Acme | East Norriton, PA

 

25 E. Germantown Pike

Welcome to the East Norriton Acme!

This property has a very interesting history when it comes to supermarkets! Acme opened here in the 50's, then relocated across the street to the Northtowne Plaza in the 70's. The Acme was demolished and ShopRite opened in 1975. ShopRite closed in 1995, with the store reopening as Super G in 1997, who sold to Shop & Save in 1998, who sold back to ShopRite in 2001, who sold back to Acme in 2023! This is the newest Acme, and only opened last week on October 20. Enough history, let's get inside!

The foyer is one of the few parts of the store that has been updated from ShopRite. I've never seen those carts used by Acme before.

The beer and wine area is on the front wall just upon entering. Interestingly, Acme never announced they were buying this store; the confirmation came when Brown's transferred their liquor license for this store to The Frosted Mug.

The produce patch lines the left wall. This store has the basic version of the early 2010's Brown's decor package, without the 3D fruit and more intricate artwork. To see a store with that version, click here.

The seafood counter and butcher's block are in the back corner, completing the grand aisle. I don't believe this store has a meat counter.

A look down aisle 3, with Quality Built aisle markers.

The bakery, deli, and prepared foods line the back wall. The paneling on the walls is left over from Super G.

Dairy is in the back right corner. Those cases and freezers in aisle 22 look pretty old, and probably date back to Super G or at least when ShopRite first opened.

Frozen foods are in the last aisle. The store has a total of 23 aisles, which is more than many purpose-built Acmes.

Checkouts and customer service on the front end. This area got the most remodeling during the transition.

Other Images of Interest

Street View Images

2023

Considering all they really did was replace signage and repaint, Acme did a great job making this facade more modern.

2011

The pharmacy was removed and replaced with beer and wine sometime in the past few years.

Nearby competition

0.6 miles away: Weis of East Norriton

Norristown was the home of Genuardi's for its entire history, and this building was home to a Genuardi's from 1999 until June 9, 2012. Weis acquired this store along with the Doylestown and Conshohocken Genuardi's, reopening on June 16. We will be touring this store next week.

0.8 miles away: GIANT of Blue Bell

Just up the road behind the Acme is the Blue Bell GIANT, which opened in 1995 as the anchor to the shopping center. It was originally a typical 90's store with the glass trapezoid facade, but was remodeled to this look around 2006.

2.7 miles away: McCaffrey's of Blue Bell

This beautiful McCaffrey's store opened on July 22, 2016, in what was originally a Clemens Markets and later became a SuperFresh. I'm saving the best for last, so we'll be seeing this store in three weeks.

Well, that's all for our tour of the world's newest Acme! While this store definitely wasn't overly exciting, I'm still very glad to see that Acme is still trying to expand. Our adventure here in the Norristown area is only just starting, so come back next week! Sincerely, The Retail Connection.

Jewel-Osco | Elmhurst, IL

 

153 Schiller Street

Welcome to the Elmhurst Jewel-Osco!

Our third time in Illinois means our third time in a Jewel-Osco. Thanks, as always, to Calypso for these photos. Back in September, we saw Elmhurst's other Jewel-Osco, also considered part of Butterfield, and today we'll be touring their more northern store in Elmhurst proper. The Schiller Street Jewel-Osco opened back in 1969 and was expanded in 2001. Let's take a look around!

Like the other store in Elmhurst, this location has the Legacy decor, which is basically the same as Acme's Quality Built package.

We entered on the right side of the store, to the beer and wine section. The other entrance leads into the grand aisle, which we'll be seeing in a moment.

Rounding out this area of the store is the pharmacy, located on the back wall. Doctor Jojo is making an appearance on their shingles shots posters!

                      

Frozen foods are located in the center of the store, complete with cheesy Sincerely, Food signage.

The grand aisle is on the left side of the store, featuring the deli, bakery, meat and seafood, and produce. I believe the tile backsplash behind the counters is from the original version of the Santa Fe decor, also known as "the Jewel interior".

Floral and checkouts take up the front end space.

Other Images of Interest

Street View Images

2022

This store has the "Marketplace" signage like the other Elmhurst Jewel-Osco.

That concludes our tour of the other Elmhurst Jewel-Osco! Thank you again to Calypso for the photos. Of the three Jewels we've seen so far, this one seems to be the nicest. The 2000's remodel must have been pretty extensive, as the store still looks pretty new and the layout is mostly the same as the average Acme from the time (except for the pharmacy). This Albertsons-owned store has been in business for quite a long time, but the one we'll be seeing next week is having its grand opening today! See you then! Sincerely, The Retail Connection.

Giant Food | Wilmington, DE

 

4301 Concord Pike

Welcome to the Wilmington Giant!

Happy Friday the 13th! We've toured a few stores of GIANT-Carlisle, but this is our first time at their sister chain, Giant-Landover! This store opened in 1995 as Super G, and in the mid-2000's was remodeled and became a regular Giant, the only one in the greater Philadelphia area. In we go!

By the way, click here to see photos of the store after the remodel from Super G to Giant.

Upon entering the store, floral is to your left and produce is straight ahead. The floral sign doubles as signage for the self checkouts.

This cafe seems pretty lackluster and uninviting, and maybe it being empty isn't helping.

The bakery is looking pretty nice, though. Personally, while I don't love how the store is devoid of almost any color, I do like the signage.

The deli. Not much to note here.

The kitchen is next to the deli. It would've made more sense to have the bakery here, and the kitchen in the bakery's spot next to the seating area, but I digress.

No more "Ocean & Tide" in meat and seafood. The remodel seems to have included the addition of a service meat/seafood counter, as this area was previously just cases.

Natural foods are in the first aisle (which is aisle 3, for some reason). I didn't know Giant-MD was still using the Nature's Promise name, as GIANT-PA has dropped it for simply "Plant Based".

Something Special is in the meat department! I really like how the lit pictures, reminiscent of the ones at Aldi, bring a pop of color to the walls.

Dairy and frozen are in the twenty-third and last aisle. This is a pretty large store.

The pharmacy is in the front left corner by the main entrance.

A look down the front end of the store at the aisles. As Sleeve Did it noted in his video tour of this store, the aisle markers in this decor are similar to the ones used by Food Lion's "Easy Fresh & Affordable" package.

Checkouts and customer service line the front end. This store used to have a PNC Bank branch, which was located across from the self checkouts behind floral, but that has since been removed and is now used as storage for seasonal merchandise.

Other Images of Interest

Street View Images

2023

A nice wide shot of the store in its current state.

2017

At this point, the store still had the mid-2000's decor, although it had been updated with the 2008 logo and exterior signage.

2007

Not a great picture, but it's the only one that shows the store with the old Giant logo.

Nearby competition

1.1 miles away: Sprouts Farmers Market of Wilmington

This Sprouts opened in March 2020 in a former Barnes & Noble, which was originally a Pathmark that closed in the 90's. This is currently the only Sprouts in Delaware, although they're working on one further south in Middletown.

3.8 miles away: Acme of Foulk & Naamans

Just about four miles from the Wilmington Giant is one of the many Acme stores of Wilmington, with this one being located at the corner of Foulk & Naamans Roads. The store opened back in the 70's as the anchor to the F&N Shopping Village. Inside, it has the early version of the Quality Built decor.

That concludes this edition of The Retail Connection! I found this Giant to be nice, clean, and well-stocked, and I really don't hate the decor. I think I found this store to be better than the average GIANT-PA, even though those feel more like home. Next week, we'll be taking a short break from the Philadelphia area and heading back to Illinois. See you then, and thank you for shopping with us! The little things are The Retail Connection.