Lidl | Vineland, NJ

 

1107 W. Landis Ave

Welcome to the Vineland Lidl!

We haven't seen a Lidl that looks like this in a long while! The last time I made a post about one of this ilk was back in October of 2022, when, in the very first post on this blog, we toured the Folsom Lidl. That store was the very first Pennsylvania Lidl; this store is also special, as, in addition to being New Jersey's first Lidl, it was the first location in the Philadelphia area. It opened on November 16, 2017, the same year that Lidl expanded into the United States, just about five months after their first American stores opened in the Carolinas and Virginia. Inside this store we go!

This store has a slightly more deluxe version of the Folsom decor, with more color and pictures.

Produce and the bakery department encompass the grand aisle that we see when we walk in. While this store has the same layout as Folsom, the building seems to be quite a bit bigger so everything is more spaced out.

Wholesome variety is on the right side of the store.

As is usual with discount grocery stores, the store doesn't have any sort of meat or seafood department, so they're sold in freezers.

Dairy is on the back wall of the store.

A large selection of random general merchandise, ranging from games to clothes to kitchen gadgets, takes up the center portion of the store.

A look at aisle 5.

Frozen foods and various drinks and paper products are on the right wall of the store.

The checkouts on the front end. While this store seemed to have much more space than Folsom, the checkouts were somehow even more cramped.

I came. I took pictures. I blogged.

Other Images of Interest

Street View Images

2023

You can't see it in the photo, but in every Street View photo taken since the store opened, there has been a "now open" banner in the parking lot, even several years after it opened. It wasn't there when I went, which could be a good sign or a bad one.

2018

A "now open" sign would still be acceptable here, since the store was under a year old. Also, if you compare this picture with the 2023 one, you'll see that Lidl has added "FOOD MARKET" signage on the front of the store. Folsom has done the same. I guess Lidl is having issues with people not knowing what kind of store they are?

Nearby competition

0.3 miles away: Walmart Supercenter of Vineland

Directly across the street from Lidl is the Walmart Supercenter in town. It opened in 2009 on the site of a former Jamesway, and it's one of the larger Walmarts that I've seen. Judging by the color scheme on the outside, it seems like it still has a Project Impact decor on the interior.

0.4 miles away: ShopRite of Delsea

We saw the ShopRite next door last week. It opened in 2013 and was much busier (and much nicer) than the Lidl, though they're definitely a different type of store.

Thank you for joining me on this tour! This store wasn't bad, but it was weirdly empty inside. There were barely any shoppers, and the large size of the store compared to the other Lidls I've been to did not help with that. But the store itself was still nice. That's all for this week, and I'll see you next time! The Retail Connection: Rethink grocery.

Lidl | Clifton Heights, PA

 

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.

Save A Lot | Pennsville, NJ

235 S. Broadway

Welcome to the Pennsville Save A Lot!

One year and one day ago, we toured the Brookhaven Save A Lot. Today, we're at the Pennsville Save A Lot. This store opened at some point in the mid 90s in half of a former SuperFresh, which originally opened in the 70s as an A&P and relocated to a new center in 1990. The other half of the store was taken by PV Pets. This store was recently repainted to a gray color scheme, but, strangely, retains the former Save A Lot logo. Inside, it has the latest decor. Let's head in through the 70s vestibule (like North Wildwood) and look around!

Produce and special buys are in aisle 1 on the right side of the store. All of the signage is in English and Spanish.

Cuts and chops are in the back corner. I'm not sure if the cases are left over from SuperFresh, but if they aren't they must be from when Save A Lot first opened because they certainly don't look new.

Deli meats are in the left corner, with dairy and frozen foods in the last two aisles. Interesting to see the older logo still in use on the endcap in the first photo. I really don't know why this store doesn't have the new logo on the facade.

A much more elaborate thank you sign than Brookhaven had. One less checkout, though.

The pylon sign for Cranberry Plaza, where Save A Lot and Metro by T-Mobile are the only major brands. The Strikeforce Sports (which is no longer open) was originally an Ames.

Other Images of Interest

Street View Images

2023

Here, you can see the split between the gray and red paint.

2016

Save A Lot and PV Pets were still united here.

2013

Still using the old logo in this shot, which places the store as opening before 2004. I think it most likely opened soon after SuperFresh moved, in the mid to late 90s.

Nearby competition

2.2 miles away: Acme of Pennsville

Last week, we saw Pennsville's other grocery store, the Acme further up Broadway. This store opened in 1998 in a former Kmart. As Save A Lot doesn't have any fresh/service departments, this is technically the only supermarket in town.

That's all for this tour! This was a pretty nice store, at least as Save A Lots go. Next week, we're headed across the river and further north to visit some more stores in Delaware! Thank you for reading, and I'll see you later! The Retail Connection: Like, a lot of retail.

Lidl | Egg Harbor Township, NJ

 

3121 Fire Road

Welcome to the Egg Harbor Township Lidl!

Welcome back to The Retail Connection! Today, we're in the township of Egg Harbor, located in Atlantic County just a few miles away from shore towns like Atlantic City and Ocean City. Instead of enjoying the boardwalk or the beach today, though, we'll be taking a tour of this Lidl. First, a short history. Genuardi's opened here on February 14, 2001, about a week after their acquisition by Safeway. The Genuardi's division closed in 2012, with many Pennsylvania stores being sold to GIANT (which doesn't operate in New Jersey). No buyer of this store was named, and the store closed in December 2012, eliminating another grocery store from the town after Pathmark closed earlier that year on March 2. The store sat vacant until JR's Fresh Market, a Thriftway/Shop N Bag and later Foodtown affiliate, took the space over from 2015 to 2018. Lidl opened in most of the building on April 14, 2021. Without further adieu, let's begin our tour!

Heading in through the iconic Genuardi's tower...

This store has a different decor package from what we saw in Folsom. The New Jersey flag in the heart is a nice touch.

We enter to the left to the bakery, Lidl's only in-store fresh department. I think I prefer this look over the older one. I like the fake chalkboard signs. By the way, if you've never been in a Lidl before, I think you should know that you can smell the bakery no matter where you are in the store. That's just another thing to love about Lidl.

The produce market is across from the bakery. Interestingly, the produce sign is unchanged from the previous decor.

Seafood and meats are in refrigerators in the back left corner. I really like the "floating" freezers in this store. We'll see them again later on.

Deli meats and cheeses are behind the refrigerators on the back wall. The signage here is definitely much clearer and more noticeable than it was before. See the same area in Folsom for comparison.

General merchandise is in the middle of the store. This Lidl in particular had quite a lot of beach and pool supplies, probably because this store isn't far from the shore.

Frozen foods and the rest of dairy are on the right wall.

Here we see those interesting freezers again. I've never seen anything like them before.

Looking down aisle 7. The aisle markers are hung above the shelves as opposed to above the aisle. I can't say I care for that idea.

Registers along the front end, as per usual. I was intrigued by that "Egg Harbor Township community wall", but it didn't really have anything on it other than ads for Lidl's magazine.

Purpose-built Lidl stores have all glass along the front end, so it's interesting to see decor on the front wall.

Lidl didn't take over the entire Genuardi's/JR's building, so there's a small part on the end still vacant and looking like a Genuardi's. This was the entrance to the Signature Cafe back in the Genuardi's days. Check out Josh Austin's Flickr page to see a photo of this store back in June 2012 when it was still Genuardi's.

Other Images of Interest

Street View Images

2017

The store was JR's Fresh Market and affiliated with Foodtown at the time of this picture. By the way, if you're interested in seeing photos of this store when it was still JR's (which retained the Safeway decor from Genuardi's), click here.

Nearby competition

4.4 miles away: ShopRite of English Creek

This ShopRite on Black Horse Pike co-anchors the English Creek Shopping Center with an Ollie's (former Jamesway). This store opened sometime in the 80's as a Starn's ShopRite, and was sold to Village Super Market in 1986. It retains the "STARN'S" logo on the side of the building, as you can see. Unfortunately we won't be getting to see this store, but I hope to get to it sometime soon. Sleeve Did It has a video touring this store, if you're interested in seeing it. Also, there's an Aldi across the street from this ShopRite, but I didn't get a picture of that.

Thanks for checking out this Lidl with me! While the earlier Lidl stores in the US have beautiful exteriors, the newer ones have very nice decor on the inside. Personally, I'm a big fan of Lidl stores, and this one was no exception. I'm also glad to see an older supermarket building reused and still selling groceries. Thanks for reading and see you next week! The Retail Connection: Rethink grocery.