"More In Store" at the Acme in Vineland, NJ!

This ad from January 1999 comes to Acme Style courtesy of the ClassicRetailAds Channel on YouTube. To see more Acme commercials and other classics from Pathmark and Thriftway to name a few, click here. If you haven't already, please press "play" now.

The Vineland Acme is ready for it's close-up! Freshly watered down parking lot (with no rain clouds in site) creates a crisp and cool reflection. The front of the store is basked in a sunshiny yellow glow for that crack-of-dawn feeling. Built sometime between 1995 and 1999, this stire was clearly a stand-out in the chain to land a role in a TV commercial. The interesting design of the foyers was actually dictated by the shopping center which has a castle theme throughout. We'll be taking a tour down below.

January 1999... finally time for the red oval logo to go! (Too bad cause it's looking really good here.)

In with the new block letter logo... a good 5 to 6 years after it was first introduced.

The Vineland NJ Acme in real life! Still looking quite sharp from the outside. Unfortuantely the interior doesn't live up to the high bar set by the exterior.  

I was hoping to replicate the shots in the commercial but didn't quite get there. The trees in the parking lot are much larger than when the commercial was filmed creating some obstacles to getting the perfect matching shot.

The Pharmacy and Dairy side of the store. 

ACME got bumped over from it's original spot to make room for the Sav-on sign.  

The red signage is being converted to white on stores that receive the "Premium Fresh and Healthy" remodel. The signs here blend in to the brick walls to the point of being practically invisible from the roads surrounding the shopping center. 

The trees further disguise the store until fall does away with their leaves. Still a hardy green for late October.

Produce right through this foyer. Let's take a tour of the interior...

Albertson's Marketplace remodel: the no-frills version. The Produce Department looks quite nice here. Notice how the left side of both of the A's in "Farmstand" is busted. 

All departments names spelled out with no bells and whistles. Reminds me of stores from the 70's. The service departments here didn't get the deluxe treatment with the large sign mounts and blue light boxes on either side. The previous 90's Red/White/Blue look had more pizzaz to it than the remodel. 

Split aisles which is common in the 90's stores. The soda aisle lines the Frozen Food Deapartment in the center of the store. The green on the columns add some much needed color. In other stores, the slanted part of the drop ceiling is painted green as well which adds a very nice effect,

The 90's Red/White/Blue floor tiles still in place. This store is also lacking the faux iron signs- can't find a better way to describe those things- that are usually mounted to the walls around the permitter of the store. There was an abundance of these signs hanging along the checkout area... which I didn't get a picture of. 

And back outside...

Time to check out the rest of the castle-style shopping center...

I would have gone nuts over this place as a kid.

Hard to believe that this is the backside of Café Centro.

Even the back of the Acme (back on the right) has nice details.

Still a grassy field in 1995. (Not sure why some of the HistoricAerial thumbnails are out of whack. Seem to be a problem on their end.)

The sign out on North Main Street... didn't quite get the castle treatment. And now on to the former Acmes of Vineland...

A former "Colonial Cottage" about a mile up North Main street. I drove past but didn't stop to take a picture. Didn't look as much like a former Acme in person as it does in these aerial shots (plus I had alot of other stops to make for the day). The Acme windows were still intact along the front. From here it looks as though only minor upgrades were made to the awning.

Another former Acme. This one is about 2 1/2 miles west on Landis Avenue. Not many clues in this shot that the CVS was a former Acme. In the shote below, check out the old Acme sign in the lower right-hand corner. Drove by this one too not thinking there was much to see until I looked up the aerial images. 

A perspective of the new Acme in relation to the old stores. (Oval logo used just reference. Not sure what logo appeared on the front of the old stores.)

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Abandoned Acme! Havre de Grace, MD

Round 1 of Acme photos courtesy of Drew of Baltimore

Maryland's first appearance on Acme Style! This abandoned Acme is located at 1000 Pulaski Highway in Havre de Grace. I first discovered this store long before Acme Style was launched. Way back when, satellite images showed the store still open with the red oval logo on front. Figured it had the 80's Remodel but was too far of a trip to find out for sure. Last October, I received an email from an Acme fan who had photographed the store and offered the pictures for Acme Style. At that point I was too busy with PA and NJ to think about anything in Maryland so I saved the pictures in the Acme Style vault for future use. A few weeks ago I began thinking about getting those pictures up on the blog when out-of-the-blue someone else sent in some pictures. I decided that Havre de Grace's time had come. So here it is... Round 1 of pictures are from Drew of Baltimore and Round 2 down below are from Gary of Delaware.

Drew believes this store closed in February 2007, making it one of the longest lasting 80's remodel. The building is now occupied with a DJ Liquidators. Surprised it's not a CVS? Well... funny thing is... CVS built a new store in the parking lot after the Acme closed. You'll get to see some pictures of the CVS from Gary's collection.

Ahhhh... the 80's Remodel. I might be a little too obsessed with it. Mostly because the Acme I worked in didn't get it while all the others in the area did. To add insult to injury, we had to join in the Grand Reopening celebrations of other stores, offering insane deals like free 5 pound bags of sugar and Breyers ice cream without all the fan fair of new decor and added service departments. But my old Acme (which I left a long time ago) got the last laugh as it outlasted many of the 80's remodels that were closed in the 90's and 2000's. 

As some of you may know, I have been on the hunt for the 80's Remodel look ever since I started the blog. Well, I have some good news... it still exists! I have confirmed that there is still one Acme remaining with the 80's Remodel AND one former Acme out there with the 80's Remodel still intact. That is all I can reveal at this time. More to come in future posts...

Some back of the store shots... 

This section appears to be an addition that most likely happened during the 80's remodel. 

And now for Round 2 of Acme photos courtesy of Gary...

Check out the odd placement of the CVS. The entrance is faces away from the rest of the strip mall. Satellite images were taken before the CVS was built so we won't be able to see an aerial view of the new configuration here.

There's got to be a story here as to why CVS didn't move into the Acme. Was it cheaper to build a new store rather than renovate the Acme space? 

UPDATE: 10.17.10: The question has been answered! CVS wanted the space but Acme held onto the the lease for two years after they departed the building. Anxious to get a store up and running, CVS built right next to the abandoned Acme. 

Some great interior shots by Gary. This is the entrance with Fresh Produce to the left, Floral was in the front corner and Seafood in the back corner under the blue stripe.

The exit area with Customer Service around the corner. 

Deli and Quality Meats along the back.

Lamps from the parking lot were stored inside back when Gary took his pictures. Probably removed from the area where the CVS was built.

Dairy and Eggs along the right wall. This store also had "Frozen Foods" towards the front of the Dairy wall. The Bakery was in the front right corner. You can see the curved drop ceiling at the top of the picture. A very common element in stores built in the 70's and early 80's.

The side of the building. Looks like another addition was made to the building at some point. It must have been a pretty successful store at some point to require so many loading docks. 

The updated logo was used in the plaza sign now painted over.

Some aerial images of the shopping center...

Looks as though the Acme is still getting cleared out in the one above.

A Weis Market just down the street...