like me, happily shop here over the absolute chaos of ShopRite.
