Am I Really Gonna Like it Here?

In November, my local A&P store shut down for three days and reopened as an Acme Market. While I knew the transformation was taking place, the experience was bittersweet.

After all, A&P was one of my favorite places to shop. Even though they often got low marks in the annual Consumer Reports survey, I always found my store—in Kenilworth, N.J.—to be spotless with high quality meats, produce, bakery and deli, in addition to having very friendly associates. It was no wonder that Acme snapped up that location up as soon as it went on the market.

I also have fond memories of Acme. The Acme in my home town of Union, less than two miles from the A&P, had shut down about five years ago and is now a CVS. It always had strong business, but the store was small, maybe 25,000 square feet, and because of its restricted space had no room to expand. When I was a kid, we shopped at an even smaller Acme in Hillside, N.J., about a half mile from my house. I guessitmate that store is maybe 10,000 square feet (it still exists as an A&J Seabra’s), and I remember being entranced by the buzzing of the “Acme Super Markets” pink neon sign spelled out in script over the front of the store. 

Acme used to advertise frequently on the radio, and I can still remember their jingle—“You’re gonna like it here—at Acme and Super Saver. You’re gonna like it here!”

But as a kid, what I recall most of all was their strong private label program. In fact, every Saturday morning at 9 a.m. Channel 2 aired an hour-long infomercial devoted to it where company spokesperson Wile E. Coyote Super Genius demonstrated their latest private label offerings.

Unfortunately, due to the small size of my local stores, they were not able to stock any of the anvils, TNT, bundles of dynamite with detonator, iron-laced birdseed and accompanying giant magnet, rocket-propelled jet packs with roller skates, parachutes, and industrial-sized rubber bands featured on the program, but they did stock the private label Louella butter, Ideal coffee, Lancaster Brand meats and Acme canned white creamed corn that my mother swore by.

I was hoping to see some of those items when I went to visit my new Acme for the first time in November, but alas, my shopping experience offered mixed results. 

Aside from a totally different look in the produce department, thanks to the installation of new much brighter lighting, most of the store was pretty much the same. The rest of the perishables departments remained in place, but the items filling the grocery aisles were totally reset. 

With the exception of Lancaster Brand, the beloved Acme private labels I grew up with were gone, replaced by Lucerne, Signature Kitchens and Essential Everyday. Because I am in the industry, I knew that the first two were Safeway labels and the latter Supervalu, but I doubt that most North Jersey consumers ever heard of Lucerne and would know it is a private label.  

I did get some bargains on my first trip; including Domino sugar for $1.49 a bag and Marie Callender’s pot pies—the big 16-ounce ones—for only $2 each.

I did not think I bought that much, but my bill totaled $51.99. When I got home and checked my receipt, I learned why my mother would always spend five minutes after checkout looking the receipt over. It turns out I was charged $18.49 for the 25-pound bag of Beneful dog food that the guy before me bought. I called up the store and the woman at the front desk told me to bring my receipt back for a refund. Not wanting to wait a week, I had to make a separate trip back to the store. The money was cheerfully refunded—no questions asked— but I was annoyed that I had to make a second trip out in the cold back to the store. On top of that, the guy in front of me got a $19 bag of dog food for free.

A couple of Saturdays ago I needed milk and decided to go to Acme instead of just running to Quick Chek. I started up a conversation with a customer who was exiting the store. He said he usually shops at the ShopRite in Elizabeth and that his wife told him to be careful in the Acme because “they are tricky with their sales.” I found that out when I looked at the circular and found Dannon Oikos yogurt on sale 10/$10, which is a good buy. As an extra bonus if I bought 10 cups, I got a carton of Florida’s Natural orange juice and an eight-ounce bar of Lucerne cream cheese for free. 

Acme has more cashiers open that A&P did so the checkout was quick, which is a bonus. When I finished checking out, I asked the cashier to check to make sure the price of the orange juice and cream cheese were taken off. She had to stare at the screen for a minute or two to see where it was taken off before replying, “I can’t figure out these sales here.”

I think with a little better pricing and clearer ads I am really gonna like it here at my new Acme. But if they brought back Louella butter and maybe an Acme-branded rocket propelled jet pack I would absolutely love it! 

By the way, to catch a glimpse of what a special place Acme once was, visit the website. It is chock full of information about the chain from its heyday.