Memorabilia | Focal VHS Tape

 

For our next piece of memorabilia, we're going to be looking at something that, at first glance, has nothing to do with retail. But any Kmart fan would know that Focal was their brand of photography-related items. Mostly, that included cameras, but their VHS tapes also fell under that banner.

Here's a look at the back. There's no year listed, but I would guess this is from the mid-'90s just based on the look of it. Based on the Kmart Corporation text at the bottom, this is from before 2005, but I'm almost certain it's from quite a while before that point. I like the design of this a lot! The Focal wordmark is especially cool.

Thanks for reading! I'll see you next week with more memorabilia! Have a happy thanksgiving!

Memorabilia | Pathmark Decaffeinated Coffee Can

For our first piece of retail memorabilia this month, we're taking a look at this can of Pathmark-brand decaffeinated coffee. I got this can at a church yard sale this past spring, and it was full of nails, but obviously I bought it for the can. The can is in pretty good condition all these years later.

Here's the other side of the can. Based on the date at the bottom, this is from 1986 or later, but probably could've been from any point up to the early '90s. I also remember the yard sale having a jar of Pathmark applesauce (also filled with nails), which looked to be slightly older than this, but probably still from the '80s.

That's all for this memorabilia post! See you next week for another one!

 

Big Lots | Millville, NJ

 

101 Bluebird Lane

Welcome to the Millville Big Lots!

It's been a while since we went to a non-grocery store! And this one is for a special, but sad, reason. The Big Lots in Millville is one of the hundreds of locations nationwide that is closing its doors. I happened to catch the store soon after its closing sale had begun. This store opened on October 24, 2014, in half of a short-lived former Acme location that operated from 2005 to 2011. Planet Fitness takes up the other half. As we will see inside, the store still has somewhat of an Acme feel, but Big Lots definitely made it their own in the pretty much exactly 10 years that they were here. So, let's check it out!

A look at all of the store closing signs in front. "This location only" is like a 1/3-truth, because, while not all locations are shutting down, more than 500 are.

More signs. While the store was "up to" 25% off, most of it was only at 10%. I'm sure those discounts are much higher now if the store is still open.

Furniture is on the right side of the store. Some locations have Big Lots Furniture stores-within-stores, but this one just has it out in the open. In the Acme days, this would have been where the frozen foods were, and probably the pharmacy too. Think of Avalon.

Discounts were abound. At prices like these, products were flying off the shelves.

The home section -- or maybe it's just the pillows section -- is in the back right corner of the store.

Notice the skylights which are left over from Acme.

The grocery section is in the middle of the store. I was surprised by the selection. You can't do all of your weekly shopping here, but I was surprised by how much they had.

Lots of miscellaneous merchandise and store closing signs on the left side of the store.

Not the best view of the checkouts, but they aren't that interesting anyway, other than Big Lots-themed lane markers.

Other Images of Interest

Street View Images

2015

Here's a look at both the Big Lots and the Planet Fitness about a year after they opened.

Thank you for joining me on this tour! I don't go to Big Lots often, but it's always sad to see a closing stores. I hope Big Lots can recover, because they're quite an interesting store, but it would be nice if they went back to their original model of selling closeouts. This is my last store post for the month! But, don't worry, we'll continue every Friday with other retail content, and I'll have new tours next month. Thanks for reading! Serve The. Save Retail Connection.

Redner's | Elkton, MD

311 Augustine Herman Highway

Welcome to the Elkton Redner's!

It's our final store in Maryland for now! This is our very first time in a Redner's. It's funny that my first Redner's is in Maryland, because they're based in and mostly have stores in my home state of Pennsylvania. The chain was founded in 1970 in Reading, Pennsylvania, and today they have over 40 store locations. Most of their stores, including this one, operate as Redner's Warehouse Market, with a barebones atmosphere and a focus on value. In recent years, though, they've also begun opening Redner's Fresh Market locations, which have more fresh selections and higher-end decor. This store is about as traditional as a Redner's can get, though. It opened on December 14, 2005, as the anchor to a small shopping center in a more rural part of Elkton. The store's owners were actually inside when I went, so this will be a great tour!

The produce department is to your right when you enter the store. I was looking for vegetables to make crudités, but I guess the best ones are at Wegner's.

The great wall of values (...save) is on the right wall of the store. As you can see, the decor isn't ugly, but it's also not what draws you into the store. The SUPER LOW PRICES are.

A look at aisle 4A. We'll see 4B later. I was surprised at how much selection this store had. I was expecting more discount store-type items.

Cakes is the first service department we see as we progress to the back of the store. I don't know why they chose to call it Cakes instead of Bakery, but it does seem like they have a lot of cakes.

Deli meats & cheeses and the fresh seafood counter are in the back.

Quality meats are on the rest of the back wall. It seems like Redner's has a pretty good meat department.

Dairy is on the right side of the store.

Aisle 4B is home to books and magazines. The book cases are definitely 2005 - they look even older, but I doubt they're recycled from any other store. Also notice the Redner's-brand chips on an Essential Everyday (UNFI) display. I'm pretty sure the store carries both brands.

The front of the store has a small display of Puppie Love shirts, as well as some Old Bay merchandise (because Maryland).

Thank You...         for Shopping Redner's Markets

Other Images of Interest

Street View Images

2023

None of the street view images of this store are that good, but the store's looked the same since 2005 anyway.

Nearby competition

1.1 miles away: Acme of Elkton

Last week, we saw the Acme of Elkton. This store first opened in the '70s and was expanded and remodeled about 20 years later. It's one of the few remaining PF&H Acme stores.

2.2 miles away: Food Lion of Elkton

The Elkton Food Lion is a pretty average store as Food Lions go. It opened in 1999 and has the Easy Fresh & Affordable 3.0 decor on the inside.

Thanks for joining me on this tour! I was very pleasantly surprised by this store. It isn't fancy, but it had a better atmosphere than I had expected, and the prices and selection were both good. I would shop at Redner's regularly if I lived closer to one. I'll see you next week! The Retail Connection: Love on Local.

 

Acme | Elkton, MD

 

101 Big Elk Mall

Welcome to the Elkton Acme!

Maryland is new territory for us, but at least there's some familiarity in the Elkton Acme! Acme opened a location here on May 4, 1976, as the original anchor of the Big Elk Mall, later being joined by a now-closed Kmart. In the 1990s, the store was expanded to the left, also receiving a complete interior remodel to the Red White & Blue decor, as well as this facade upgrade. The Wilmington location looks similar to this store, although that one has been more recently upgraded and repainted, while Elkton is pretty much true to how it looked for its grand re-opening. Notice the Sav-On sign? This store still has a Sav-On Pharmacy - and pre-Quality Built decor! Let's check it all out!

Not a glamorous foyer by any stretch of the imagination, but we do get to see this store's decor - Premium Fresh & Healthy 2.0! This decor was put into stores in the very late 2000s as a successor to PF&H 1.0. The wall colors are darker and the physical decor is less intricate, but there isn't a drastic departure between the two. PF&H 3.0 was a much bigger change.

The produce department is to our left. This store even still has the original '90s produce windows! The view isn't that exciting, though.

The small bakery counter is past produce but still on the left. Those two hanging pieces of decor are definitely not part of the actual package; they were probably found by a random baker at HomeGoods.

Delicatessen and the butcher block are on the back wall. This is the first time I've seen a word placed on a leaf in this decor; usually, they were put off to the side. They would've had room to put it on the left, but I guess they thought this looked better.

This is probably the only Acme left that still has a Shop the World department, even though it isn't really Shop the World. Interestingly, while Acme dropped that branding long ago, Jewel-Osco continues to use it in current decor today.

Frozen foods are in aisle 7. It's quite surprising to see how even the aisle markers have remained unchanged. The Concordville location has Quality Built aisle markers, even though the rest of the store still has PF&H.

Packaged meats continue down the back wall. Notice how the flooring is still from the RW&B package.

Dairy is on the right side of the store. The last aisle has quite an interesting selection, ranging from cheese to visit our bakery to cough and cold. I wonder how they decide which department to promote with the extra slot. I've seen other stores with "visit our deli" or the grammatically incorrect "visit our floral."

The last two aisle markers are labeled as "wellbeing" even though they don't actually have HABA items. Although, yogurt and cheese are both good for my wellbeing.

The pharmacy and floral departments are in front, just next to the other entrance. This is the only store I've seen with that lit-up "Sav-On Pharmacy" sign. The pharmacy hours sign is, I believe, the only Quality Built element of the entire store.

It may come as a shock to hear that checkouts and customer service are in the front of the store.

Other Images of Interest

Street View Images

2018

Notice the M&T Bank signage on the right tower. I would assume that that was where the DriveUp & Go department is now.

Nearby competition

1.1 miles away: Redner's of Elkton

Next week, we're headed to our very first Redner's, a discount chain based out of Pennsylvania. This particular location opened back in 2005.

2.0 miles away: Food Lion of Elkton

Last week, we toured the Elkton Food Lion, which is probably the easternmost supermarket in Maryland. It opened in 1999 and anchors its shopping center.

4.8 miles away: Safeway of Glasgow

Safeway is quite common in Elkton's state of Maryland, but not as much in Delaware, where there only two other locations. This store opened in 2004 in a former Genuardi's.

This was a nice store. I was glad to see that Premium Fresh & Healthy was still fully in place. Thank you for reading! I'll see you next week at Redner's. Sincerely, The Retail Connection.