The 80's Remodel Lives On, Part 1
Location: 1130 Chester Pike, Sharon Hill, PA
The Sharon Hill store... making it's long awaited appearance on Acme Style. I have been wanting to get to this store for years now and finally made the 2 hour drive to see it in person. It was my last hope of seeing the 80's remodel but confirmation of it' interior decor was hard to come by. Several emails had come in saying the store still had the 80's lookj while others said it was updated in the 90's. Torture. I was pretty certain that even if it missed out on the dreaded American Stores' Convenience Store decor, Albertsons or SuperValu would have done something to update the interior. Nope. Never happened. The 80's remodel is still here. The only 90's aspect to be added is the aisle markers... undoubtedly transferred from a store that got remodeled or closed. The sign above the entrance was added recently but word is this was done only due to the landlord updating the facade throughout the shopping center. Other signage throughout the parking lot was not updated allowing the red oval logo to remain. We'll check that out down below.
This store dates back to December 1959 and is the oldest, original Acme in the entire chain. There are several stores older than Sharon Hill but all others have received some form of expansion which significantly altered their original structure. Sharon Hill has had no additions or alterations to the building itself. The interior layout here is virtually identical to the day it first opened.
In we go...
Above image courtesy of Anthony N. Verrecchia
As some of you know, I have been on a quest since day one of the blog to find a store that still had the 80's remodel. The last that I had seen of it was in the Secauss store which closed back in 2004. Anthony, who provided to photo above, was the first to send in some pictures confirming that the 80's decor was still in place. I was stunned when I saw the photos. How it's escaped numerous rounds of remodels I'll never know.
Back when they rolled out the massive 80's remodel, a video was shown in the break room telling us about al the exciting changes that were coming to our store... along with the new colorful decor. The tape played for weeks at the store where I worked. We were all excited for out turn. It never happened. My Acme career concluded a few years later but my old store continued on for another decade outlasting tons of the 80's remodeled stores.
No "Floral" department here even after the remodel.
Some of the decor elements have fallen off the wall as you can see in the upper right. I always wonder how these items just disappear witout getting put back up on the wall. Nearly all the cases in the store appear to be from the 80's remodel. Full service Seafood now scaled back to self-serve prepackaged goods. The Seafood department is one of the only 80's upgrades this store received.
Lacking along the back wall are the windows seen in the other departments. Not unusual for the Deli but very odd that the Meat Department does not have any.
Looking down aisle 3 with the 90's Red/White/Blue aisle marker. The huge windows along the front of the store were very common to the 50's Acmes. Most smaller stores have a mix of merchandise along the front of the store. Here, the front is lined with chips and only chips. The interesting thing is that the shelving is all baker style racks that are on wheels and can be easily moved. There is no permanent shelving across the front of the store.
Above image courtesy of Stephen
Stephen also sent in some pictures shortly after Anthony. Great shot here. Either Stephen is really tall or holding the camera up high.
Above image courtesy of Anthony N. Verrecchia
Lancaster Brand sign tucked away under the drop ceiling...
Above image courtesy of Stephen
Quite a change from the 70's when "Lancaster Brand Meats" was spelled out in huge letters along the back of the store.
8 ailes was the standard for most Acmes built in the 50's.
Ah... the Eggs department. Guess what? The eggs are aren't close by. They're now located in the deli case on the other side of the store. You can see them in the picture of aisle 1. We're soon heading to another department sign FAIL...
No in-store Bakery here. In fact, no baked goods either...
Bakery is now bottled water. Bread now resides in aisle 7 across from the frozen food cases. The Manasquan store also has the Bakery section here but it is now occupied by additional dairy cases. Looks as though this store missed out on a lot of the 80's upgrades like the Bakery, salad bar and the "Cheeses from Around the World" case. Probably didn't have a West Coast Video department either.
The "great deals" section formally know as "10 for $10". This area was originally the Customer Service Department. Most smaller stores like this had the in-store Bakery installed here with the 80's remodel. Sharon Hill is set up very similiarly to the now closed Newton NJ store which did have a Bakery. Customer Service is now backed up to the great deals wall to the left. The tiles here look to have been installed after the remodel. The color is darker than those used in the grocer aisles yet are not the usual Bakery orange color which would usually be found in this area.
Now exiting the store and heading back outside...
Produce receiving doors on the front of the store....
The red oval logo lives on as well! Soaring high above the ground and can be seen for long disances in each direction.
Looking pretty good for it's age.
The Sharon Acme though the years...
2002
1971
1967
1958
Above image courtesy of Anthony N. Verrecchia
The 80's Remodel Lives On, Part 2 will arrive next Friday.
