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...
I am sure weis saw the success Acme was having and built a store close to shut acme down. As you can see, this worked.
ReplyDeleteHi All. Acme was planing to close after the news that Wal-Mart was going to build a store just a short distance away on route 40. Weis has contributed to many an Acme loosing market share in several areas. As to the many receiving docks, the double dock in the rear was the grocery dock where there was always a trailer in one door and when the load arrived, it was dropped in the other door and the empty trailer was taken back to the DC with pallets, bales of cardboard and salvage. Also in the rear the door with the outside dock was for receiving meat deliveries. Very similar to the Princeton Junction receiving area. And the door on the side of the building was the produce receiving dock. All new store only have one set of receiving doors. Everything that is received goes and comes through these doors. Meaning that if the produce holding area is at the other end of the store, it must travel through the back room or as in Moorestown and many other stores it travels on the sales floor.
ReplyDeleteMany stores that closed in Maryland, as in other states were older stores, but in almost ALL the closings the local towns begged for Acme to stay. Such was the case in Rising Sun, MD and several other small towns where Acme had been for well over 50 years. American Stores looked after the communities when they were in charge, and the communities took care of Acme. (patronage) Not seen in many stores nowadays.
trex
Weird to see an 80's remodel still exist today. What you see is at least 25 years old! And that's probably why the Weis killed this store. I know us Acme Style readers love old stores but it's clear Acme invested practically nothing in this store since Marty McFly first traveled back in time to 1955 and customers probably couldn't ignore that. I'm guessing Weis came along, caught the Acme when it was vulnerable (hideously outdated) and Acme ultimately decided it wasn't worth the investment to get the customers back. Another group of customers lost, more market share sacrificed.
ReplyDeleteOf course, it amazes me that Acme still does business in Maryland. Years ago there were tons of stores- Baltimore was covered with Acme locations just like Philadelphia is... or was.
Anyway, nice to see the Havre de Grace Acme. Reminds me a lot of the Jersey City location as I remember it growing up- the 80's decor package inside, the Super Saver facade and red oval logo outisde... brings back good memories.
Is the former acme with the 80s remodel that you refer to an asian store in philadelphia?
ReplyDeleteThat's the one! I was tipped off to it by an Acme Style fan. It will be appearing on the blog in the near future.
ReplyDeleteThe ceiling lights seem a little strange here. Usually you see exposed fluorescent lights the entire length of the aisles.
ReplyDeleteThose types of lights were pretty much done away with in stores built in the late 70's/early 80's. A variety of recessed types lights became lights of choice. There are similar lights in the abandoned Berlin store...
ReplyDeletehttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/_246OMBI86f8/SgxXNEDaU8I/AAAAAAAABGQ/8U8mT_vfLws/s1600-h/acme_style_berlin_09.jpg
Concerning the lighting. Well, believe it or not, some municipalities require florescent tubes be enclosed in the ceiling to avoid personal injury if the tubes fall for any reason. They have been known to fall in storms and earth quakes. Not just be enclosed in a plastic tube as you may see in many locations.
ReplyDeletetrex
Hi, I worked at this store many years ago. Acme turned down the Weis site and it killed this store. The store stayed open for many years due to the fact that the Store Manager always managed to make a profit at this location. He was transfered to Falston and the store was gone within a year. Acme turned down sites in North East and Rising Sun that major competitors built in and killed them. Rob, don!t be so amazed that Acme still have stores on the Eastern Shore, they are extremly profitable
ReplyDeletewith low rent and what I would call a company contract, with the Block, Dairy , and Frozen Managers not managers at all but leads that report to the Grocery manager and the Meat manager at Clerks pay, but ware department Managers uniforms and are held just as responsible as the better paid above the canal
bretheren in De.
As of last week, SuperValu started sending their fresh combo deliveries of meat, dairy produce and deli on what is called Acme/Independant loads. If the delivery route has the regular Easton, St. Michaels and Stevensville on the trailer and there is room for an independant store on that trailer, to say Baltimore or any other area nearby it WILL be added as long as the Acme logo is not on that trailer. Then it can be shipped with that load. That will cut transportation costs a great deal...
ReplyDeletei drive for weis's. i have noticed at places where we pick up backhauls i have seen acme trailers with the logos taken off. i believe they have small supervalu logos on the front. i figured that was so they can use the trailer to deliver to any store.
ReplyDeleteCORRECT ! ! !
ReplyDeleteI do not know why Acme would not give up their lease to allow CVS to take the building. Wouldn't they save some money by doing that?
ReplyDeleteyes i wondered the samething! why would they spend the money to maintain the lease on the building for two years?
ReplyDeleteIt is common practice to hold the lease on a building when a grocery store goes out of business to prevent a competitor from moving in. Acme continues to hold the lease on the abandoned Collegeville store to prevent ShopRite from opening in the space. Acme also held the lease in Quakertown for years after that store closed even though there were no other Acmes in the area that would have been affected from another chain opening in that space. In Havre de Grace, there are two other Acmes located about 20 miles away. Neither store would be impacted by a CVS taking over the lease here so it's hard to know for sure why Acme choose to do this.
ReplyDeleteAhhh...such information we get here.
ReplyDeleteWhen Acme built their new Browns Mills, New Jersey store just one block from the old "A" frame store the held the lease on the old store for over TEN years ! ! ! From 1995 till 2009 the store was "kept dark" meaning that everything worked, the grass was cut, the water and electric was on and the entire grounds was taken care of. The landlord took Scaggs to court in order to force the lease on the market, but Acme and Scaggs won. Just last year the for lease sign went up. Even though the old store was shuttered, it still looked clean and well kept. Now that Acme is out of the lease, it really is run down...thanks to the slum....er... landlord the area near the old store is failing.
T
They should just lease their closed stores to non-grocery stores like Ace Hardware, Dollar Tree and whatnot.
ReplyDeleteOne has to wonder why Acme turned down those sites in Rising Sun, North East, and Havre De Grace, because the stores that moved into those locations are all pretty busy. Of course, the Wal-Mart going super in North East will change all that.
ReplyDeleteIn Rising Sun, Acme packed up and left town, and their space was taken over by an Ace Hardware store. Martin's moved into the shopping center that Acme passed up on, and a few years ago, outgrew that location, and built a huge store right next door. I work for a vendor company, and it's always in the top 6 stores in the chain in sales for us.
In North East, Acme held on for a while, but also put no money into the store, like with HdG. I still remember the old meat rails in the back room! The Food Lion across the street is a top ten store, especially during the summertime. Now the old Acme is half empty, and half occupied by Dollar Tree, who moved out from next to the Food Lion. I figured Food Lion would have snapped that space up, since that is the smallest store around, but a mattress store went in instead.
Back to HdG - even the Weis has enjoyed success - they built on an addition and remodeled the store, I'm guessing 4-5 years ago (I'm not too good with dates). Anyway, dairy, bread, snacks, beverages, and frozen moved into the new section. I've got some pictures up on the weisproject.com board if you're interested.
The Wal-Mart in Perryville never came to fruition, but Food Lion did open a store there, one of their prototype models with the angled aisles and sleek exterior. The store has steadily gained business, especially since the bridge between there and HdG has been under construction (redecking) for a few years, so people tend to stick to one side or the other, to avoid the traffic jams and narrow lanes. Mars Supermarkets of Baltimore bought a tract of land up the road, supposedly for a future store, but one has to wonder how long they'll be around, especially since Shop Rite is invading their turf.
You can kiss Fallston goodbye next year, Wal-Mart is opening a store there in January - the plans already include a future expansion into a supercenter (like North East).
Elkton is the only big store in Maryland, and even it's retreating. Going from 24/7 to closing at 10pm or 11pm, plus Acme bought out 19 older employees to cut costs. The store was once top of pile, but with the Walmart going super, Redner's moving in, Aldi moving in, times have changed. This store was once a record-setter for us, now it's just another store. Even the remodel was half-hearted.
I don't believe the Havre de Grace Store was ever remodeled in any way. It was built in the late 70's (I was in 5th grade) as a replacement to the second Acme which was down the street about a half mile on Revolution street. I was there for the opening day and my family shopped there weekly. The original Acme was downtown on Washington Street and is now a book store. The Pulaski Hwy. store pretty much appears as built in the pictures and never changed inside or out that I can recall
ReplyDeleteHarve de Grace was remodeled in the mid to late 80's. The decor and floor tiles you see in the pictures is not what was there when the store opened in the 70's.
DeleteThe old Acme is now A Save-A-Lot.
ReplyDeleteThat it is...
Deletehttp://acmestyleblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/former-acme-harve-de-grace-md.html