Acme – Maple Shade, New Jersey

Location: 300 South Lenola Road, Maple Shade, NJ

Today we're one more store closer to the finish line in New Jersey with the Kingsway Plaze Acme in Maple Shade. We have been to Maple Shade in the past to see the classic location on Main Street which miracously remains in business today. You can visit coverage of that extraodinary store by clicking here. This newer location was built sometime in the 70's and was expanded in the late 90's. It has many striking similarities to last Friday's store, Philly's 10th and Reed Acme, minus a recent remodel.


Over the years of doing the blog, I've received several doom and gloom reports about this store. I was pleasantly surprised to find the store one of the busiest Acmes I visited on this particular road trip. Perhaps the low prices/getting better campaigns have helped improve business here. There is a nearby ShopRite in Mount Laurel, which is just on the other side of the Moorestown Mall. Judgine from the historic aerials, it has existed there since at least 1995. The same historic aerials show this Acme being very busy through the years.




Maple Shade was originally built in the 1970's as a 33M model. Just like 10th and Reed, it was expanded into a neighboring CVS in the late 90's and given the Chalkboard Market remodel. The "Grand Aisle" here is laid out a little different than 10th and Reed but the overall layouts of the stores are quite similar. When I was preparing the pictures for this post, I was able to confirm the changes that were made at 10th and Reed which I had wondered about. The Pharmacy there was moved to where Customer Service had been, leaving the front corner available for the paper goods department as well as all the classic Acme logos. Customer Service returned to the spot where it had been previous to the Chalkboard Market remodel. Maple Shade seems perfect for the same remodel. Most of the cases have recently been updated here. Just need to get this decor down and put a new one up!


Lots of chalkboards remain, although some have been erased.


I'm guessing a Starbucks was located here after the last remodel. Now this area is looking more like an Aldi than an Acme.


The order of the departments is switched along this wall compared to most stores with the late 90's/early 2000's Grand Aisles. The Deli is usually behind the Bakery. Here the Deli is up front.


While the store hasn't been remodeled lately, nice new cases have been installed in several departments.




I don't often see such an extensive display of decorated cakes in an Acme. Pretty impressive display here.




Produce cases remain from the last remodel. Notice the floor in the area of the store. It has the same tile as the grocery aisles instead of what was usually used for the perimeter of the store. You can have at the tile most often used in the former Rockaway store by clicking here.




A Fisherman's Net in FULL operation! Wow, you don't find these around much anymore. Looks like new cases here too. With that huge selection of seafood, not to mention all of those cakes, I'd say this store does very decent business. The minute these fresh foods start to go, you know the store isn't doing very well.


Premium Fresh & Healthy v3 aisle markers! The wavy category markers which were used in all the versions of the PF&H stores have not been installed here. Dairy and Frozen do have the black oval category markers.




American Stores did bring the "Lancaster Brand" signage back in full force in the late 90's. This was their very last decor package before Alberstsons took over.


Like 10th and Reed, the center store did not get the suspended light fixtures. You can see them in the abandoned Bordentown store by clicking here.


Looking along the back of the store.


This chalkboard has seen better days.








New cases in Dairy!


Some funky wall patchwork down at this end of the aisle. You can see a little more of it below...


This sign made me laugh. Recommends what?


The Pharmacy in the front corner with Customer Service to the right...






A look across the front end. No lattice or hood lamps above the checkouts.




Time to check out of this store!

Aerial Views...

The former CVS along the left side with a lower roof now completely disguised from the front and side...

Historic Aerials...

2007

2002

1995

1995 is the only year we get to see the store in its original state. The CVS next door has the darker roof.  Notice too that the air conditioners were relocated on the roof. Probably happened when the Acme expanded into the CVS.

1970

Next available shot if 1970 with no sign of the Kingsway Plaza.


Leaving the Lenola Road Acme behind and taking a look at the classic store on Main Street below...


For a tour of this Maple Shade Acme, click here.

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.