ACME Markets
Opened: 2015
Previous Tenants: Pathmark
Location: 321 NJ-440, Droyer's Point, Jersey City, NJ
Photographed: June 2016
This Pathmark in the far southwestern corner of Jersey City was one of two in the city, the other one to the northeast in downtown is now a 99 Ranch Market. Today, this is one of two ACMEs in Jersey City, the other one at Newport in a former Waldbaum's/A&P. We'll be visiting both of those stores soon enough.
The 60,000 square foot store is very much a former Pathmark... right down to the facade. To my knowledge, it still has the Pathmark decor intact (and certainly did at the time of my June 2016 visit). I must say, I like this decor a lot although it's a little on the bland side, with large sections of the wall just blank white. The red and white color scheme, however, does work as well or better with the ACME logo than the Pathmark logo.
As was typical of Pathmark Super Centers, you enter to the middle of the store. Pathmark would've had health and beauty and nonfoods to the left of the produce aisle, with the other grocery aisles to the right, but ACME reset the store so that it's all just kind of grocery. (The aisles don't make much sense here.) Service departments line the perimeters, with bakery, seafood, meat, and deli lining the back wall from left to right. Pharmacy is on the front wall to the left of the entrance, with international foods in the front corner.
Pathmark loved putting loud, bumpy tiles in their produce departments. I can't stand it. That said, this is a very attractive produce aisle.
Let's head to the left of the produce aisle first...
Much of this area is just random grocery with no discernible organization. Perhaps when the store gets a full renovation, they'll reset this whole area.
Bakery almost invisible on the back wall next to the nonfoods section. Why in the world would Pathmark put a bakery here? Isn't this the worst spot in the store?
Soda alcove in the far back corner of the store to the left of bakery.
As you can see, there's no decor on the walls at all here. This whole side of the store feels completely dead.
Bakery, with the department sign to the right in the higher-ceiling area closer to seafood.
Jumping over to the other side of the produce aisle...
This side feels like a completely different store. More customers, brighter lighting, higher ceilings, more decor, better organization. Very odd.
Meat and deli along the back wall.
Frozen in aisles 23 and 24, with dairy in aisle 25. A surprisingly large international selection takes up the front corner.
This section even has its own dedicated dairy case, along with a lot of spices.
ACME is not known for its ability to carry lots of international foods, so I don't know how this department is faring nowadays.
A look along the front-end before we wrap up this store! I mentioned this store has a larger-than-usual international foods selection. Our next stop, just under three-quarters of a mile north, might be one of the reasons why. Check it out tomorrow on The Independent Edition!
Surely it must be getting rarer and rarer to see surviving Pathmark (or A&P) décor in the wild, so it's cool to see this place. However, I have to agree with you, the parts of the store (and there appear to be many) with just blank white walls are totally unappealing. For the rest of the store that actually does have signage, I *think* I'm a fan, but I could just be fooling myself because I really like that font they used :P Some of the signs don't work really well, for example where the department name is almost hidden from a distance due to the red-on-red look, or where the descenders are cut off (like in that global cuisine sign). I definitely like the aisle markers, though!
ReplyDeleteI have to imagine ACME will totally reset the store and move produce away from the middle when they do remodel, so while I can almost give them a pass for not spending all the money that undertaking would require just yet, I am surprised that they never even bothered to disguise the Pathmark logo shape on the facade! Isn't that one of the first things they did at a lot of the other locations? Strange...
Also, do you know if this was the last décor package Pathmark ever put out? You've probably mentioned the décor lineage on the blog before but my brain is not cooperating this morning, lol. Anyway, it looks rather modern compared to the others I remember seeing.
Like to see renovations of more Acme stores, especially former A&P and Pathmark stores.
DeleteI doubt they would move the produce department here. Remodels of the former A&P/Pathmark stores have been done on the cheap. Rarely does a store get a complete remodel... just bits and pieces improved. The other Jersey City ACME has finally been "remodeled". While BIG bucks were spent on the floral/produce/bakery/deli portion of the store, the rest of the store got short changed. "Quality Built" throughout yet didn't even bother swapping out A&P's register lights! And I've been hoping for years they would repaint the horrible drop ceiling but that didn't happen either.
DeleteTo Retail Retell:
DeleteYeah - the ACMEs are one of the last places you can consistently see the A&P decor intact, although there are other places here and there where it's still on the walls. And as for this decor package... good aisle markers, good decor, but simply not enough of it. In an effort to streamline the store, it seems that they went overboard on the simplicity. I do also think this was the last decor package, with the one I think Acme Style calls Pepto-Bismol > Path to Savings > Sav-A-Center > Go Fresh Go Local > this one.
To Retail Retell and Acme Style:
Yeah, I don't see ACME changing this store's layout, or the layout of too many other stores. They don't tend to do that... I seem to remember another, older ACME in a former Super G or something that Acme Style posted in Norristown or Downingtown maybe...? Which had retained its prior Super G layout even after all these years. Plus, there's not exactly a reason to.
I visited the 18th St ACME back in January, and it'll be posted in a few days. That was my first time there, but I thought it was looking alright, if a little rough. I'll have to get back to see the remodel, even if it's a bit lopsided.
Oh, forgot to mention this the first time around. No, ACME pretty much left whatever paint was already there on the converted Pathmark stores (and many of the other acquired A&P stores). That's why Edgewater, which Acme Style links below, still has a prominent stripe even if the logo is centered better.
DeleteIs that light colored part of the front actually different (either inset or sticking out more) or just painted that way (from Pathmark)? Seems that changing that with a coat of paint (either making it all one color or at least making the light color more rectangular to fit the Acme sign) wouldn't have been that hard as they were up there changing the name anyway...
ReplyDeleteThe Pathmark shape is inset slightly. (You can tell if you zoom in on the pic) Why they painted it bright white is beyond me! And why they didn't CENTER the sign vertically is also beyond me as well. Much better decisions were made at the Edgewater ACME/former Pathmark...
Deletehttps://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LwRiPIDcILA/V1rswJng7rI/AAAAAAAAg-k/PUR-K4KS5_A9Ui3cHYiIZyJnH_LKi26hgCLcB/s1600/acme_style_edgewater_NJ_001.jpg
Oh yeah, this is weirdly done. The Pathmark stripe is in fact inset a little, as it was in some stores but not all. Oddly, ACME seemed to do exterior painting on their stores well after the signs were installed, see Denville which was painted several years later. Edgewater is looking better for sure, but it's not too hard to remove the stripe, see SuperFresh in Linden for example.
DeleteUh oh... a snazzy new ShopRite to be built just a few blocks away from the ACME...
ReplyDeletehttps://re-nj.com/joint-venture-eyes-spring-2020-groundbreaking-for-shoprite-in-jersey-city/
Can't find any recent updates.
Oh yeah, I remember hearing about that. Remains to be seen whether ACME will be willing to try to compete (which I doubt, sadly) or just get out, of course.
DeleteI read a Google review that indicated this store may have recently undergone a renovation. There are no pictures I can find that corroborate this.
ReplyDeleteYou're right! ACME posted some pictures on their Facebook/Instagram story the day of the grand reopening. I need to get back out here to update!
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