TOUR: CTown Supermarkets - Center City, Reading, PA

CTown Reading Plaza Supermarket

Owner: unknown

Opened: ca. 2000

Previous Tenants: ACME Markets (1960s-1996) > BRL Grocery Outlet (1996-ca. 2000)

Cooperative: Krasdale Foods

Location: 600 E Greenwich St, Reading, PA

Photographed: August 20, 2019

Our second CTown in Reading (see the first here) is on the northern end of center city, and is also much larger that the first at around 26,000 square feet. It appears to be under a different owner but at the very least is much better-run, even though it's also an older store.

It was constructed in the 1960s as a pitched-roof ACME, of course, and closed in 1996. Shortly thereafter it was taken over by BRL Grocery Outlet, also known as Buy Rite Liquidators, which only lasted a few years before CTown moved in. It seems that BRL mostly cleared out the store interior so unfortunately we have very little left from ACME inside.

But of course the outside still looks familiar.

We enter to produce and deli/bakery in the first aisle on the right side of the store. Meats are on the back wall with an aisle and a half of frozen foods on the left side, and dairy on the left side wall.

I say that there's nothing left from ACME inside, except perhaps fixtures (probably not flooring, although it's hard to say for sure).

Looking across the back wall we can see it doesn't so much look like an ACME anymore, which is why I suspect BRL did some work mostly clearing things out, or perhaps that was CTown when they first moved in.

The grocery aisles were brighter, cleaner, and better stocked than the other CTown in Reading. Overall, this store was much more inviting and appeared to be better-run.

But I don't recognize the aisle markers. Does anyone else? Are they secondhand from elsewhere or just CTown aisle markers that are very old?

And of course the ACME sign is gone inside, replaced with pictures of fruit and vegetables.

I found it hard to date these freezers, as with most of the fixtures around the store, because they could have been new in the 90s for BRL or CTown, or they could've been secondhand from somewhere else, or they could be left over from ACME. Anyone know ACME well enough to say for sure?

Same on the flooring. I'm not sure about its age either.

And here we have dairy in the last aisle. As we can see, this store could stand to have a nice renovation with new flooring, fixtures, and decor, but it's not in bad shape.

And for a look across the front end...

Notice the offices that were built out in the front corner here. I assume that was not done by ACME, but it's possible. We have one more store here in Reading, and it's one more Krasdale store. Check it out tomorrow on The Independent Edition!