Former Acme — Harve De Grace MD

Photos courtesy of Gary A.

Location: 1000 Pulaski Highway, Havre De Grace, MD

Save A Lot has returned to Harve De Grace by making its home in the former Acme. Guess we should be happy the building was kept in the family. Not really. But the good news is... they kept the place intact! Pretty amazing what a couple gallons of paint can do for an old 33M model, don't you think? Below is a picture of the Acme after it closed...

The exterior didn't get much love in all the years that it was open.


The interior did, however, get the awesome 80's remodel! The 2nd to last store in the chain to still have it. The other being Sharon Hill which will be closed by year's end.


This marks the return of Save A Lot to Harve De Grace. The original location, which was over on Congress Avenue in what  may have been a former A&P, closed back in October 2010. This new location opened in April 2012 under new ownership. You can read about the troubles of the old location at HarveDeGrace Patch.com by clicking here. You'll also see a picture of the old store. Perhaps someone can verify it was  a former A&P. A write-up of the new store opening can also be found at HarveDeGracePatch.com by clicking here. Thanks to Gary for all the photos seen in this post and for the links to the articles.


One big change to the exterior has been the relocation of the entrance to the side. The original entrance is no longer used but remains intact with its glass covered over. You can see it if you look closely at the picture of the front of the store. The exit remains in the same spot as it was in the Acme.


The interior has been completely made over from floor to ceiling. Even the lights, which look like they could have been left over from the Acme, are new. You can see the original recessed-style lights in the abandoned Acme photo up above. Here we are just inside the entrance. Note the store signage... same kind of set up as in the latest round of decor for Acme. Banner with department name hanging from the ceiling with product images on either side. SuperValu is keeping a consistent look to their stores. Does anyone know if any "Essential Everyday" products are available at Save A Lot?


Front of the store extends to the right with the office behind the red wall there.


Looking up towards the front of the store with the entrance on the right.




Tops out at 7 aisles, which I believe is more than a typical Save A Lot. The Acme had 12 aisles. Doesn't look like this store is sharing the space with another store. This seems to be confirmed in the photo of the store front in the HarveDeGracePatch article. Click here for a look. Perhaps there wasn't enough room left over to offer up as another store front.

Thanks again to Gary for providing us with pictures of the old Harve De Grace Acme!

Abandoned Acme! Havre de Grace, MD

Round 1 of Acme photos courtesy of Drew of Baltimore

Maryland's first appearance on Acme Style! This abandoned Acme is located at 1000 Pulaski Highway in Havre de Grace. I first discovered this store long before Acme Style was launched. Way back when, satellite images showed the store still open with the red oval logo on front. Figured it had the 80's Remodel but was too far of a trip to find out for sure. Last October, I received an email from an Acme fan who had photographed the store and offered the pictures for Acme Style. At that point I was too busy with PA and NJ to think about anything in Maryland so I saved the pictures in the Acme Style vault for future use. A few weeks ago I began thinking about getting those pictures up on the blog when out-of-the-blue someone else sent in some pictures. I decided that Havre de Grace's time had come. So here it is... Round 1 of pictures are from Drew of Baltimore and Round 2 down below are from Gary of Delaware.

Drew believes this store closed in February 2007, making it one of the longest lasting 80's remodel. The building is now occupied with a DJ Liquidators. Surprised it's not a CVS? Well... funny thing is... CVS built a new store in the parking lot after the Acme closed. You'll get to see some pictures of the CVS from Gary's collection.

Ahhhh... the 80's Remodel. I might be a little too obsessed with it. Mostly because the Acme I worked in didn't get it while all the others in the area did. To add insult to injury, we had to join in the Grand Reopening celebrations of other stores, offering insane deals like free 5 pound bags of sugar and Breyers ice cream without all the fan fair of new decor and added service departments. But my old Acme (which I left a long time ago) got the last laugh as it outlasted many of the 80's remodels that were closed in the 90's and 2000's. 

As some of you may know, I have been on the hunt for the 80's Remodel look ever since I started the blog. Well, I have some good news... it still exists! I have confirmed that there is still one Acme remaining with the 80's Remodel AND one former Acme out there with the 80's Remodel still intact. That is all I can reveal at this time. More to come in future posts...

Some back of the store shots... 

This section appears to be an addition that most likely happened during the 80's remodel. 

And now for Round 2 of Acme photos courtesy of Gary...

Check out the odd placement of the CVS. The entrance is faces away from the rest of the strip mall. Satellite images were taken before the CVS was built so we won't be able to see an aerial view of the new configuration here.

There's got to be a story here as to why CVS didn't move into the Acme. Was it cheaper to build a new store rather than renovate the Acme space? 

UPDATE: 10.17.10: The question has been answered! CVS wanted the space but Acme held onto the the lease for two years after they departed the building. Anxious to get a store up and running, CVS built right next to the abandoned Acme. 

Some great interior shots by Gary. This is the entrance with Fresh Produce to the left, Floral was in the front corner and Seafood in the back corner under the blue stripe.

The exit area with Customer Service around the corner. 

Deli and Quality Meats along the back.

Lamps from the parking lot were stored inside back when Gary took his pictures. Probably removed from the area where the CVS was built.

Dairy and Eggs along the right wall. This store also had "Frozen Foods" towards the front of the Dairy wall. The Bakery was in the front right corner. You can see the curved drop ceiling at the top of the picture. A very common element in stores built in the 70's and early 80's.

The side of the building. Looks like another addition was made to the building at some point. It must have been a pretty successful store at some point to require so many loading docks. 

The updated logo was used in the plaza sign now painted over.

Some aerial images of the shopping center...

Looks as though the Acme is still getting cleared out in the one above.

A Weis Market just down the street...