This just in... original pictures of the Clarks Summit Acme! The photos were sent in by Mike of Nanticoke, PA, the day after the Clarks Summit post went up. He traveled around and photographed many of the 45 Acmes that were sold to Penn Traffic. This photo was taken in late '94 between the time the sale was announced and when it was finalized.
If you look closely, you can see the 80's Floral wall treatment to the right of the entrance. This store did in fact have the 80's remodel until the end. Awesome red oval sign! Most stores received a plastic sheet that slid right into the old fish-eye sign frame. Some stores got this deluxe treatment. You can see holes left over from this sign in the pictures below. Thanks to Mike for sending these in! We'll have to see if he treats us to some other classic pictures in his collection.
Now on to the original post...
The Abington Center, located on South Street in Clarks Summit PA, is the fomer home of an Acme Market. Closing date: unknown. The one bit of information I do know about this store is that it did receive the 80's remodel. The section seen here appears to be the original Acme building with the section to the left being an expansion added later which nearly doubled the size of the store.
The Acme shopping cart ramp looks to be still in place. The current doors may have been the same placement of the Acme entrance and exit. Now the doors lead to two separate stores.
You can see holes along the bottom which appear to be left over from where the red oval sign was mounted to the front of the store.
Looks as though this Acme started out as a 60's store and was expanded at a later date. More evidence of this can be seen from the satellite images below. The Dollar Bizarre has a very Acme feeling inside, especially to the rear of the store where it extends into what would have been Acme's backroom area.
The side of the newer section. The back doors would have been left over from the Acme. A bank now occupies this space.
The original section with it's second floor to the rear of the photo.
The other large building on the property, now occupied by Brown's Gym, looks as though it could have been a grocery store as well.
UPDATE: Brown's Gym used to Woolworth's.
Current shopping center signage above. And if we could turn back time, down below...
In this aerial shot, you can clearly see the addition that was added. The section sticking up from the rear of the building would have been the second floor of the Acme which housed offices, bathrooms and the break room.
And now to the Weis Market of Clarks Summit...
Located just down the street from the former Acme. Not sure if the Weis arrived prior to the Acme closing or after. The two chains often had stores competing with each other throughout Eastern PA. This style of Weis debuted in the mid 90's. The exterior look was a little too similar to Giant's design which was rolled out in the early 90's.
This marks the debut of Weis Markets at Acme Style. I've been planning to feature one as a Bonus Store but haven't gotten to the chosen location to photograph it. Like Acme, Weis still has some small classic locations in business today.
This interior design was rolled out in the 90's to both new stores and remodels. White was the way to go in the 90's. Both Acme and Giant Food went with all white interiors in that decade. Weis kept the look going throughout the 90's but has since moved onto a new decor package which I have yet to see in person.
Very interesing front end here. The registers are all angled toward to the Dairy side of the store. Might seem a little a strange in theory but it's seems quite effective in person.
On side note about Weis: I gotta give the company props for taking on ShopRite in Newton and Franklin, New Jersey. Both towns are far removed from Weis' core market area, yet Weis decided to build these stores right next door to long established ShopRites. Not sure how they're surviving these days since Walmart has also opened stores in both towns in close proximity to each Weis store. Now back to Clarks Summit...
A comparison of where the old Acme and new Weis stores are located.
This just in from an Acme Style reader... a very helpful diagram of where the Weis store was originally located before the replacement store was built.
The Browns store looks like an old Woolworths to me.
ReplyDeleteNope. It was originally Grant's and then McCrory's. Both small department stores like Woolworth's.
DeleteThe Acme in Clarks Summit opened in 1959 (May 13th) in the Abington Shopping Center, 1000 State Road South. As a flat roof store, it no doubt had the signature signage across the front when it opened. It was a store that was frequently mentioned in "The Trumpeter" during the 60's and 70's, so it must have been successful. With the Acme oval signage at the end, was it one of the 45 stores sold in 1995?
ReplyDeleteIt looks like this store got the same exterior treatment as the one in Ambler, PA (previously featured here at Acme Style). If the location was still open in 1995, I'm sure it was sold to Penn Tarffic.
ReplyDeleteThe first time I saw this store as a non-Acme was either 1999 or 2000. By that time it had been divided into separate stores which makes me wonder if Penn Traffic ever owned the location.
ReplyDeleteTo the best of my knowledge, Weis arrived in Clarks Summit sometime in the mid to late '70's after they first came to the area with a store located next to a K-Mart not too far away from this location on Route 6 AKA The Scranton Carbondale Highway. That store was opened I'm going to say sometime in 1974 and was not successful at all and was closed by probably 1978. And that Clarks Summit store is actually a replacement for the original. If I recall correctly, there was also a Giant in Clarks Summit as well during that time. Surprisingly, I never knew there was an Acme in Clarks Summit. We always shopped the Dunmore store. (Waiting for a profile of that store-yes that was a hint-LOL!)
ReplyDeletethe clarks summit weis is the only store in the chain that i know of the has the front end set up that way. i always thought this was very odd!
ReplyDeleteIs the Dunmore Acme now an Advanced Auto Parts store?
ReplyDeletedoes anyone know where the 45 stores that penn traffic bought from acme were located?
ReplyDeleteI've read that the Gerrity's market at the north side of Clarks Summit was originally an Insalaco's; if that was the case I wonder if Penn Traffic just closed the Acme right away. I also wonder where the Weis originally was; I see a building that looked like it could have been a grocery store at S. State and Grove Rds on Bing Maps.
ReplyDeleteGo to the weis in newton. it is an older store that opened in the late early 90s or late 80s. you can tell it is an old store by how small it is and the big round cealing vents.this store is in anice area and makes some good money aside from WAL~MART and shoprite being 2 seconds down the road
ReplyDeleteAwesome photos of the store in its Acme days. That has to be the largest red oval logo I've ever seen. No missing that thing from the road.
ReplyDeleteI know a lot of the stores that becomes Penn Traffic locations closed not long after they were renamed and reopened, so it's possible this one was sold (was it '94 or '95?) and had already been closed and subdivided by '99 or '00. I've always accused Acme of being fairly clueless but selling those stores was probably a good idea at the time. It seems most were hideously outdated and probably operating in markets where modern competition would have made it impossible to compete without millions and millions in new infrastructure. Penn Traffic spent a lot of money on stores that were already dying and likely didn't have a way to make them any better.
I hope that Mike has some pictures of the carbondale store
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rob. I think Acme made a shrewd deal in selling the 45 stores and Penn Traffic made a mistake. In visiting most of them, very few of the Acmes would have been able to compete with the Wegmans, Price Choppers and Walmart Super Centers that were being built at the time. They were mostly outdated relics from the late 50s and early 60s that had some cosmetic repairs, but were never really modernized or updated.
ReplyDeleteYes i agree with Rob too! I think Acme realized these stores where in dire need of some upgrades. I think Penn Traffic got more then they bargained for. It seems like a lot of these stores are still operated by indy operators. they are well suited for those locations because they have a lower overhead. But then looked what happened to Penn Traffic in the end!
ReplyDeleteIf you use Google Earth or Bing to check out some of the former northeastern PA locations, you'll see many were in small towns that couldn't handle more than one grocery store. I doubt there was much competition so Acme let the stores get old and run-down and that meant they had no chance when someone new came into town. Giving up that market share made a lot more sense than giving up on the northern NJ market.
ReplyDeleteThe Brown's Gym used to be a McCrory's.
ReplyDeleteIf I remember correctly, I think that the Lincroft store also used to have the red oval like that one.
ReplyDeleteYes it did. So did the old Clifton and Secaucus stores (previously featured here at Acme Style). I think Flemington did as well, but that's going by years-old memories of quickly passing the store.
ReplyDeleteRob, did you have pictures of the lincroft store?
ReplyDeleteYes Acme Style, the Dunmore Acme is now Advance Auto Parts. I loved everything about that store. I spent many Saturday mornings/afternoons there shopping with my parents. Along about 1973 or so, it received the deluxe colonial remodel and was converted to a Super Saver and then I think they called it an Acme/Super Saver later on. That small strip at one time consisted of the Acme, Picway Shoes, a restaurant and bar and later a new build Rea + Derrick drug store. Across the alleyway where Big Lots is now there used to be a Kings department store which later became a Jamesway. I especially enjoyed that store because there was a bowling alley in the basement. I hung out there a lot. Good memories-all of them. Now I've got a question about what happened to the store after Acme left. You'll notice to the left of the Acme is a Day's Inn and next to that is a Price Chopper-a chain which I know a lot about since they're headquartered here and there seems to be one on every corner around these parts. Was this Acme one of the 45 sold to Penn Traffic or did Price Chopper buy it from either Acme or Penn Traffic? I know some companies do that-buy a whole group of stores and then sell off locations here and there. Did a grocery operate in the building after Acme left? I know that Acme was still there as of May 1988 and the Price Chopper was in its present location by October 1999. I'm just wondering if either chain (or both of them for that matter) operated a store in the building after Acme left.
ReplyDeleteRob has sent in pictures of the old Lincroft store! They will be included in an upcoming post. I still have a couple more stores that Rob photographed back in the 90's and will have them all posted in the next couple of months.
ReplyDeleteTW-Upstate: If we don't get some answers to your questions here, I will do a post in the future on Dunmore and include your questions there.
ReplyDeleteLincroft is now scheduled to go up on the blog on Friday, November 19th. The post will include Rob's fascinating pictures of the old store which were taken while the new store was under construction.
ReplyDeleteActually, it was the other way around- the new store had just opened and the old store was being prepped for demolition. I know, details, details...
ReplyDeleteI wish I had taken a better look at the old Lincroft Acme but at the time, I was more interested in the new store. It was the first time the company had suggested any kind of interest in building new stores close to northern NJ, which at the time was a few strong stores (Morris Plains, Rockaway and Middlesex) and a bunch of old, neglected ones that were being closed left and right. The union expressed how it was important for the Lincroft store to succeed so Acme would build new stores in northern NJ and it was fascinating to see what could have been. Too bad only a handful of new stores were built (Milltown, Clifton & Mount Freedom).
Don't forget about marlboro and the 2 freehold stores.
ReplyDeleteI remember that when they built the new lincroft store, there was less than 10 feet between the stores.
ReplyDeleteTrue, but I really don't consider Freehold and Marlboro to be northern NJ, the same way I don't consider Lincroft, Shrewsbury and Fair Haven to be northern NJ.
ReplyDeleteThe Lincroft stores were very close to one another. When the new one was being built, I remember my manager telling me that part of the canopy of the old store had to be removed so the new one could be completed.
TW-Upstate NY...
ReplyDeleteYour wish is Acme Style's command! The Dunmore store will get the FULL Acme Style treatment in early December.
Gee, was it something I said-LOL! I am very much looking forward to that-thank you.
ReplyDeleteI know of at least two former Acme stores in Scranton, PA. One was on Green Ridge Street, that has since been demolished. Anyone have any information on that store.
ReplyDeleteI just happen to have a 1980 Scranton phone book and it lists a Super Saver at 105 Green Ridge which was likely an Acme at one time. It also lists another Super Saver at S. Washington and Elm in the city-also very likely another Acme convert. By that point, at least according to the phone book, there were no Acmes left in the city. There was also one on Moosic St. at the "T" intersection with Meadow Ave. by the light. That one as I recall had the classic tile front with the Acme neon tower. It closed around the same time of the Dunmore remodel I spoke of earlier. It became a Panelrama (home improvement store-kind of an ealry version of Lowe's or Home Depot) and after that I lost track of it until 1988 when it was some kind of discount grocery outlet. That building was demolished in either 2000 or 2001 to make way for a CVS which operates to this day. Ironically, that CVS moved from a former Colonial A+P just up Meadow Ave. I also think there was an Acme in the South Side Shopping Center as well at one time or another.
ReplyDeleteTW, wasn't there an acme in the keyser oak shopping center?
ReplyDeleteTo the best of my knowledge, no. There was a market there and it was a Food Fair which I'm going to say was an original tennant since FFP (Food Fair Properties) owned and very likely developed the center. It closed in either the very late '60's or very early '70's and sat dark for a while before becoming a Giant market. I was just a kid and remember being in there only once with my parents but my recollection was that it was extremely dark and very dirty for a grocery store. First and last Food Fair I was ever in too. And when Giant moved in, it appeared they hadn't changed a thing: just restocked the shelves and turned the lights back on. We actually shopped there a lot after that. Frankly, the place gave me the creeps. Today, the center still stands but I have no idea what occupies this space. I do know that on the other end is a Gerrity's (small local chain) in a former Woolworth's. Whether they occupied the Food Fair/Giant space initially I have no idea. But to get back to the original question, I'd have to say no there wasn't an Acme there-at least not between late 1966-mid 1980. Behind this center was a very small strip center which had an A+P which later became a Price Chopper. I don't think the building is even still there today. Man, the things you remember when you answer one question. I love this blog.
ReplyDeleteYes there was an Acme in south Scranton. It is now a Rite Aid and Chinese buffet.
ReplyDeleteTW- update on Dunmore... there has been a delay in bringing this store to the blog. It is currently scheduled to go up in early January.
ReplyDeleteLincroft has also been rescheduled for 2011.
There was a Weis in Clarks Summit at the same time that Acme was open, and it was right across the street. The plaza that now houses Moe's, Dunkin Donuts, Waffle House, and a bank used be Weis and a state liquor store. That Weis building was torn down after the new one down the road was built. Also as previously mentioned, the location where Brown's Gym is now used to be a McCrory's.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you posted this. After reading through the section about Weis, it would have driven me nuts if the truth wasn't known. The Weis store outlasted the Acme by atleast 5 years in the previous location. I do believe the only reason it was moved was because that location (both sides of the street) became a no man's land of nothing stores.
DeleteThanks for confirming that! I was sure the new Weis in Clarks Summit was technically a replacement store but wasn't sure where the old one had been located.
ReplyDeleteThe gym also used to be a W.T. Grant (not a Grant city), according to joshaustin on flickr.
ReplyDeleteYes, Browns Gym was a WT Grants, then McCrory's. When I was a kid, the former Weis site across the street was occupied by Topper's Diner and a trailer that was Gracies Hoagies (late 60's, early 70's). Someone commented about the structure at S State and W.Grove. The building housing Talbots and Northeast Eye was an A&P in the late 60's. The Giant market was further down Northern Blvd near the South Abington Elementary School
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone remember the location of the insalacos grocery store when it was in clarks green?
ReplyDeleteAcme closed in 1995
ReplyDeleteAt the top of Grove St. It now houses doctors offices, and has since the late 80's when Insalacos moved to the current location of Gerritys. A BiLo also resided where Gerritys is, after Insalacos closed in 90's. It lasted only a few years due to its unfamiliarity and higher New York prices.
ReplyDelete