Grocery Archaeology

Original Tenant: ACME Markets Address: 329 Speedwell Ave, Morris Plains, NJ Opened:  1978 in existing building, 1953 in previous building on site Closed:  2021 Later Tenants:  vacant Photographed:  January 2022 We are covering two recently-closed ACMEs here in NJ today, with the first here in Morris Plains! The store closed in 2021 with redevelopment plans coming soon, possibly. We last saw the place in December as it was going through its closing procedures. The redevelopments have been discussed for some time, but nothing really has taken hold yet. So at least as of January 2022, the building was still a hulking shell of an ACME just with the signage and interior removed. As Acme Style taught us long ago, this store would've originally had the Super Saver facade (still visible) but in the early 2000s was extensively renovated inside and out, including the Industrial Circus decor inside. This was the outside of a Starbucks, later turned into just a plain ol' cafe...

Original Tenant:  Village ShopRite Address: 1711 NJ-10, Morris Plains, NJ Opened: 1964 Closed: 2013 Later Tenants: Uncle Giuseppe's (renovations began 2021) Photographed: June 2020 It's amazing that this Village ShopRite lasted all the way to 2013! Not so much that it was small, at over 40,000 square feet, but simply that it was outdated and wasn't renovated after the late 1970s, when Village gave it its last overhaul. It was replaced by the Cedar Knolls location , which was newly built closer to downtown Morristown and off NJ-10 -- notably moving farther away from the Morris Plains Stop & Shop , and much closer to the Morris Plains ACME . Acme Style captured the store soon before its closure, which you can see here (along with their coverage of the new location and the Stop & Shop). Here's what the store looked like after ShopRite's closure. The store had been cleaned out with an auction of the fixtures as you can see in the poster in the first pictu...