Acme – Manahawkin, New Jersey

First round of photos courtesy of Dan Asnis

Location: 609 E Bay Avenue, Manahawkin, NJ

Despite all odds, the outdated Manahawkin Super Fresh survived to the bitter end. Competition in the area is overwhelming for this place... ShopRite, Walmart, Target, Costco and BJ's are all just minutes away. But not easy minutes away during the summer months which is this place's saving grace. Regardless, A&P seemed to give up on the store many years ago. The interior had no department signage on the walls and absolutely no décor to speak of and. Acme is now in the process of giving this store some much needed attention. 

The first Super Fresh logo is still the best! 

OPENED AS ACME ON 

NOVEMBER 15, 2015 >>>

Acme loves a store at the Jersey Shore store so they were sure to snap up this place! Nearly 2 1/2 years later, they have launched a much needed remodel, the scale of which is still difficult to pinpoint. The interior changes are occurring while renovations are happening to the entire exterior shopping center.




I love how big these letters look on this relatively small facade!


A&P didn't even give this place the laziest of all updates like it did with their Ocean City store. A&P's lighting remains in place in Produce.

Update 3.27.18: Turns out Acme removed all of the signage and décor. For a look at the Super Fresh in its final days, please click here.


Plain, plain, plain. For all the stores they closed over the years, you'd think they could have rustled up some department signs to put in this store. A&P did add the "Fresh Obsessed" era aisle markers.




This aisle is like a time warp. I feel like if I stare at this photo long enough, I'll go into a trance!




Bakery and Deli up in the front corner with Customer Service to the left...


This store had a similar layout to the Marlton Super Fresh which you can explore through the years by clicking here.

EXTENSIVE RENNOVATIONS

CURRENTLY UNDERWAY >>>

Photos courtesy fo dougbalt

Big changes coming to this long neglected store!


A newer entrance at this side of the store. We'll exit through a much older version later on.


As of last weekend, the most obvious changes inside are the Quality Built colors going up on the walls. Some work has been done to the backroom area as well. As of now the remodel appears to be minor but it's too early to know for sure. The floors are in desperate need of replacing.






Acme has repainted the cases black throughout the store. This was done during their initial conversions at most acquired locations.




Not sure what's happened to the aisle here on the left but it looks like shelving has been removed or moved.


New stuff here! I have no idea what it is despite zooming in for a closer look.


Work is even being done behind the scenes.


Huge improvements here with nothing more than some fresh paint.


I love the DIY cabinets along the Deli's back wall.


No doubt these registers will be replaced.




Come on Acme... this store needs a new floor!


Older doors with magic carpets on the Customer Service side.








Doug snapped this picture of the shopping center across the street which is the original home of ShopRite and Kmart, both of which relocated to Route 72.

AERIAL VIEWS

1986

The store first appears in the historic views in 1986. Check out those crowds!

Update 3.27.18: styertowne reports the store opened on October 30, 1973.


A look at the nearby competition and the stores proximity to LBI. Pathmark was also in the mix on Route 72 but is abandoned. You can check it out by clicking here.

Update 3.24.18: The Kmart closed in September 2017.

Thanks to Doug for getting us photos of the Manahwkin Acme with the renovations underway!

Acme – Ortley Beach, New Jersey

REMODELED INSIDE AND OUT!

Location: 5 Ortley Plaza, Seaside Heights, NJ

BEFORE >>>

Officially the most extensively upgraded store acquired from A&P. We have seen a few stores who received a more deluxe remodel to the inside but no store has received such an extensive facade and front-end make-over.


Entrance and exit on this side of the store not used often. Very few cars parked on this end of the parking lot. Shoppers prefer to cram themselves into the other half of the parking lot.


The new facade is beautiful, even more so in person The Acme looks alive and vibrant.




This happens to be one of the best reviewed Acmes on yelp and Google! I couldn't find a single complaint about long lines and lack of available registers. 4 and a half stars on Google.


The original A&P is now Spirits Unlimited. The Acme sits on the same spot it did back in the 50's!


Entrance to right which leads into Produce. Exit is through the doors to the left.


Quality Built has arrived in Ortley Beach! Wasn't sure if this was in the plans. The facade and front-end were completed with no change to the décor but maybe Acme could only do so much at once.

BEFORE >>>

The A&P was still looking great when Acme took over. The store was remodeled after Sandy hit back in 2012.


You'll also notice in the tour that the store is currently congested with tons of displays. Acme is clearly maximizing inventory during the busy summer months. The photos showing A&P's décor were taken off season when the store wasn't busting at the seems with inventory.


Oops... looks like they mounted the produce sign a little too high on the wall. It's kinda levitating above the cases.


The new lower prices are working out pretty well for this Acme shopper! After I complained about the ridiculous price of Rao's tomato sauce, Acme put it on sale and has kept it on sale for the past few weeks. Coincidence? Yeah, probably.


Quick look across the front-end. I was here early on a weekday morning and the store was extremely busy.


Someone came up with the idea to put kids beach toys on top of the light boxes. I get it... they look cool lit up but they kinda make the store look messy. And toys really need to be where kids can reach so they can get their hands on them and beg their parents to buy them.




Acme's Signature/Love Local signs are still up here. This store could use a major reduction in hanging signs.




Health department in aisle 2. At first I thought Acme put in the gray shelving. Turns out it's left over from A&P. Looks great and is still in good shape throughout the store. And there's the Rao's! Low low price for at least two weeks now.




Acme replaced the cases here. Not sure why. A&P's cases are actually the style that Acme has used in remodels in other stores.

BEFORE >>>

Acme also replaced the cases in the bakery. Seems strange since the ones left over from A&P seemed perfectly fine...

BEFORE >>>

Don't get me started on Acme's lack of "artisan" and "specialty" fresh baked breads despite the signs. When Stop & Shop has you beat by a mile in this department, it's time to head back to the drawing board. If Safeway can't come up with better options then Acme should bring back the Culinary Circle fresh baked breads and stick them in Signature Select bags!

The all new front-end. A&P's future store slanted windows are gone.


I should have taken a closer look at the tiling to find the line between A&P's front-end and Acme new front-end.


I thought Acme had put the darker tile in when the front-end was redone but it's been here since the A&P days.

BEFORE >>>

Former self-checkout area currently home to some of the short express registers. None of them were open on this particular morning. Some of the full registers are also express and were open.




The sign structure has a fresh coat of white paint. Still can't get over the fact that Acme reclaimed this sign and the location after being gone from the property for decades!

AERIAL VIEWS

The aerial portion of this post has been brought over from previous coverage of the store. We start of with a view of the Super A&P Food Market. The signage was not updated after the fresh remodel. 

Acme's original sign capped off with "A&P".

A look at the store's proximity to the shore.... 

HISTORIC AERIALS

2007

1995

1986

Acme looks closed and abandoned as of 1986 while the A&P has a decent crowd.  The two stores were nearly identical in size but the same cannot be said for the parking lots. Acme rules in that department, as expected. It's a mystery why Acme didn't expand since they had the space. A larger, more modern store could have knocked A&P right out of business. Check out the giant shadow of the street sign in the lower left corner.

1972

Both stores open in 1972. 

1963

Acme was irst on the site, opening June 17, 1959 . Even on a busy day the parking lot was barely a quarter full. 

1956