TOUR: ALDI - South Plainfield, NJ

ALDI

Opened: 2007-2020

Previous Tenants: ACME Markets (1962-ca. 2000)

Location: 1620 Park Ave, South Plainfield, NJ

Photographed: July 2020

I stopped at the ALDI here in South Plainfield for one main reason, that it is a former pitched-roof ACME, when I was doing a day in Plainfield. And so it is! I didn't realize, though, that ALDI was about to move out of the space and down to Oak Tree Road. This store was an ACME from 1962 to about 2000, and ALDI came in around 2007. Then in December of 2020, the store closed up shop and moved down the street to a space that had been an A&P from the late 90s to 2015, then an ACME from 2015 to 2018. See my post on that here.

ACME street sign still intact here, although it features a new logo. My tour here focuses mostly on the interior, which is lucky since I didn't realize the store was about to close. But if you're interested in the ACME relics outside, as well as some historical photos of the ACME, make sure to check out Acme Style's 2013 coverage here.

A glimpse of the pitched roof is still visible in the back too. Now let's head inside to this approximately 18,000 square foot store...

I've gotta say, this ALDI was not impressive. And this is how I remember ALDI looking from my first visit long ago (I'd say 2007...?), when I stopped by the Union store. I came out not really getting why anyone would want to shop there. Fast forward a few years, I start to visit some of the newer prototype stores that are larger, nicer, cleaner... plus, the products do seem to have been improved. Freshness certainly has. And that's why I was blown away upon visiting their brand-new Livingston store. But this store has the atmosphere of a dollar store, much like a Save-A-Lot, more than the trendy cool discounter that ALDI has become. See their replacement store here in South Plainfield for another beautiful example.

Deli/meat on the back wall.

A sadly unappealing produce department is tucked away in the back of the store with meat. Frozen and dairy line the right-side wall of the store, if I'm not mistaken.

And now, of course, the question is: will another supermarket take over this space? I imagine the only operators who would even consider it would be the independent smaller-format stores like CTown or Key Food. But they'd have to put a lot of work into the facility before they could reopen it.

Looking across the front end from the last aisle back to the first, with the entrance/exit in the front corner opposite.

That wraps up our look at this ACME/ALDI! I do hope to return to South Plainfield at some point to check it out, but for now that's all I have. But folks, that's all for South Plainfield, and tomorrow we begin Plainfield generally moving from south to north. Our first Plainfield store is going to be over on The Independent Edition tomorrow!