Photos courtesy of Ben from Delaware
Location: 2030 Naamans Road, Wilmington DE
Time for a stop in Delaware thanks to Ben. These pictures were sent in quite a while ago. 2 years to be exact. Not sure what took me so long to post them, especially with a shortage of Delaware posts on the blog. Better late than never!
This store's last major overhaul and expansion happened in the early 90's. The pyramids, seen on either side, were standard issue in the short lived, yet totally awesome, Checkerboard Arch Decor era. The Acme at 1308 Centerville Road in Wilmington received a similar exterior treatment as did the former Acme in Wayne PA. Not exactly sure what sort of model stood here prior to that. The historic aerials show a pitched-roof building which pened back in 1963. Unfortunately there are no satellite images between 1971 and 2002 to fill in the blanks. Comparing those two years, it appears that a new building was built next to the original store which was then torn down to make way for a strip of stores. We'll see in the present day aerial images that the pitched-roof building was not incorporated into the current structure.
Update: The address of this store has been updated to Wilmington, Delaware. A commenter pointed out that the store is not located in Claymont, which I now see is correct when checking a map. I have seen and heard this store referred to as the "Claymont Acme" since the start of Acme Style.
Update: The address of this store has been updated to Wilmington, Delaware. A commenter pointed out that the store is not located in Claymont, which I now see is correct when checking a map. I have seen and heard this store referred to as the "Claymont Acme" since the start of Acme Style.
The apple filled windows and white signage indicate a Premium Fresh and Healthy remodel. The color scheme of the interior is a bit different from what we've seen in other stores. This entire remodel package, rolled out under SuperValu's leadership, has been
officially retired.
The PF&H remodel was pretty extensive here including new flooring.
Grass lined produce cases which is not typical. In most PF&H stores it is used over the frozen food and dairy cases.
The walls here seem to have a pink hue to them. I'm not sure if that's from Ben's camera or if these departments are painted that way. My pictures of this decor package tend to have a green hue. We will see that the wall along the dairy department is definitely painted a peach color. To see other stores with this decor package, and various versions of it, please click here.
More grass!
Now we're seeing some new wall colors for sure...
The Alberston's leaf was a significant element on the Premium Fresh and Healthy remodels. The giant leaves are kinda cool. These small ones are just too Albertsons for my taste. Fortunately they have been phased out along with this decor package. We'll have to see if the leaf comes back in the future as Albertsons is technically running the show again. The most recent Acme/SuperValu leaf-free decor package can be seen in the new Bryn Mawr store. Alberstons Market stores also have a new package which includes the leaf. You can take a look at one of their stores over on flickr.
Ben noted that the Floral Department has a walk-in case. We've seen a similar case in the now defunct Glasborro store.
Interesting to note as well... this store does not have a pharmacy.
It's hard to tell here but it doesn't appear like the Customer Service Department is built into the front of the store. It looks to be a free standing type set up. I am a fan of the drum pendant lights that hang down over the checkouts and usually throughout frozen... as long as they're kept clean.
Aerial Images...
The seam between old and new may run straight back from the right side pyramid peak. That's my guess anyway.
A Safeway is located directly across the street. This store was originally a Genuardis and was converted to Safeway in 2004.
Historic Satellite Images...
2002
2002
1971
In 1971 you can see how the pitched-roof store stood to the right side of the new store. The screen grabs from 2002 and 1971 are lined up in identical locations. The buidlings on the left side of the image above were torn down prior to 2002.
1965
1958
And now for a quick look at a nearby
former Acme...
And now for a quick look at a nearby
former Acme...
Location: 691 Naamans Road, Claymont DE
The image above above is from Josh Austin's flickr collection. It was located 2 miles east of the current Claymont store. Back in 2010, Bill Haines sent in some info about this store...
"The first Super Saver in the Philadelphia Division was a new store that was located at I-95 and Naamans Road in Claymont, Delaware. It opened 3/26/1969. Same format [as North Jersey SuperSavers] with pretty close to the same results. As time went on certain remodeled stores were converted to Super Savers in the Philadelphia area."
Closing date for this store is unknown but a commenter on Josh's photo said the Total Wine opened in 1991.
The building has been wiped clean of nearly all of it's Acme attributes. There Super Saver roof along the front looks to still be intact but largely covered over by the new awning.
The back of the store has been significantly changed since it's Acme days. Hard to confirm if any Acme elements remain.
2002
1971
1970
Huge crowds back in 1970!
