Today's post delayed until tomorrow...

I have a Bonus Store post in the works but didn't get it finished in time to post for this morning. It will be going up first thing tomorrow morning. I'll leave you with this hint: Clean, Fresh and Good.

Jewel Osco Opens in Former Dominick's Stores!

NBCChicago.com has an article about the opening of the Jewel Osco stores in the former Domick's locations. They included 3 videos which I've embedded in this post. It's rare when these stories show more than a photo or two of a store, let alone 3 videos. We don't exactly get sweeping views of the interiors but you can see enough of the store to get an idea of how they look. The decor package looks to be mostly, if not entirely, left over from Dominick's. They didn't even bother switching out the aisle markers. Full remodels will be happening at these four stores in the near future. Jewel wanted to get them cleaned up and reopened as quickly as possible. Gone for sure is the dark, moody lighting that Safeway had in place at the Lifestyle formatted stores. The Lifestyle decor is alive and well in the former Genuardi's in Norristown which is now a Weis Market. It was covered on the blog last March. You can jump over to that post by clicking here. (Scroll down below the Big Lots photos).

The Acme Video Game!

Acme Style Fan, Ryan B., has created a pitched-roof Acme in the video game Minecraft. He used the Parkesburg Acme for his inspiration. The video game provides the users an assortment of boxes which can be used to create anything they want. Ryan certainly has caught the spirit of the Parkesburg Acme! I'm just wondering where my shopping cart is so I can start strolling the aisles.

Thanks to Ryan for sharing his Acme creation!

Another Mindcraft Acme has been sent in... 

This one is based on the former Glassboro store and was sent in by "@" who is a regular commenter on Acme Style.

Acme — Audubon, New Jersey

Location: 100 Black Horse Pike, Audubon, NJ

Time now for one of the most unique Acmes out there! This one-of-a-kind store owes it's usual characteristics to the original tenant here, Penn Fruit. That chain met its demise in the 70's after Acme launched a vicious price-war against its competitors. You can read all of the fascinating details of Penn Fruit's history in an article posted on grocerteria.com. You'll visit a time in history when Acme was the one crushing the competitors instead of the other way around. Acme acquired several Penn Fruit stores as the company went bankrupt. The Audubon store is the last of the Acmes operating in a former Penn Fruit location.


Update 1.26.14: PennFruitFan provided a link to this ad featuring the Audubon Penn Fruit supermarket before it opened. This image is shared from JSF0864's flickr collection which you can visit by clicking here.




Acme has expanded into all of the space on the right side of the Penn Fruit building. The flat-roofeed section on the left side may have been part of the Penn Fruit store. It's hard to tell at this point. We'll see in the satellite images that the footprint of this shopping center has not changed since 1956. Acme now takes up a majority of the complex.


Signs welcoming shoppers of the Pathmark in Camden which closed last September. The Pathmark was about 2 miles away on Ephraim Avenue.

Heading inside...


Chalkboard Market decor package here… without any chalkboards. They may have existed here at one point, possibly being removed from being faded and messed up over the years. Also missing are old black and white photos of local landmarks along the walls which are occasionally seen with this decor package. The last remodel would have happened in the late 90's when American Stores was rolling out this remodel to many locations. Alberstons would soon be ditching this look in favor of their Industrial Circus decor. It is remarkable how flawless this store looks having been remodeled so long ago. Other upgrades have happened in the meantime as we'll see when we tour the store.




A look across the front-end just around the corner from the Bakery. A preview of the arched ceiling which is still beautifully intact!


Looking towards the Produce Department at the front corner of the store. Deli is to the right and Floral to the left.


A pass-way to the grocery aisles between the Bakery and Deli, possibly home to a Starbucks at one point. The floor underneath the soda display looks to have been added after something else was removed.


The whole store was stocked beautifully.






Salad Bar closed on Saturdays. Not sure if it's open during the week.




All of the service departments reside in the building that was next to thePenn Fruit store. They even squeezed the Meat Department in rather than running it along the back of the grocery aisles.


Looking back at the Fishermen's Net as we head to the grocery aisles.


Aisle 1 is all deals. It's a little closed in as walls run floor to ceiling behind the shelving on both sides.


Low ceiling for the first few aisles. The aisle markers were adapted for the low clearance.


The arched ceiling begins at aisle 5 and extends over to aisle 12.


What's interesting about this section of the store is there are no department signs from here on out with the exception of the Pharmacy. I mentioned the old black and white photos missing from the store because they would have been a nice addition to this back wall.




The ceiling no longer has a full arch across the store. The original structure has been retrofitted with light and ceiling tiles creating a flat section over the very middle of the store. Still a far better decision than putting in a flat drop ceiling across this section. Makes for changing light bulbs a little tricky though.


I was impressed with how streamlined this store is. The place was sparkling clean from floor to ceiling!














New Dairy cases have been put in.




The Pharmacy is the only department to get a sign outside of the service department aisle. I did appreciate this store's enthusiasm
for Halloween!


The 90's Red/White/Blue decor light boxes still above the registers...

Aerial Views...

The lighter colored roof section on the left is home to several stores.








So here's the bad news… Walmart. It wasn't yet opened when this satellite image was taken so it may have been here for less than ten years no. Check out Acme's jam packed parking lot at the time. A big chunk of those shoppers are about to quit the Acme. I personally think it's an American tragedy what Walmart has done. Their business practices are deplorable. Their low-paid employees are a huge drain on government assistance programs. Estimates are that 80% of all Walmart employees collect food stamps. Low prices? Yeah right. They keep their prices low by paying horrible wages which us tax payers get stuck making up the difference.

Historic Images...

2007

2002

1995

1970

1965

1956

1951

Fortunately the store busier than the parking seems to indicate. When I pulled in I was expecting to find a completely dead store, which wasn't the case at all. The store must still do relatively well to receive the upgrades and maintenance is has received in recent years.