713 E. Baltimore Ave
Welcome to the Clifton Heights Lidl!
We're back at a Lidl! This particular store is a newer location, having opened just over two years ago on June 22, 2022. It operates in a former Kmart (open from 1980 to 2019) along with a Big Lots, Icon Beauty, and Dollar Tree. This is Lidl's second Delaware County location, after Folsom (their first Pennsylvania store, and also the first store we toured on this blog). This store has their more recent layout, also seen in Egg Harbor Township. With all of that introduction out of the way, let's take a look at this store!
Here we see the Pennsylvania flag in the heart as opposed to New Jersey's as was seen in Egg Harbor (it would be pretty odd if they had a New Jersey flag anywhere in this store, though...).
The bakery is straight across from the entrance doors. The treats may be sweet and they may be hot and fresh daily, but they don't seem plentiful.
The produce department is across from the bakery in the first few aisles. I like Lidl, but they definitely have the most unappealing produce department out of pretty much all grocery stores.
Frozen foods and packaged meats are in the cases on the left side of the store. I really like the freezers these stores have; I haven't seen them anywhere else.
Cheese is on the back wall.
The general merchandise section is in the middle of the store, as usual. I feel like the selection here is disproportionate to the actual food in the store. Especially since I'm sure you could get a lot of this stuff at Big Lots next door.
Aisle 2, which comes out of the produce market.
It's a summer of savings here on the right side of the store, with more frozen foods.
A look at the checkouts. Unlike my local Lidl, this store doesn't have any self-checkouts.
Other Images of Interest
Street View Images
2022
The store was only a few months old at this point.
2020
Here, Kmart had closed but work hadn't begun on transforming it into multiple stores. Unlike Holmes, which closed on the same day, Clifton Heights never became a regular Kmart again after being remodeled to the Big Kmart format.
2012
And here's the store during normal operation, back when Kmart still had over 1,200 stores in the United States. You can also see here how the garden center was in the front of the store due to space constraints.
Nearby competition
1.3 miles away: Acme of Clifton Heights
Next week, we'll be touring the other grocery store in Clifton Heights, this Acme, which opened back in 1995 on the site of a former mall, the Bazaar of All Nations. The interior is a pretty typical 90s layout, but the facade is different than any other Acme I've seen before.
1.7 miles away: GIANT of Aldan
We toured the GIANT of Aldan last May, and, as you can see in the photo, it was more like a GIA T. I hope the signage has been fixed at this point, but I don't know. I also hope the store's been remodeled again, because the decor in it when I visited was horrible.
2.2 miles away: Price Rite of Secane
Lidl's closest competitor in Clifton Heights is probably this nearby Price Rite, another discount grocery store. Price Rite is owned by ShopRite, and this is the only location in the Philadelphia area; the majority of the stores are in ShopRite's non-core areas. This store opened in 2005 in a former A&P/SuperFresh.
Thanks for joining me on this tour! Personally, I wasn't totally impressed with this store. There wasn't anything particularly bad about it, but I didn't like it as much as I do my own Lidl. Also, I really don't like the look of the concrete flooring here. Next week, we're headed up the street to the Clifton Heights Acme! See you there! The Retail Connection: Rethink grocery.
Speaking of the flooring in this store, you can still see the scars from Kmart's old tiles clearly in the frozen foods aisle too. Otherwise though, these old concrete floors never meant to see the light of day originally don't make for very visually pleasant flooring!
ReplyDeleteI've never been to a Lidl, but with the in-store bakery and fancier fixtures and decor, it seems like they want to come across as a notch above Aldi. Still seems like an interesting store though.
I didn't even notice the old Kmart tiles! That's interesting, and about the only good thing about that "flooring". I guess they cheaped out with this store, because other locations don't have floors remotely like that.
DeleteThey definitely do want to be seen as nicer than Aldi, and I think some of their locations are, but others, like this one, seem to fall flat.
I agree with you about the freezers!
ReplyDeleteEver since I learned in a recent comment on flickr that, when remodeling its stores, Target puts some smooth "mud" on top of any exposed concrete so it's not visually distracting or ugly... I've wondered why all the stores out there that opt for concrete floors don't add that mud before polishing/sealing the concrete and whatever else they may do to it. Does the material not polish? Does it wear out or disintegrate? If not... seems like that would be a much more appealing choice, unless it's prohibitively expensive or something.
I don't think I've heard about that before, so I couldn't tell you why they don't do that, but it definitely sounds like it would be a more appealing option than what Lidl chose in this store.
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