Updates...

Former Acme — Newton, NJ...

Photos courtesy of Rob Ascough

Dollar General has moved into the former Acme in Newton. The exterior work on the store is nothing less than spectacular! They've essentially returned the Acme to it's former glory rather than updating the exterior with a more modern design. The "Super Saver" mansard roof is back to being brown, the color it originally started out as. This section was added on during the 70's remodel to hold the new fish-eye logo sign. The store started out its days with the cursive logo across the awning. It never was a Super Saver formatted store. 

Rob's photo from the late 90's above. Acme unleashed this horrible green paint in the early 90's to update the exterior of older stores. The paint was usually paired with the new block letter logo, but Newton never received the updated signage.  

Still undergoing renovations during Rob's visit.


Renovations complete in this photo from JoshAustin610's flickr collection. Looks incredibly clean and fresh. Notice too, the produce room expansion of the 80's has been removed. I'm hoping to get out that way sometime in the new year to check out the interior. For all previous Newton coverage, please click here.

Acme — Middlesex, NJ...

Photos courtesy of Andrew K.

Look at this! A very nice update given to the exterior of the Middlesex store. The former flat-paneled sign has been replaced with the deluxe 3D lettered sign. HUGE improvement. Nice to see this old store getting some TLC. (The new sign is getting pelted by rain in the photo).  For the original Middlesex post, with a look at the interior, please click here. 

Former Acme — Bordentown, NJ...


Photos courtesy of Billy F.

And finally... the Bordentown store now operating as a Bottom Dollar. The Acme that was located here moved down the road to a brand-new shopping center. The new store, which appears to be among Acme's most successful new stores built in the 2000's,  has been photographed and will go up on the blog early next year. 

A look inside...

Completely gutted of all its Acme characteristics.

For the original Bordentown post, please click here.

Abandoned Acme! Newton NJ

The Newton store closed one year ago today. To see pictures of this store when it was still open, click here. A new tenant has yet to be found. Although Acme's business had been declining over the years, the store's closing was due more to the landlord raising the rent far above market value.

A look at the store when it was still open... the day may have been grey but the Acme was still seeing green...

The red oval logo brought in during the 80's remodel.

Opened in October 1957. Standard 8 aisle store but at 19,000 it was slightly larger than Acmes built in the late 50's.

This addition was put on during the 80's remodel when the Produce alcove was created inside. Prior to that Produce lined aisle 1. Most Acmes of this size and era received Produce alcoves during the 70's remodels.

This store appears to have been a bit ahead of it's time... Acme's of this era rarely had docks at the back of the store. Back doors tended to be at ground level making the receiving process pretty difficult.


Freezer space was added onto the store during the 80's remodel. I believe this was done to increase the size of the back room. It's doesn't appear that the sales floor was made larger from the relocation of the back room freezer. Dairy may have also been stored in these units.

Look closely... one last shopping cart left behind...

Not sure what the original purpose of this door was back when the store first opened. It would have lead into the store's office. After the 80's remodel, it would have lead into the newly added in-store Bakery.

UPDATE 2.27.10: This door was where the bread was delivered to in the early morning hours before the store opened. Truck drivers had access to this small room but could not access the sales floor. Much like how things were done on the Produce receiving side.

The entrance and exit doors were here prior to the 80's. They were moved to the front of the store during the remodel.

The security window were also an addition in the 80's.

The old school floor mats activated the doors... no motion detectors here!


The community bulletin board probably hung there on the wall. The darker cream color is left over for the 80's paint job. The walls were painted white for the Convenience Store look of the late 90's.

Convenience Store graphics on the walls... 80's checkboard floor still intact.

The "Meats" lettering was mounted on to the air vents and is hard to see here.

Full service Seafood was added next to the Deli in the 80's. Removed from nearly all 80's remodels in the 90's.

I believe the section with all white tiles was where an additional register was located. The 80's "CSR" stand and store safe were located at this end of the registers, practically IN the Produce Department. The CSR stands were a dreadful, misguided replacement of the traditional Customer Service Office. Took Acme many years to come to it's senses and eliminate them. The store safe was also moved off of the sales floor to a more guarded location.

The Produce alcove added during the 80's. It did not extend all the way to the exterior wall like it did in most stores.

The Produce Department during more fruitful times.

Acme, Newton NJ circa 1999

Image courtesy of Rob Ascough

Newton looking much better here than in it's final days. The red oval sign looking good and crisp. The unfortunate green paint job still looking fresh. Click here to view the original Newton store post. And coming soon... the Abandoned Newton Acme post!

Acme — Newton, New Jersey

Location: 11 West Nelson Street, Newton NJ

This store is scheduled to close for good on February 25, 2009. One of four Acme stores that will be closing.

This store received the chain-wide remodel of the mid 80's. The Newton store was one of the last Acmes to be remodeled in North Jersey. Some stores, such as Sparta and Clifton, were passed over completely and kept their 70's colonial decor well into the 90's. The red oval logo was added in the 80's although all of the green sections were dark brown. They were painted green sometime in the late 90's or early 2000's. Strange that the sign was not updated to Acme's current logo. Many stores received this green treatment with the new logo regardless of any improvements made to the interior. This store did receive the "convience store" treatment which basically entailed removing any of the departments that were added during the 80's remodel such as the Seafood Department (if it was even still open for full-serice), salad bar, cheese from around the world and Floral Department. The 80's wall decor was also replaced with the blue and beige wall graphics that can be seen below.

Outstanding location for the security lights! The Produce alcove was added during the mid 80's remodel. You can see where the wall used to be on the left-hand side of the photo (the corner right next to the plants). Most stores of this size had the Produce alcove added during the 70's remodel. That was not the case in this store.

Get your smoked meats! The Floral Department of the 80's remodel was located on the right where the mac and cheese shelving is now. The full-service Seafood Department added in the 80's was located at the end of the aisle where the self-serve cases are now.

Now serving #69. Really? Notice the blue stripe to the right of "Deli" has fallen off.

The air vents have caused "Meats" to be encrusted in black fuzz. Yum.

Aisle 8: Dairy. The last aisle in the store. The "Dairy" wall graphics don't quite make it to the end of the Dairy Department.

Very small in-store Bakery. The lattice is a relatively new touch. Notice the red block to the left of "Bakery" has fallen off.

Prior to the mid-80's remodel, this are was where the customer service desk and store office was. The office is now much small and is located behind the bakery. The customer service department was replaced with the "CSR" stand that was located at the opposite end of the registers near the Produce dept. The CSR stand has long been removed and the express register now also serves as customer service.

The CSR stand was an integral part of the mid-80's remodel but did not make any sense whatsoever. I believe they also referred to this as the "California front-end". Guess it was popular in Skaggs or something. The odd thing was that store safe was next to the CSR stand right out in the open. No walls or even a railing guarding it from anyone. Not that the safes were unlocked but it just didn't seem like a wise idea to expose the safes to everyone entering the store. Fortunately in the 90's Acme reestablished the customer service counter and office in remodels and new stores.

UPDATE 2.10.10: Here's a snow-free look at the Newton store circa 1999...

Images above courtesy of Rob Ascough