Friday, June 10, 2016

Acme – Park Ridge, New Jersey

ACME HAS RETURED TO 
KINDERMACK ROAD

Acme/Former A&P Park Ridge, NJ
Photos courtesy of Dan Asnis' flickr collection

Location: 199 Kinderkamack Rd, Park Ridge, NJ
Opened as an Acme on October 16, 2015

Finally... the post that got zapped back on
March 22nd has been recreated! 

Acme/Former A&P Park Ridge, NJ
Acme's original location in this area was just down the street in Montvale. Acme and A&P were competitors here dating back to at least 1964. That's the first year A&P shows up in the historic aerial images. Not sure of its exact opening date. The A&P evolved numerous times over the decades but met it's ultimate demise in October 2015 when Acme took it over! 

Acme/Former A&P Park Ridge, NJ
Interesting situation here... the Pharmacy is a completely separate store next door and can only be accessed from the front entrance. The two stores are not connected on the inside.

UPDATE 6.12.16: The store IS connected on the inside!  JoshAustin610 left this comment...
The pharmacy's actually the opposite of the way you've described; there's an opening to get into that section from the main store, while the door pictured is only used as a fire exit. I'm guessing it was an independent pharmacy A&P acquired at some point.

Acme/Former A&P Park Ridge, NJ

Acme/Former A&P Park Ridge, NJ
One shot of the inside of the Pharmacy. Dan took these pictures back on February 25 so I'm not sure of the state of A&P's Funky Fresh interior décor and layout. The Quality Built remodels are currently being rolled out at a maddening pace.

Acme/Former A&P Park Ridge, NJ
Heading into the main store...

Acme/Former A&P Park Ridge, NJ
Acme put in all new lighting in the store prior to reopening. The ceiling was also painted white throughout.

Acme/Former A&P Park Ridge, NJ

Acme/Former A&P Park Ridge, NJ

Acme/Former A&P Park Ridge, NJ

Acme/Former A&P Park Ridge, NJ

Acme/Former A&P Park Ridge, NJ
This store has the awful layout that was part of A&P's Funky Fresh remodel. I'm sure on paper it seemed like a cutting edge idea... reconfiguring the store with mini-departments. Problem was shopping in this layout was absolutely awful. This store wasn't broken up with as many mini-departtments as larger stores were.

BEFORE...

Here's a look at the same are of thew store prior to Acme reopening.

Acme/Former A&P Park Ridge, NJ

Acme/Former A&P Park Ridge, NJ

Acme/Former A&P Park Ridge, NJ
The wall décor product shots are done in the shape of A&P's various logos over the years.

Acme/Former A&P Park Ridge, NJ

Acme/Former A&P Park Ridge, NJ
I believe Acme replaced all the registers here. They look like the ones Acme has been using in recent years although I'm not sure what A&P was using for these remodels.

Acme/Former A&P Park Ridge, NJ

A&P Park Ridge, NJ
A couple of "before" exterior shots...

A&P Park Ridge, NJ


This photo has been seen on the blog a few times now. It's absolutely brilliant!



Acme/Former A&P Park Ridge, NJ


AERIAL VIEWS


The aerial view reveals the evolution of the A&P as the awnings from previous models of the store remain visible.


The former Acme just a stone's throw away!



Location: Location: 20 Kinderkamack Road, Montvale, New Jersey

This classic photo appeared on the blog on March 6, 2015 as a mystery store. I had no idea of the location but it was soon revealed in the comments to be the former store in Montvale. Acme closed here back in the 70's when they shut down a bunch of stores in North Jersey with no warning. 


The building has since been expanded and has been divided into smaller stores, including CVS.


2008


2002


1987


1979


1974


1970


1965


1953

HISTORIC AERIALS


2013


2011


2008


2002


1995


1987


1974


1965


1964


1953

8 comments:

  1. Not gonna lie, I like the decor package with the new lighting, it looks a lot better in full light than in frightening low lights. The layout has got to be changed though

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wonder how they never found a way to cut through to connect the pharmacy?

    With it being directly next door it would have to be a simpler connection than that one they made in NY with the glass corridor connecting the two buildings, at least you would think.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Could be a zoning issue. I would imagine they would join the two stores if they could.

      Delete
    2. That's what I was thinking. A strange law exists in PA, places that sell gas can't sell beer. So the places that want to sell beer have to build a separate building next to the gas station.

      Delete
    3. Gary, that PA law was repealed last week.

      Delete
  3. The pharmacy's actually the opposite of the way you've described; there's an opening to get into that section from the main store, while the door pictured is only used as a fire exit. I'm guessing it was an independent pharmacy A&P acquired at some point.

    ReplyDelete
  4. If I'm not mistaken, this at one time was an A&P Food Bazaar store. It had the same color logo as the old Glen Rock store. There were quite a few of those in that area including one in Montvale that they shut once they built the replacement in Woodcliff Lake.

    ReplyDelete