Location: 1159 Route 46, Parsippany NJ
This Michaels Art and Crafts store located in the Morris Hills Shopping Center in Parsippany NJ is a former Acme location. It closed in either the late 80's or very early 90's. The interior had the 70's colonial decor witht the fish-eye logo until the end. The facade of the shopping center was upgraded shortly before Acme closed. It was a small store with only 8 or 9 aisles. I believe it did have an in-store bakery which would be unsual for Acme's of this small size. This store had fierce competition from a much larger Pathmark and ShopRite down the highway.
In this shot you can see the cut out section around the Michaels logo where the Acme sign used to be.
The doors to the Acme most likely were where the darkened windows are now. The framed window was used for posting Acme specials for the week. There is an identical one at the other end of the store. I have seen these windows on this style of Acmes at several locations but not with the type of frame which matched with the colonial decor of the interior of the store.
I saw the framed window on a store in Union, which is long gone. Funny... I've been to that strip mall countless times and never noticed the framed windows. Of course, I always thought the Parsippany Acme was located down the block in a stand-alone building that looks as though it could have once been an Acme or another small grocery store. I was corrected a few years ago. Pretty sure the location closed in the early 90s, perhaps not long before I started working at Acme in '95.
ReplyDeleteIt closed around 1991 or 1992. When it closed a number of the fulltime workers were transferred to Succasunna.
ReplyDeleteMakes sense. It was only a few years gone when I started working for Acme in 1995.
ReplyDeleteA few months ago, the Michael's Arts & Crafts store relocated to the former CompUSA space in the Pathmark shopping center on Route 46. Interestingly enough, I believe that this relocated Michael's (the former CompUSA) is actually a former A&P Centennial building. (If you go to historicaerials.com and view some old images, the building's shape sure seems to look like an A&P Centennial.)
ReplyDeleteThat's definitely an A&P in the 1979 view!
ReplyDeleteAcme Style, it is so funny, because I've passed by that former CompUSA/current Michael's so many times, yet it took years for me to realize that the building's roofline looked like it might resemble a Centennial A&P. Upon realizing this, I then went to historicaerials.com, and my suspicions were confirmed!
ReplyDeleteI have no idea when that A&P closed, but I do believe that the Parsippany Pathmark (like the former Randolph Pathmark you previously profiled) is one of the oldest stores in that chain. Now, according to historicaerials.com, that entire shopping center opened between 1963 and 1970. Thus, for many years, it appears as if a small Centennial A&P co-existed with a Pathmark supercenter.
I think the Elizabeth, NJ Pathmark is also one of the oldest still-operating Pathmarks. It opened sometime between 1966 and 1968 as a ShopRite (Supermarkets General-owned), and is still operating as a Pathmark today (though it doesn't even come close to being as successful as the Village ShopRite down Grand St!
DeleteThe Acme in Parsippany closed after Chatham (which closed 1/9/90) in the latter part of 1990 or 1991 - no later. It then became Leewards, which became Michaels until just moving a few months ago. The other anchor store in the Morris Hills Shopping Center was McCrory, which lasted until 1997 and is now a Home Goods.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, the Michaels store has in fact moved to a former centennial A&P which probably closed in the late 70's. The store was a Drug Fair in the 80's. then CompUSA, then vacant until now - Michaels. The Pathmark at the other end of the strip was originally a Food Fair/Pantry Pride and yes definitely co-existed with A&P at some point. Also, next to the Pathmark was Kmart (prior moving to its current location with the new ShopRite farther east on Route 46). The former Kmart was subdivided into Toys R Us and AC Moore, who both lost their lease. It is now an LA Fitness.
The new Kmart (in the Westmount Shopping Center) was built in 1997, but ShopRite was not completed until March, 2000.
Have any idea about the former IGA, which turned into a Drug Fair and then into Walgreens? You know the one in Boonton, which closed not too long after A&P opened right next to it.
ReplyDeleteAs I remember it was a Jacks IGA, just like the streetfront ex-Jacks IGA in Caldwell (now a Foodtown.)
Deletewe had that same clock in the west orange acme we used to play with it and move the time up so we could get out a bit sooner lol
ReplyDelete