SPECTACULAR REMODEL
Location: 1401 North Dupont Street, Wilmington, DE
Today's post is a guest post, so hello everybody, it's Zachary from The Market Report! Thanks again to Acme Style for letting me pop in for the day. It's time to check in with a store featured on Acme Style long ago, and in the years since, it's gotten some really nice upgrades. This is the Trolley Square ACME in Wilmington, Delaware, which opened in 1961 as a pitched-roof store (that roofline is hidden behind the Super Saver awning, which has gotten some updates).
BEFORE RECENT REMODEL >>>
Here's a look at the outside back in 2011, from the original post. The apples and awning are gone, with a pretty minimal look for the outside. Exciting? No. A nice upgrade of the old building? Yes, definitely.
With a handful of small expansions over the years, this store today measures around 25,000 square feet. There may be a basement, but it didn't look like it to me (and as I understand, pitched-roof stores generally weren't built with basements). The Trolley Square neighborhood is a dense area with a small town feeling, meaning there isn't really an opportunity to expand further.
While that 2011 post didn't include many interior photos, we do know this store most recently had the Premium Fresh & Health 2.0 decor prior to its updates which happened around 2023.
The layout wasn't really changed much in the recent remodel -- heck, the layout doesn't appear to have changed much since the 1970s -- but that's not to say the remodel wasn't thorough. We see new flooring around the perimeter, new fixtures and refrigeration in most of the store, and of course new decor. When I visited, this store was in excellent shape and seemed busy.
Hmm, maybe I could've centered that a bit better. But I must say that this decor works well in this smaller store with lower ceilings. It looks good in a variety of locations, such as this slightly-larger store in New York.
The lower ceiling over the first aisle is a holdover from the 1970s setup. Here's what it would've looked like back then.
The first aisle, which is double-wide (probably expanded back in the 70s), contains produce and packaged deli items. The service deli is in the back-left corner, with service meat/seafood just to the right of that. Meats line the rest of the back wall, with frozen and dairy on the right side. There's a tiny bakery in the front-right corner.
The recent upgrades here are likely a sign that, despite its age and size, this store is doing just fine. To me, another indication would be the fact that it's remarkably full-service, even including a service seafood counter and in-store bakery.
Remarkably, this store has only seven aisles, and that includes the produce/deli aisle. This isn't the smallest ACME out there, but it's definitely one of them.
Older freezer cases and refrigeration that has been painted here, it looks like.
The distinctive rounded ceiling in the front corner is definitely a 1970s holdover, now refreshed with some new decor. You can see how they got creative here to work with the walls and ceilings that were already here.
"The House that Quality Built" on the front wall...
It's good to see some serious upgrades here in this small, old-school store. As I visit ACMEs across the chain, I'm seeing more nice upgrades like this, though of course not in every location, but it's a nice thing to see. Over and out for now, but stay tuned for more from Acme Style!
