TOUR: Boyer's Food Markets - Frackville, PA

Boyer's Food Markets
Owner: Dean Walker

Opened: ca. 2001

Previous Tenants: ACME Markets (1970s-1995) > Insalaco's (1995-1998) > TJ Bart's (1998-ca. 2001)

Location: 550 W Oak St, Frackville, PA

Photographed: November 29, 2019

Another day, another Boyer's! This one is quite an interesting one, though. The 21,000 square foot store is built around an original 13,000 square foot pitched-roof ACME. And although you might think that would be easy to tell from the front, the triangle facade we see there is actually not the roofline -- only the left 3/4 or so of the store is actually the original ACME. It appears some of the right-side expansion may be used for backroom space, but when we enter, we can definitely feel the store's heritage.

Produce and dairy are in the first aisle, with meat and deli on the back wall.

The column we see in the middle of this aisle is actually where the real pitched-roof ends, and everything to the right is an expansion even though it has a sloped ceiling. Let's check out the main former supermarket...

Yep, we can see it! Unfortunately the actual pitched-roof section has mostly been flattened with a drop ceiling, but you can still tell where the slope is.

When we look down the first aisle here, we can also tell something interesting -- the building appears to have been expanded out the front, too. But looking at Historic Aerials, the last time any discernible expansion seems to have happened was by 1983 -- meaning that ACME was the one to expand.

But it's clear where the store originally ended, with the support beams once holding up the side wall of the store now in the middle of the first aisle.

I wonder if this blank department sign in the first aisle once labeled something else that was here and no longer is.

Looking up towards the front of the first aisle. As we can see, Boyer's seems to have a bit of a problem figuring out what to do with the middle area between the support columns.

Dairy is also here in the first aisle.

And on the back wall we have meat, with deli in the back left corner.

We can see the two generations of pitched roof design here, with the older one in the back (although of course that's not the full height of the roof) and the newer expansion area in the front.

Here's a clear look at where the transition is.

And on the back wall, like many other stores, Boyer's has used the higher ceiling to its advantage for branding.

The deli-bakery departments are tucked away in the back corner in an expansion out the back left side of the store.

This may be the first Boyer's we've seen with a bakery department.

And a rather large one, at that.

Heading back into the main supermarket...

Frozen foods are in the last aisle.

Looking across the grocery aisles we can clearly see evidence of the pitched roof!

And frozen foods continue into an alcove in the front corner, with the manager's office and customer service to the left.

And here's a look across the front end, which of course is in the expansion with the higher ceiling.

I assume that ACME expanded out the front when they wanted to enlarge the store because it's actually stuck in between two streets and there's no room to expand out either side.

And that's all for this Boyer's! Next week we're wrapping up this part of the Coal Region with a few more stores to the east of here. Come back Monday to see the first in Shenandoah!