Update: ACME Markets!

Our first two updates of the day come to us courtesy of the Acme Style blogger! (Plus one store of my own at the end of the post.) Although the blog closed back in 2018, the blogger is still out and about periodically to check out what's going on at the area ACME stores, and we have two updates from them on Bergen County stores.

Edgewater (pictured above)

We saw Edgewater's remodel back in February as the reset was still in progress. Let's just say that it hasn't improved since.

Acme Style writes: "First aisle was removed to make room for an addition to the Pharmacy in the front corner. It now has a 'consultation room'. I'm sure it's used now for COVID vaccinations more than anything. Interesting that they installed it shortly before the pandemic hit." While this darker flooring is what we've seen in remodeled ACME stores, it is not attractive when it's used to patch a white floor.

"Back of the first aisle and gray tile in the forefront from the shortened second aisle. For some strange reason they shortened the first 4 aisles. Not sure why they wanted all the additional space in the back. Selection really took a hit. They no longer carry my laundry detergent or dish soap! HABA and baby has also been drastically downsized since the Pathmark days."

"Gray tile where all the former aisles used to be. Even the manager told me it looks like Tetris back here! Also kills me that they didn't move the aisle markers back to match up with the aisles."

"The two aisles with full gray tile look great! This is where the organic department used to be with hardwood floors."

"Here's another confusing change. Produce has been spread out into the main concourse along the front of the store. You can see the 'You WILL buy fresh cut fruit while you're here' display. There's also two new giant floral displays just inside the entrance that can take some navigating around when you come into the store with a cart." Similar to Edgewater, Kenilworth has been remodeled but still has the green flooring from the A&P Sav-A-Center days... time will tell if ACME brings in new flooring to these acquired stores that really need it, I guess. But as far as major remodels, here's our second ACME update of the day...

Fort Lee

This photo of Fort Lee, which is immediately next to the George Washington Bridge, comes from my original set back in 2016, but Acme Style has more extensive coverage -- including a look at the Quality Built remodel -- here. The store is again being remodeled, but it's unclear exactly what some of the changes are going to be, and how extensive they will be.

The former liquor department, at the back of the produce department, has been removed entirely and a wall is being constructed towards the back of the store. Acme Style says: "Can't figure out what the plan is here. The shelving with the soda end cap is not permanent. Hardly any space walking between that aisle and the new wall."

The other side of the wall, in the back near seafood and meat. "Guessing frozen seafood cases will go here. Similar to what they did with the Jersey City remodel." Want to see the Jersey City remodel? You're in luck! We'll be taking a look at that right after Fort Lee.

"Dairy cases used to line this aisle but have been moved over to the wall. Now dairy extends all the way to the pharmacy..." as we see here:

The HABA shelving which used to run in this area, in front of the pharmacy, has all been removed as HABA is moved into the grocery aisles. Those, in turn, have been extended into the front corner longer than they were.

The layout, with HABA in the grocery aisles and dairy on the outside wall extending all the way to pharmacy, is exactly what we see in Kenilworth -- although that was largely left over from A&P's layout.

"No idea what's happening behind this tarp. Perhaps the pharmacy is getting expanded."

"Something major going on in there! Not the first area they've used the Hot Wheels displays in areas being rearranged. Is there a bigger selection of Hot Wheels in any other store in the WORLD? I doubt it."

Jersey City - 18th St/Newport

Revisiting our Newport ACME following the completion of its remodel (kind of, as we'll see). The grand aisle was extensively redone, but the remodel kind of peters out towards the end of the store. Two things to notice here on the outside. First, the pharmacy in the nearby ShopRite closed recently, and ACME is welcoming the former customers from that pharmacy (despite the fact that ShopRite sold its pharmacy records to CVS). Second, although this had already been done in my first post of this store, I didn't notice it -- the pharmacy sign here has been moved from directly under the ACME logo, as it was in Acme Style's coverage, to the far left of the facade. Let's head in...

All new flooring and produce islands in the grand aisle. Most of the fixtures in this area have been replaced. Here's the problem: these grand aisles in this generation of A&Ps are just too wide. There's too much horizontal space, with not enough to fill it. Same problem as Montclair. So the grand aisle gets packed with junk just to fill the space. Here, another grocery aisle could easily have been added and the grand aisle would've felt more natural. I also am not typically a fan of placing the deli in an island, as it feels like it wastes sales floor space (although I am fully aware that it takes up exactly the same amount of space in an island or on a perimeter wall). Speaking of the deli island...

Here's the other side of the grand aisle. You can see what I mean about it being too wide -- there's too many islands when you could've pulled the deli in and had plenty of space for an additional aisle or two behind it.

As we've seen in other remodels, ACME has also tightened up the deli department by eliminating long-out-of-commission prepared foods cases and moving cheese from single-tiered cases into multi-tier shelving, seen here in place of the cafe.

As we saw in the previous post, the deli fixtures have all been replaced or painted.

Looking back up to the front wall of the store in produce. Bakery is on the right side wall behind produce...

Similarly, all of the fixtures have been replaced in bakery -- but again, there's too much space. I think it doesn't help that the store was completely empty when I visited on a Friday afternoon. Does this store ever get really crowded? It was quite busy the last time I was here, I guess.

Seafood and meat continue along the back wall of the store.

Here's the wall Acme Style was referring to in Fort Lee. Here we have packaged seafood and meat substitutes, and packaged meats continue along the back wall.

As I said, the remodel kind of peters out here. We do have new decor, but really nothing else. You can see the line between the new (darker) flooring and the older white flooring. The aisles are clean and streamlined but not exciting.

It does look like the flooring was resurfaced, since it looks nice and shiny.

Aisles 12 and 13 are frozen foods.

Dairy certainly looks a bit more spacious, but not all that exciting either. We see that the changeover has been very minimal in this area of the store, but it's about to get more minimal...

Almost no pharmacy signage here (it's on the section of wall above this area, which has a lower ceiling). Flooring remains from A&P, and we have another large A&P remnant that you can just catch at the far left corner of the above picture...

Natural Beauty signage remains, despite the fact that the actual department is long gone! More A&P leftovers on the front end...

So notice that ACME actually replaced the registers, but not the register lights! They have also installed self-checkouts at the far end of the front end. That's about all for now in Jersey City, but we'll keep an eye on the ongoing remodels since they're happening so fast.

Taking Stock

This is as good a time as any to reflect on where ACME is on the whole, which Acme Style used to do a fair amount of. This year we've had one store closure so far -- Morris Plains -- plus the announcement of the closure of Milltown. Both of those appear to be due to lost leases rather than underperformance, though of course those go together (and obviously, neither is being replaced or moved). ACME hasn't opened any new stores since Acme Style closed in 2018 except the Walnut Street location, featuring a totally new decor package that doesn't seem to be in any other stores, ACME or otherwise (nor the newly renovated stores that were completed after that store was done...). Other than the acquisition of the Kings stores, ACME hasn't been opening new stores. However, renovations are off the charts -- nearly three quarters of the ACME locations now have some variation on Quality Built (at least 114 of the 162 stores). In May of 2016, just 14 stores had received Quality Built -- meaning at least 100 stores (and likely more, since my list is just from looking at Google Maps photos which aren't always up-to-date) have been remodeled in the last 5 years. Some of those stores have actually received two remodels -- one with new fixtures, flooring, and reset, and one with new decor (typically decor seems to be done first). I assume that ACME will bring Quality Built into all the stores soon enough, and I would also assume that when ACME has remodeled its entire fleet of stores or close enough, they will start remodels on the Kings locations, which really need it. Now, we have a lot more to see today, so check out the full list of what we have here!