Closed: ACME – Middlesex, NJ

Location: 125 Bound Brook Road, Middlesex NJ

The Middlesex ACME closed down on February 3, 2022 after an impressive 67-year run. Originally, the store was 1/2 the size you see here and was eventually expanded to match ACME's 33M format while being a good 15,000 feet short of a standard 33M store. I don't recall an official reason given by ACME for the closing but it did happen during a time when ACME was shuttering other smaller, outdated stores.

Exterior pictures are from various map sites, which caught the store in various states of operation. 

The image above is from Manny X's video on the Middlesex ACME on YouTube. Really great labelscar photo. The store wouldn't last long in this condition as you can see below. 

A bit of blue paint to freshen things up. Notice even the red, white and blue squares along the awning are all blue now. 

Several videos on youtube show the store emptied out. The image above is from Manny X's video.

The rest of the images are from WallieB26's video. Really great views of the abandoned interior! 

A zoomed-in shot of the back wall of the meat department showing the brown and orange paneling remaining from the Colonial Decor package. In the 80s Remodel, upright cases were installed in the meat department and pushed up against the walls, leaving little reason to paint over the old decor. We see these panels in nearly every abandoned ACME. 

Here we see a mess of the 80's tile floor as new registers were installed at one point. The original pattern not recreated. 

THE INTERIOR WHILE STILL OPEN>>

Middlesex had the 90's Checkerboard Arch décor until its closing day. The only store in the chain to keep this decor well into the 2000's and beyond. Only a handful of New Jersey stores received this and Middlesex was the only store that I know of, which got this particular version, which includes a cursive font for some departments as well as a couple of design elements not commonly seen. The aisle markers are from the Red/White/Blue package, which was next up in the 90's. The markers here were most likely taken from a closed store. 

The cursive font for deli and seafood. 

Portions of the walls were hit with some beige paint, perhaps to soften the look of all the maddening checkerboards! This is an all-time favorite of mine, particularly in stores that received the full remodel. 

TODAY>>

Today, the ACME space is operating as a Planet Fitness with about 1/3 of the building still available for lease. Looks like I'll need to do a workout here someday! Now, what aisle is this treadmill in?

Under construction. 

The initial replacement of the red oval sign with the block-letter sign. ACME would eventually circle back and upgrade this section of the facade. 

You can visit additional coverage of the Middlesex store by clicking here.

Update: ACME — Saddle Brook, NJ

Location: 75 Mayhill St, Saddle Brook, NJ

Checking in at the Saddle Brook ACME, which was one of the first converted A&P stores to get the Quality Built décor. While a few rounds of tweaks would follow, the store would finally get a proper remodel in 2024. It is looking fantastic these days! I stopped in a few weeks ago and was incredibly impressed with how spotlessly clean and well-stocked the store was. 

All new black carts here. I don't follow carts closely, so I don't know who manufactures these but they are pretty deluxe. 

So much to see when you walk in! New Lightting, new flooring, all new produce cases. The decor hasn't been touched in nearly 10 years but is still looking fresh. I am obsessed with Alberstonson new merchandising approach which you can see here. Cases and aisles are streamlined and linear, extra displays are carefully placed not to crowd the area, all items are easy to get to and see. This is the completely oppostite to A&P's fresh approach were the layout tried to mimic more of a market, zig zaggin customers around the deparmants. Nobody;s got time for that in 2026! Some photos are included below from the A&P days to help show the difference. 

The Cafe was completely removed and replaced with a new floral department. The whole concept of us wanting to go to the grocery store and eat there is dead and gone. Even Wegmans, one of the great pioneers of the concept, has given up on it all. Among other things, they have canned their baristas and put in a Motel 6 coffee dispensing machines, accompanied by day-old, grab-and-go breakfast sandwiches.

Saddle Brook is lucky to have the Picadeli Salad Bar! These appear in numeraous ACMEs as well as Kings. In a post-C world where salad bars did not survive, I love seeing these in ACME. The Edgeatwer store had one for about 2 years and then pulled it due to a price point dispute with Picadeli. Check out the link above to read more about the company. They are super focused on cleanliness and freshness. Some of the premade salads they offer are absolute knock-outs! 

One thing to notice about Saddle Brook...it's spacious! The store is huge and incredibly pleasant to shop throughout.

Here in the deli, A&P's yellow tile was painted. Not my favorite color. Pulls in from the bakery too much. 

Could someone straighten up these displays, please??

Here's a bit of a before and after to see how ACME is visually streaminglinning their stores. Groundbreaking supermarket design? Not quite but I could not love it more. 

Another before and after look where case and display sizes have been reduced to improve traffic and visual access. 

Drive Up & Go is now in the former flower department. 

Some tile has been replaced in the pharmacy and HABA departments. A&P's tile remains throughout but looks really great. 

New lighting above the aisles. Like A&P, the lights hang down just above the aisle but are now significantly brighter. Also, with a "soft white" glow rather than surgical-room white. 

All new upright frozen foods cases. 

A&P's previous set-up. 

This entire store was impeccably stocked. 

I could get a good picture showing the changes in the dairy department. The last aisle of the grocery was removed, creating a spacious concourse on the right side of the store. Allows shoppers a lovely, breathable space with carefully curated displays to wrap up their shopping trip. 

Previous to remodel. What a difference some new lighting makes! 

Image above is from the original Saddle Brook post, which you can visit by clicking here. Here we see where the original A&P and ACME were located, and today... just the ACME reigns supreme! A truly beautiful store and a great place to visit to see how ACME has evolved these acquired stores over the years.