Ollie's Bargain Outlet | Media, PA

 

1154 W. Baltimore Pike

Welcome to the Media Ollie's!

A bonus day of the year means a bonus post! This December visit to the Media Ollie's marked my first time photographing an Ollie's for the blog, and also my first time in an Ollie's in general. This location held its grand opening on May 15, 2019 as the first Ollie's in Delaware County. If you couldn't already tell from the facade, this was previously a Toys R Us, which opened in the early 90s and lasted until the original chain closed for good in June 2018. Let's head inside and see if we can find any Good Stuff Cheap!

Ollie's Bargain Bookland is in the front left corner and food is straight ahead past the main entrance. I didn't realize Ollie's had food, and I was surprised to see that most of it was actually not expired. The oldest food item I saw was probably Halloween Cap'n Crunch.

Clothing is in the back left corner of the store. I know Ollie's stores are known for being in disarray, but this area in particular isn't far off from a thrift store that was hit by a hurricane.

Health and beauty aids are in the center of the store. The flooring left over from Toys R Us actually works pretty well here.

The Toy Box was well-stocked for the Christmas season, calling back to the building's past life as a toy store.

Carpeting and furniture run down the back wall of the store. It seems like Ollie's keeps a limited number of lights on, which isn't a problem up front where the light shines through the windows but makes the back of the store quite dark.

On this side of the store we find housewares, domestics, and other miscellaneous items.

The signage gets quite busy as we get to the front end.

The most obvious leftover from Toys R Us is the flooring in front of register one! What other store would leave this?

You can't see it in this picture, but my favorite sign in the whole store was the red arrow reading "Ollie's Complaint Department" that pointed to the exit door.

A look at the recycled Toys R Us road sign, with the Promenade at Granite Run, formerly the Granite Run Mall (the name everyone still uses), in the background. Last week's Acme is just barely out of site.

Other Images of Interest

Street View Images

2017

This store looked pretty new at the time of closure, as it was remodeled in the early 2010s (it looked more like this before).

That concludes this tour! I was actually pleasantly surprised by Ollie's. I ended up finding a few things in there and I'm sure I will go back again. It was also really cool to see all the things left over from Toys R Us. Tomorrow, we're headed about three miles south to Brookhaven to tour one of their supermarkets. See you then! The Retail Connection: Good Stuff Cheap!

Acme | Media, PA

 

1095 W. Baltimore Pike

Welcome to the Granite Run Acme!

The first ever post on this blog to go up on a Friday was the Acme of downtown Media last May. Today, we'll be seeing the other Media Acme, this one being located on the Promenade at Granite Run property, formerly the enclosed Granite Run Mall. The store opened on November 17, 1975 as an outparcel to the mall and the largest Acme market at the time. Originally, it occupied 33,500 square feet, with other stores like Thrift Drug and a JCPenney Catalog Center taking up the rest of the space. In the 90s, Acme expanded into the entire building. Let's take a look inside!

The Frosted Mug is just to your left upon entering. This area was formerly a Starbucks, though it closed long before The Frosted Mug took over, and was blocked off by displays in the interim.

Foods to go, the corner deli, and the bakery are on the left side of the store, with meat and seafood being the first department on the back wall.

The produce department is on the other side of the grand aisle. Here's a photo from Acme Style of this area before. This store previously had the early deluxe version of Santa Fe, which was also seen in stores in Easton, MD (which still has it), Bala Cynwyd, PA (which now has Quality Built), and Warminster, PA (which closed in 2014). That version was used around 1999-2000.

Lancaster Brand Meats are up next, past the service butcher block counter. That movie theater in the second photo from the left is still open today.

A look down aisle 6. The version of Santa Fe this store had heavily drew from the Chalkboard Market decor, including having the grocery aisles under a drop ceiling.

Dairy is in the back right corner of the store and wraps around to the right wall.

Granite Run's pharmacy still uses the Sav-On name, with signage similar to Cape May Court House.

HABA is in the front corner past the pharmacy. This was previously the customer service center, which was moved closer to the checkouts in the Quality Built remodel. The area is definitely used better now than before.

Interesting floral setup, also seen in Grocery Palace stores.

Thank you from your Granite Run Acme!

Other Images of Interest

Street View Images

2015

Not much change to the Acme itself since this picture, but the trees seen in the background have since been cut down for an apartment complex called 50 at Granite Run.

Nearby competition

3.5 miles away: ShopRite of Brookhaven

This ShopRite, which we toured in August, opened in 2016 in a former Pathmark. I don't know why Acme didn't take this store, but I guess they were fine with having a monopoly on Media.

3.6 miles away: GIANT of Brookhaven

The Brookhaven GIANT opened in 2016 as a relocation from their previous store across the street, which opened in 1987 as one of the first GIANTs in the area.

That concludes this edition of The Retail Connection! This was a very busy store, and definitely one of Acme's nicer locations. While it's sad that a rarer decor was removed, Quality Built looks really good here. Next week, we're headed to a non-grocery store just across the street. See you then! Sincerely, The Retail Connection.

GIANT | Aston, PA

 

3300 Concord Road

Welcome to the Aston GIANT!

We are back in Pennsylvania now! The Aston GIANT opened on November 2, 2005, just about exactly three months after the town's longtime Acme closed. The only other supermarket in Aston, the Dutton Mill Shop N Bag, closed not long after in 2010, making GIANT the only grocery store in town. Well, what's so great about this store that it killed all of its competition? Let's go in and find out!

I feel like these signs look bigger in every store. This one takes up almost the entire wall.

Upon entering the store through the left tower, floral is to your right and GIANT Direct is to your left. Like many of the GIANTs we've seen recently, this store has their current decor.

A large produce is on the left wall. Not much of a grand aisle in this store.

The deli is in the back left corner, with the salad bar being directly across. The tiled backsplash, seen throughout the store, is a remnant of Fun House.

The kitchen, formerly the Carryout Cafe, is located next to the deli on the back wall. It seems like these departments are mostly sushi now.

Land & Sea is up next, with packaged meats following on the back wall. Interesting how in this decor, the meat department is signified only by the G in the GIANT logo.

Here's a nice look down aisle 16, home to this store's frozen foods.

Dairy and bread are in the last aisle of the store.

The bakery is in the front corner on this side of the store. I got a chocolate-frosted donut at this bakery, and it was pretty good.

The little pharmacy is connected to the bakery, located just next to the right entrance for the store.

A look at the front end, with checkout lanes, Citizens Bank, and customer service. I believe this store had only four regular checkouts left, with the rest being either self-checkout or formerly-manned lanes that were converted to self service.

Across the street from this store is a GIANT gas station. I don't know exactly when this opened, but it was between 2007 and 2012 (after the main store).

Other Images of Interest

Street View Images

2007

Surprisingly, Google hasn't been through this shopping center since their first year taking photos, 2007.

Nearby competition

2.4 miles away: ShopRite of Brookhaven

The ShopRite of Brookhaven was originally a 70s Pathmark, which closed in 2015. ShopRite opened in 2016. You can tour this store as it was in August by clicking here.

3.6 miles away: Acme of Boothwyn

Also nearby, but in the other direction, is the Acme of Boothwyn. This store was also a Pathmark, but a Sav-A-Center store opened in 2008 in an ex-SuperFresh. We saw this store in October.

And that's all we have for the Aston GIANT! I liked this store, but my experience at the self-service checkout was subpar as I think there was an issue with the scanner. It's definitely a nice environment, though, and there was a lot of selection. Next week, we're headed north to a retailer that, like GIANT in Aston, is the only supermarket in town. See you then! The Retail Connection: For today's table.