Acme Markets closing another round of stores

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Ephrata1966
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Acme Markets closing another round of stores

Post by Ephrata1966 »

Acme is closing another round of stores. Not many actual old ones are on the chopping block. See this page: http://acmestyleblog.blogspot.com/

Here are a few that will be missed:

1. Fallston, MD (on US Route 1): This was one of the last preserved 1970s Acmes, built in 1979. The ones in nearby Pike Creek, DE and Oxford, PA are still open. So is the "Trolley Square" A Frame with a 1970s front in Wilmington, which was just remodeled again. Further down Route 1 is the Northwest Philadelphia store which has a pharmacy now. Not sure but I thought there was a CVS in the Fallston center.

2. Wayne, PA (on US Route 30): This one with no pharmacy opened in November 1970. Perhaps it was built as a Super Saver without the Acme name. But this is a richer than average town. That seems unusual judging by the age and condition of the local Acme, Thrift Drug/Eckerd/Rite Aid next door (now closed), former A&P, Genuardi's, CVS, Rite Aid, Wine & Spirits (State Store), Baskin-Robbins, and Taco Bell (but it does have the Pizza Hut menu). The other Acme in Wayne (or Devon?) started as the only Food Fair/Pantry Pride on the "Main Line", and you can still tell the Kmart next door was a JM Fields. There are even a few original 1965 streetlights in the parking lot.

3. Cinnaminson, NJ: This Acme replaced a 1973 store which was ironically torn down for a ShopRite. Something similar happened in nearby Willingboro. That replacement store might be the only one left in Burlington County. I thought Willingboro had slightly more crime, so this is surprising. A&P/Super Fresh entered the town in 1959, and finally quit in 1995. Pathmark has a store in Willingboro or nearby Beverly with a Big Lots (old Rickel) next to it. The Pathmark in nearby Bristol, PA just closed and was next to a Rickel/Big Lots too, which was also a JCPenney Outlet for a while.

4. Moorestown, NJ: This store is huge and looks like a castle. I really think it did justice to the store it replaced, which was built in 1954 to look like a house.

5. Limerick, PA: Wegmans in nearby Collegeville killed this nearly new store. In fact, Acme had a store in Collegeville which Limerick unofficially replaced. That one was built in 1993 and was identical to the Acmes in Mount Holly NJ, Holmes/Ridley PA (MacDade Mall), West Chester PA (West Goshen Shopping Center, had a Centennial A&P right behind it once), and Cape May Court House NJ (was a Jamesway, and has a liquor license!) At the other end of the Collegeville plaza is an Annie Sez clothing store which was an Acme A Frame. I saw that store on a TV show about a local murder once.
Last edited by Ephrata1966 on 26 Jan 2011 18:39, edited 1 time in total.
Gary21228
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Re: Acme Markets closing another round of stores

Post by Gary21228 »

Ephrata1966 wrote:Acme is closing another round of stores. Not many actual old ones are on the chopping block. See this page: http://acmestyleblog.blogspot.com/

Here are a few that will be missed:

1. Fallston, MD (on US Route 1): This was one of the last preserved 1970s Acmes, built in 1979. The ones in nearby Pike Creek, DE and Oxford, PA are still open. So is the "Trolley Square" A Frame with a 1970s front in Wilmington, which was just remodeled again. Further down Route 1 is the Northwest Philadelphia store which has a pharmacy now. Not sure but I thought there was a CVS in the Fallston center.
Probably has a lot to do with the impending opening of a Wegmans and a Wal*Mart Supercenter in nearby Belair later this year as well as Shop-Rite's entry into Harford County about 2 years ago.

The closing of the Fallston store completes Acme's exit from the Baltimore market (Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Anne Arundel, Harford, Howard and Carroll Counties) which began with a mass store closing and the closing of the local warehouse in 1982. The 4 Harford county stores (which includes Fallston) held on the longest. Most surviving former Acmes in the Baltimore area are no longer used as supermarkets, a few are still in use by Food Lion, Safeway and local chain Mars, albeit remodeled beyond recognition.
Ephrata1966
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Re: Acme Markets closing another round of stores

Post by Ephrata1966 »

The real reason Acme may have pulled out of Baltimore was a controversy over health code violations. I heard they were cited by the FDA way back in 1975 for rodent infestation of a Baltimore warehouse. The main West Philadelphia warehouse (now long closed) had the same problem in at least the year 1970.
maynesG
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Re: Acme Markets closing another round of stores

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Hi, Rat Infestation in the Warehouse did not help them, bur that was not the reason they closed. (It wasn!t uncommon for rodent, bug or Rats to infect stores or warehouses in that time period. What killed this market was small stores, a contract that was expensive and restrictive.
Middle class fligth from the city itself and limited cash to upgrade from manual cash registers to scanners all were given. Acme!s contract was up the company asked for concesesions the union said no and Acme said good bye! all except one store in the City that did over a million dollars per week, Acme sold that to Giant a year latter complaining about high labor costs and high advertising costs.
maynesG
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Re: Acme Markets closing another round of stores

Post by maynesG »

Hi, Brand new buildings have doors that open to the out side world. Mice when the weather is cold do come in. Thousands of people and vendors enter the building every day. Who knows the conditions of their homes or trucks or distribution centers. If every building around you has infestations. there is a pretty good chance your building will have one too.
Not to go on a tangent of subject things are a lot better today then 35 years ago
Gary21228
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Re: Acme Markets closing another round of stores

Post by Gary21228 »

maynesG wrote:Hi, Rat Infestation in the Warehouse did not help them, bur that was not the reason they closed. (It wasn!t uncommon for rodent, bug or Rats to infect stores or warehouses in that time period. What killed this market was small stores, a contract that was expensive and restrictive.
Middle class fligth from the city itself and limited cash to upgrade from manual cash registers to scanners all were given. Acme!s contract was up the company asked for concesesions the union said no and Acme said good bye! all except one store in the City that did over a million dollars per week, Acme sold that to Giant a year latter complaining about high labor costs and high advertising costs.
That probably would have been a product of the neighborhood surrounding the warehouse, which was an ancient multi-story building in the inner city. The trucking company that I was working for around the time that Acme closed most of their Baltimore stores delivered there regularly, and the drivers said he place was a dump.

Due to the age and small size of the stores relatively few former Acmes in Baltimore are still grocery stores, I can only think of three: Ellicott City (Mars), Randallstown (Food Lion) and Catonsville (Safeway). Catonsville dates from 1957 and was more than doubled in size by Safeway, the others are of mid 70s vintage and were also expanded by the new operators.
Ephrata1966
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Re: Acme Markets closing another round of stores

Post by Ephrata1966 »

Mid 70s vintage? Interesting, that sounds late, around the same time as the scandal. I believe they had a problem with rodent droppings, not just infestation. But I would think those things would have gotten worse instead of better over the years. A&P had already began closing stores in the Philly region in 1975, but built new ones up until the end of the whole division in 1982.

Could you name any current/former Safeways anywhere near Baltimore/DC from around the same period?
maynesG
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Re: Acme Markets closing another round of stores

Post by maynesG »

Hi, Scandal? If you check the time period. You would find out that A&P!s Bronx Division, Daitch ShopWell, Krasdale and many other Chains and wholesalers located in old city sections had the same problems.
As for Acme Baltimore warehouse, it was being phased out before the division closed. The Eastern shore stores all the way to the end of the Delmarva Penninsular were being serviced By Acmes Whipany New Jersey!s, Kearney Warehouse. ( Philadelphia was pass capacity and had even rented the old Food Fair warehouse near Veterans Stadium)
Even after the division closed the ads for the remaining stores and all distribution decisions
were made at the Whipany office.
Heck, If the problem of this warehouse upset you, You would not like what was happening out in a centain percentage of any Chains stores at that time period.
Gary21228
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Re: Acme Markets closing another round of stores

Post by Gary21228 »

Ephrata1966 wrote:Mid 70s vintage? Interesting, that sounds late, around the same time as the scandal. I believe they had a problem with rodent droppings, not just infestation. But I would think those things would have gotten worse instead of better over the years. A&P had already began closing stores in the Philly region in 1975, but built new ones up until the end of the whole division in 1982.

Could you name any current/former Safeways anywhere near Baltimore/DC from around the same period?
The Randallstown Acme opened in 1973, built adjacent to a Murphy's Mart. I don't have an exact date on Ellicott City, but it was built about that same time.

I can think of 2 former Safeways in the Baltimore area from about that era: Perry Hall (now a Mars) and Westminster (now subdivided into smaller stores). Back then the life expectancy of a new Safeway in Baltimore was fairly short, usually less than 10 years. The relatively few 60s vintage stores (like Normandy/Ellicott City) seemed to hold on, but they had a spell of relatively little luck with new locations. Normandy closed last summer, unable to expand and in close proximity to two "Lifestyle" stores (Long Gate and Enchanted Forest).

Safeway started putting a bit more effort into Baltimore since the mid 90s and has since returned to Westminster and Perry Hall (in both cases at the opposite end of town from the old store) and seems to be doing well in the new locations.
Ephrata1966
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Re: Acme Markets closing another round of stores

Post by Ephrata1966 »

The Acme in Havre de Grace closed not too long ago. This one might have originated in the 50's, but was remodeled in 1970-something and 1986. CVS wanted the property but Acme had a lease restriction. So a CVS was built right in front of the empty store! Eckerd already abandoned the strip for a drive-thru building.
Transit Road
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Re: Acme Markets closing another round of stores

Post by Transit Road »

Could you name any current/former Safeways anywhere near Baltimore/DC from around the same period?
A few others that come to mind:

1) Former Safeway at 598 Cranbrook Road in Timonium/Cockeysville, MD. Now Merritt Athletic Club and Valley Mansion by Martins (a catering facility)

2) Former Safeway at 10 Stemmers Run Road (at Old Eastern Ave.). in Essex, MD. Now Village Thrift Store http://essex.patch.com/listings/village-thrift-store

3) Former Safeway at 3300 Centennial Ln, Ellicott City, MD (at US 40 Baltimore National Pike). Now a CVS Drugstore.

4) Former Safeway at 1445 Rock Spring Road, Forest Hill, MD. Was Spenceola Antiques Mall, now vacant.

And to keep this thread on track......

There were Acme locations in the Baltimore Metro Area at:

- 2501 Putty Hill Ave., Parkville, MD (Acme A-Frame). Still uses the Acme "Fish Eye" logo, but modified for the current tenant Tall Cedars of Lebanon Forest # 45 - A Masonic organization

- 8866 Waltham Woods Road, North Plaza Mall, Parkville/Towson, MD. (1970's style -similar to Fallston, MD Location), Was Valu Food, now Rugged Wearhouse

- Baltimore (Highlandtown Neighborhood), 515 S, Haven St. (Acme A-Frame). Now Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland

- Aberdeen, MD (Acme A-Frame) Aberdeen Shopping Plaza

- 908 York Road, Towson, MD. Now Alex Cooper Auctioneers

- 6213 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD. Now Eddie's of Roland Park supermarket
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