700 W. Lancaster Ave
Welcome to the Devon Acme!
A scenic ride down Sugartown Road brought me from the Acme of Paoli to the Acme of Devon. This store opened in 1972 as Pantry Pride, the discount division of Food Fair, and closed with the rest of Food Fair's area stores in 1979. Acme took over the store in 1980, and has expanded and remodeled it several times since then. Perhaps its most famous remodel took place in 2014, shortly after Albertsons regained control of the company, when it received an early and unique version of the Quality Built decor, which it still has today. Let's see it!
I usually try to start on the side of the store with the grand aisle, but I ended up going in on the other side this time so we'll be starting with the pharmacy.
We can already see the decor's special flair! I have no idea why that one of the wall is painted red, though.
The pharmacy is in the front left corner of the store. The decor here is amazingly vintage-looking. It replaced the boring Santa Fe decor, which we saw in Avalon (though, according to Google Photos, that store has since been remodeled as well).
Dairy is on the outer walls past the pharmacy as we head into the main part of the store.
Pet food and other general merchandise are in aisle 11. The aisle markers in this store are nothing like what was used in the common version of Quality Built.
Lancaster brand meats are in quite a small section on the back wall. This area is probably the most similar to how it would appear in a more recent remodel.
Fresh seafood and meat is looking really good as we make our way to the grand aisle of the store. I love the font used for "fresh". It's seen elsewhere in the store.
Devon's Freshest Produce Market gets its own signage despite being freestanding as opposed to in an alcove. Normally, there would be no signage for this department.
Fresh baked, with a very small counter, is on the right wall.
The corner deli is beautiful, and I really like the arrow signage used in this store.
Not the best look at the front end as we check out of this store. This wall was completely redone last year as the store added The Frosted Mug. Here's how this area looked in 2014 shortly after the initial remodel.
Other Images of Interest
Street View Images
2022
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The exterior of this store is just as sharp as the inside. I really like the design of the facade, too. I believe the store got it in the early 2000s, and looked more like Wilmington before.
I hope you enjoyed this store! The decor is amazing and I'm pretty disappointed that no other stores got it. The Philly decor that some stores are receiving in more recent remodels definitely call back to this look in some ways. Thank you for reading, and see you next week! Sincerely, The Retail Connection.
I've always liked this "deluxe" Quality Built version, especially the arrow-shaped department signs in the grand aisle. It's a shame this decor never had a further rollout beyond this one store, and the decor got cheapened for future remodels. Those little extra details in this store went a long way in making it look nicer!
ReplyDeleteI agree! I understand this decor might have been too deluxe to put in every store that they planned on remodeling, but it's too bad it didn't make it to ANY other locations. I wonder when they plan on remodeling this store next, since this is one of the longest non-remodeled stores at this point. That new Upland Albertsons decor would be cool to see in an Acme.
DeleteYep, great décor!
ReplyDelete