The Market Report

ACME Markets Opened:  2015 Owner:  Albertsons Companies Previous Tenants:  A&P (late 1990s-2015) Cooperative:  none Location:  75 Mayhill St, Saddle Brook, NJ Photographed: October 4, 2024 We're back once again to the Saddle Brook ACME, where we most recently saw a renovation in progress back in May . The 61,000 square foot store held its grand reopening over the summer and looks good -- although not perfect. But it was definitely getting in the fall spirit when I visited in early October, with this wagon out front. Is this a traveling wagon that goes from store to store, like the antique truck that Shaw's takes with it for grand reopenings ? Or is it something specific to this store? Either way, I love it. Inside, the store looks a lot like any number of other renovated ACMEs -- and its decor didn't change in the renovation, as it had previously been stripped of its A&P decor around 2017 -- although we'll see some slight differences. The cafe in the fro...

ACME Markets Opened: 2015 Previous Tenants:  A&P (late 1990s-2015) Location:  75 Mayhill St, Saddle Brook, NJ Photographed:  May 10, 2024 The Saddle Brook ACME is getting a pretty significant renovation, but it doesn't look like any decor will be changing. It's long been one of my least-favorite area ACMEs, and it's gotten relatively little investment over the years. ( Here's a previous post. ) Since I wrote that, a fair amount of work has gone on here, and a fair amount more seems to be coming. The sad little cafe in the front corner here has been removed and replaced with a gigantic floral department, and the former floral department next to the entrance is now a Drive Up & Go staging area. Foods to Go is now cheeses and packaged deli items, with all the former A&P prepared foods counters removed. The deli is much smaller, condensed at the back. Several rows of self-serve prepared foods run in front of the deli. Produce has new fixtures, bakery has new fi...

Milltown Welcome back to the Milltown ACME, the store that's been closing since 2010 (which is when the pharmacy closed). I toured the store a while ago, and yes, the store is still open although it's closing -- this time for real . Or so they say. Yes, the facade has looked like that since 2010. I doubt anyone back then thought the store would make it this long. And yet the store continues to be mostly functional, even with a refrigerator of fresh sushi at the front. Meanwhile, in the back corner, where refrigerated produce used to be in low cases, the section is now blocked off with chip displays in front of the low refrigerators. A similar treatment has been applied in the meat and seafood service counter, where seafood fills the old meat counter while the old seafood counter is empty. But the decor is still pretty much intact, if there are some signs of decline like the missing ceiling paneling on the left below. Now on to another ACME that's not closing, but looks like...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! If you've been keeping up with Acme Style , you know we have the same complaint: lines for anything at Acme are crazy. I really wanted to try Acme's fried chicken, which according to one fried-chicken lover I know, is the only kind that comes close to how good Pathmark's was. The Acme in Saddle Brook had a hot food bar and a café, so I decided one weekend (in February 2017) to go there and eat, then shop. My waiting that day consisted of: 20 minutes waiting in line at the deli to get the chicken (two employees behind the deli counter, plus the store manager packaging rotisserie chickens) 15 minutes in the EXPRESS checkout line to pay (of course the café register was closed) By this time, my chicken was cold. Then, 20 minutes in regular checkout at the end of my shopping. There were two standard registers open and one express. The store manager did not seem overly concerned, which is concerning to me! There was no other ma...