Ghost of Acme past? Berlin, NJ

As I was driving around Berlin, I passed this deserted piece of land and instantly thought an Acme once stood there. I pulled in and check out the area. It has all the classic clues... tall sign at the street, standard Acme issued parking lot lights, short sign by back entrance. When I got home I checked it out on Live Maps and saw the footprint of the building that was there was identical to what a 50's style Acme would be. Would have been virtually identical to the abandoned Egg Harbor City Acme. Looks like the now abandoned Acme in the Berlin Shopping Center was the replacement for this location.

Looks like another retailer would have taken over after Acme left and replaced Acme's sign with that square one at the top. The blue poles and rungs to climb up are very Acme.

Just grass where the Acme once stood.

Being the Acme fan that I am, it was creepy driving around this parking lot. Even the gas station that shares this spot was deserted. Hopefully someone knows when this store closed and what store took over this location.

Acme street signs were wider than this one. Probably was replaced when another tenet took over the building.

You can compare the building foot print here to my pics of the abandoned Egg Harbor City Acme.

UPDATE 11.25.09: Ok, I lose. This was never an Acme site. It was originally an A&P which closed in '75 and then became an IGA. The IGA then burned to the ground. Thanks for the comments and information about this post!

Abandoned Acme! Berlin, NJ

Another abandoned Acme lies in ruins. Great interior shots down below.


The old red oval logo can still be seen even though it was painted over when the store closed.


This store was probably built in the early 80's. Earlier stores of this style had windows all the way over to that emergency exit which were later covered up with opaque panels to increase sales floor space.






Customer service/office area.


Guessing this is where the safe was. During the 80's remodels, the store safe was taken out of the office and placed in the open right next to the CSR stand. This new set-up replaced the old customer service counter. It was an extremely odd set-up that made obtaining customer service very difficult. The CSR area was modified years later usually by adding an express register that also served as the customer service counter. In this store it looks as though they rebuilt the customer service area at one point. Guessing here of course because I was never in the store when it was open. But I do know that the CSR stand concept of the 80's remodel was nothing short of a disaster.


Checkerboard floor courtesy of the 80's remodel. Blue and beige wall graphics courtesy of the 90's convenience store downgrade. Prior to Albertsons taking over Acme in 1999, the American Stores company rolled out this convenience store concept. It was sort of a reversal of the the 80's remodel... service departments that where added or upgraded in the 80's were removed in the 90's. Floral, service Seafood, salad bar, cheeses from around the world were taken out or significantly downsized to expand more basic grocery offerings. This convenience store "look" was based on the look of new Acmes that were being built in the mid 90's.


The new Deli sign appears to have been over the Meat Department and not the Deli.


The orange and brown panels are left over from the Colonial decor form when the store was first built. Higher meat cases were put in during the 80's remodel that covered up this area. It's cool to be able to see evidence of 3 different decor packages at once.


Couldn't get any shots of the Bakery area in the corner.


The new Acme logo can be seen under the Berlin Shopping Center sign.


Kmart is the only store still open along this strip. All other stores are abandoned and falling into serious disrepair.


I'm not familiar with the Berlin area. Did another shopping center open up nearby that killed this one or was did this one just die a long and slow death?

Mystery Acme!

(Source of image unknown)

I pulled this image off the web years ago and I'm not sure where I got it from. Had to post it here at Acme Style since it's such a unique Acme. If it's yours I would gladly credit you for the photo or remove it if you wish for me not to use it.

I assume this Acme was built towards the end of the pitched-roof era since it's about 3/4 pitched and 1/4 flat roofed. I have seen one other former Acme that was built this way and will post pictures in an upcoming entry. This store however is the first I have seen that doesn't have windows extending all the way to the top and has the sign built into the front of the store. It's definitely an interesting look. Maybe someone knows where this store was located and if it's still standing today.

UPDATE 5.27.09: Mystery solved! Thanks to an email sent to Acme Style. This store was located in Silver Creek, New York. Took me less than a minute to find it on Live Maps. The building is still standing although it's been significantly altered since it's Acme days...

Former Acme — Succasunna, NJ

Here is the abandoned Linens-N-Things which is the former Acme at the Roxbury Mall in Succasunna NJ. I believe the Acme closed sometime in the mid-90's. Not sure how long it sat empty until LNT moved in. At one time, this Acme used to be one of the most successful in North Jersey. It wasn't particularly large and faced tough competition from the much larger ShopRite at the opposite end of the strip. This Acme was one of the first to be remodeled in the mid 80's and then had the 90's decor put in... the checkerboard arch look which can been seen in the Manasquan post. The checkerboard floor from the 80's remained. The facade was also changed with the addition of the green pyramid over the entrance. The latest Acme logo was put here as well as a smaller version of the logo on the right end of the store's facade.

Acme's entrance was kinda tucked out of the way. Home Depot is next door. Exiting the Acme must have been difficult with cars coming around the corner there.

The Acme entrance and windows were where the darker brick section is now.

I believe the railing and bench are left over from the Acme days.

LNT made alot of changes when they took over. Glad the left the old green pyramid in place.

Windows of course lined the front of the store when it was an Acme. I think that door was put in by LNT. One interesting thing about this Acme is that the in-store bakery was at the back of the store near the dairy department. Acme in-store bakeries were almost always located at the front of the store in the corner opposite the entrance.

No Acme labelscar that I could see. I don't think the store remained opened very long after it's last remodel. Not sure how it survived as long as it did with the huge ShopRite practically next door. Strangely too, Acme was one of the only stores to not have it's logo on the signage out by Rt. 10.

The Acme used to have it's red oval logo on a section that looked similar to the Carter's store signage. LNT removed it when it built it's new entrance.

Here's what it looked like with the Acme sign.

This snap shot from Live Maps was taken while LNT was still in business. I wonder if Acme ever attempted to get the Carter's store moved so it could expand. No expense was ever sparred to keep this store updated to compete with the ShopRite.

Here you can see the ShopRite to the left of the strip. It was always a larger store than the Acme and wass expanded significantly over the years.

You can see here how far back from the main road the Acme was. This strip mall was originally located much closer to Rt. 10 but caught fire and burned to the ground. I believe that happened in the late 70's. The mall was rebuilt further back to get the stores re-opened as soon as possible. Years later Caldor built were the strip mall used to be. That store is now a Kohl's.

I believe this is sort of the replacement store to the old Succasunna location. It's located about 4 miles away in Randolph. Not sure when this location opened and if the opening was timed with the closing of Succassunna. Hopefully someone will have more information to share. This location is similar to Acme's of the past... at stand-alone building in a residential area. No other stores or shopping centers nearby. I was in this Acme once. The interior is one of the nicest I have ever seen.

UPDATE 7.14.09: The Succasunna store closed on May 23, 1998. The Randolf store was not a replacement store. This location opened on October 1, 2002. It is a former Grand Union.

More Acmes coming soon! I haven't posted a whole lot in the last few weeks here at Acme Style. It's certainly not due to me running out of material. The opposite is actually true. Been hitting the road a couple of time of the last few weeks to get pictures of abandoned stores. There's more out there than I would have guessed there to be. Also visiting alot of former pithced-roof stores. Seems everytime I take a road trip to check out some stores, I wind up coming across lots I didn't know about. Also discovering that driving around the Philadelphia area can be a complete nightmare. Only made it to one of my scheduled stops today even though I had five on the list. Stopped at far too many Acmes that are still in business, then wound up getting lost. I did stumble across an abandoned Super Fresh that's going to make a great Bonus Store! Other road trips have proved far more successful than this one. Trying to get as many under my belt before the summer Jersey shore traffic makes these trips impossible.

I am going to be posting lots of new entries in the next couple of weeks. Hope to do at least two a week. I have quite a backlog of stores at this point. Also have pics to share that readers have sent in. More memorabilia coming soon too.

Thanks for checking out Acme Style! I have been getting alot of emails from readers sharing information and sending in pictures. It's great to know people out there are enjoying all of this blog! Check back soon!

Classic Acme – Clayton, New Jersey

Here is... what I believe to be... the very last pitched-roof Acme still open for business. Other pitched-roof locations still exist but have had additions put on and renovations done that disguise their former distinct features. I think the only other pitched-roof store that is still open is in Cape May, NJ. But renovations to that store have covered up the glass facade. This store may be the only one to remain virtually intact since it first opened.

Neighborhood Acmes like this one have always offered all sorts of gardening and lawn supplies (as you can see lined up in front of the windows). Back in the 80's, Acme was famous for it's half-priced plant sales. Stores would be filled with plants just before the sale and would easily sell out in just a few days. The green doors to the right are for produce deliveries.


Just a couple of opaque panels have been put up over the entrance. Most pitched-roof stores had many more put in. You can see an example of this of the abandoned Acme in the NJ: Yardville post. There are only one set of doors to walk through when you enter. Once in the front doors you are completely in the store. A massive blast of air from above greets you as you walk in to keep the outside air out.


The outside sign appears to just be a canvas sheet pulled over the frame of the old fish-eye logo sign. I personally think this new logo looks much better with white letters on a red background. The parking lot signs are done that way as you can see in a photo down below.


The greatest design feature ever for a grocery store? Why yes, yes it is! All pitched-roof Acmes had this design treatment on the inside. Just incredible. I was so excited to see this one still intact. Possibly the very last of it's kind. I believe I read somewhere that Acme had commissioned a well known artist in the 60's to design this sign. The areas around the abstract lettering are silver in color but appear brown here due to the sun shinning on the sign. I hope to get back to this store sometime after sunset to get more pictures. This sign would look very different when it's dark outside.


Here's an interior shot just to show the decor package this store has. Many smaller Acmes have this look. Old black and white photos of the town are hanging on the walls instead of department names. The Deli is the only department with it's name on the wall. The orangish picture on the right wall there said something like "Oven Fresh Bakery", yet this store has no fresh baked goods. The aisle signs say something like "Clayton New Jersey, Acme Markets" around the numbers. I believe those spot lights to the right have been there since the store first opened. They weren't on and I doubt they are used anymore. I have seen these above the produce departments in many pitched-roof stores.

Image courtesy of Barry Caselli

Update 10.25.11: Barry sent in this great shot of the interior roof. My interior shots are lacking since I was a little nervous taking pictures inside of stores in the blog's early days. I plan on getting back to Clayton for more extensive interior coverage. Clayton one of the all-time most visited posts on the blog. 

Image courtesy of Michael Lisicky

This amazing photo comes to Acme Style from Michael Lisicky. He took this picture of the Clayton store back in the 80's. I don't know if this store was remodeled later in the 80's along with most other Acmes or not. Hopefully someone familiar with this store can let us know. I will be posting other incredible pictures that Michael has sent in the near future. Stay tuned...


Isn't this a better look than the red letters on white?


One final look at this classic Acme. And one final note... I spent about 30 minutes in this store, roaming all the aisles. It has been at least 10 years since I was in an Acme like this one. Just had to take it all in. I left the store incredibly impressed with how clean and well stocked it was. This location clearly has a dedicated team. There were alot of employees in the store getting it ready for what as hopefully going to be a very busy Saturday.


Here is a look from Live Maps. Interesting how large the property is compared to the size of the store. Would there ever be a need for that much parking? Wonder too if there was once a building next door where that area of grass is now and why Acme hasn't expanded this location.

Store closings...

Princeton Junction, NJ

Acme Style received a tip from a reader about a week ago that the Princeton Junction Acme was closing in the near future. I did a quick google search this morning to see if there was any news out there to confirm the tip and... there is. After 39 years, this store will close for good on May 7, 2009.

Fortunately, I was at this location about a month ago and took pictures of the inside and out. I figured this store's days were numbered as it is quite an old Acme and was still sporting the old oval logo. It started out as a pitched-roof store and was later expanded. You can see evidence of this from views on Live Maps.

When I arrived at this location I was very surprised at how nice the interior was. Significantly upgraded within the past 10 years and nicely maintained. Clean, well-stocked, brightly lit. Very busy on the Saturday afternoon. Seemed odd that the store had old exterior signage when other stores that didn't have such extensive interior upgrades have gotten the newer logo and signage.I read a bunch of the articles that came out late last week regarding the closing. Acme's lease expires at the end of May and although they said the store is not necessarily losing money, they have decided not to continue to operate this location.

Township officials have been in talks for two years now about the possibilities of redeveloping this shopping center with hopes of giving it an "Main Street" styled shopping experience. Several developers are interested in taking over this property. Current plans are only to upgrade the facade and find a new tenant for the Acme. Rumors are circulating that King's is interested in space. Another developer is interested in buying the property and launching a major renovations.

The general consensus at this point seems to be that the Acme will remain dark and empty as the many parties involved debate the future of this shopping center.

Plexiglas Ad from 1957