Abandoned ACME – Sussex, NJ

Location: 455 Route 23, Sussex, NJ

56 years later, there is no supermarket in this building. A&P opened here back in 1970, having a very successful run until the company went under. ACME took over in 2015 and was successful here as well as there was little competition at the time. In 2018, it was revealed that ShopRite was cooking up plans to build a huge new store just across the street. Those plans dragged on for several years as the new ShopRite property would sit right at the border of Sussex with its parking lot extending into to Wantage. Upgrades to local roadways were needed, as were new traffic patterns around the area. The rather complex situation stalled the opening of the ShopRite until October 23, 2023. After Ronteco welcomed shoppers to their new 86,000 square foot store, ACME's days were numbered. The store did manage to remain open for another three years, announcing their closure in late 2025 with the store's final day on February 7, 2026. ACME would continue to hold the lease here until September of this year and used the space for storage from other closed stores. 

The pharmacy sign here removed. The former Lakeland Bank just next door sits abandoned as well. The bank closed in 2024 due to a merger with Provident Bank. 

The original A&P was smack dab in the middle, starting out at only 17,000 square feet. Additions to both sides of the store would bring the square footage to 45,000 square feet. 

We can get a decent look inside since the lights are still on. The store had the Quality Built décor, which I believe was put in pretty early on, and also had the hardwood flooring in produce and new tiling around the perimeter.  

The columns were standard issue for A&P's in the 90's and early 2000's. 

The original A&P would have been in the area. 

Really great views here. Judging by older photos online, the Quality Built refresh looked very nice in this location. 

Self-checkouts line the odd wall that divided the store, perhaps needed for structural reasons. These photos were taken in early October, after ACME's lease expired. I would assume they would be taking the registers with them but who knows. They technically shouldn't have keys to the building at this point. 

Interesting to see here that ACME used 3D letters on the shopping center sign! And wait what? A Friendly's?? Nope. Also gone now. 

A look around back where we see the breakroom windows here on the left. 

The original A&P stands out right in the middle of the building today. 

Some views of the interior indicating that it was very attractive inside. 

Some abandoned views here... 

Jumping back to the A&P fresh days. You can tour the store with A&P's décor still intact over on The Market Report. 

Aerial views give a very clear look at exactly where the original A&P was located. In fact, the Centenital roof remains intact just behind the newer facade. 

The little A&P clear as day. 

1970

1984

By 1984, the store had been expanded to the left side, keeping its original facade as indicated in the view above. 

1995

Holding steady in 1995.

2002

Expanded and converted to its present form by 2002. 

The new ShopRite a stone's throw away and a little confusing to get to for this first-timer. 

The size of the parking lot has since be reduced significantly due to a ShopRite liquor store being built here. 

A beautiful ShopRite both inside and out with a parking lot of nightmares. 

One very cool feature here is the store within a store... True Value! Four aisles of hardware just inside the entrance. Shelf tags are all ShopRite's so it's not being run as a separate business. 

Some of the décor here is stunning. Some not so much. 

Tons of grab and go items and fresh selections. My ongoing complaint with ShopRite is their lack of healthier options in the fresh departments. Always tons of pizza, pasta and potatoes. They also love to pack sliced deli meat into every freshly packaged salad they sell. 

Strangely, produce doesn't have a department sign. Just murals which are slightly reminiscent of Saker ShopRites. Here though, the murals look a little low-res and AI-generated. 

Absolutely fantastic bakery, fish and meat signage along the back of the store. 

So interesting that shoppers need to step inside the fish market. Stunning signage and beautiful cases! 

Ronetco loves to have candy sorta be its own department. This allows for a row of meat cases on the opposite side and is pretty standard issue in their stores. Great signage here as well. 

Here we can see the contrast between great wall décor and lazy murals. 

Nice, bright front-end... with very few manned cashiers. I don't care for ShopRite's huge push to self-checkouts. They seem to be leaning in harder than other chains. For example, I was in the Clifton Stop & Shop recently. The store wasn't terribly busy but did have five manned registers open. Here, there were three and one closed just as I was trying to get online. The Byram ShopRite, another Ronteco store, often has just one manned register open, with the self-checkout area a jam-packed disaster. 

The new liquor store being built across the parking lot. 

Definitely one of the more attractive ShopRites I've seen, both inside and out!