Grocery Archaeology

Original Tenant: ACME Markets Address: 1 Sunnybrae Blvd, Yardville, Hamilton, NJ Opened:  ca. 1970 Closed:  2001 Later Tenants:  CVS Photographed:  January 2021 The pitched-roof ACME in the Sunnybrae development in the Yardville section of Hamilton Township was one of the latest pitched-roof stores, opening around 1970. The 19,000 square foot store lasted until 2001, when it was replaced by the existing Yardville ACME just a quarter of a mile southeast. Acme Style has more details on the store and its replacement here . Tomorrow, we move on to Bordentown for a look at the ShopRite over on The Market Report !

Original Tenant: Big C Department Store Address: 2465 S Broad St, Hamilton, NJ Opened:  unknown Closed:  1980s Later Tenants:  Davidson Foodtown (1989-1999) > SuperFresh (1999-2010) > subdivided Photographed:  January 2021 A&P had a 1960s-era store just to the northwest at 2130 S Broad , which closed in the 1970s. This 62,000 square foot store opened in the 1970s as a Big C department store before becoming a Davidson Foodtown in 1989 , which then sold to SuperFresh in 1999. It's unclear if the Davidsons who owned this Foodtown were the same Davidsons who owned the New Brunswick locations on George St (later CTown and now Bravo) and Elizabeth St (later Estevez Foodtown and now Food Universe). The space has been subdivided, with Ollie's Bargain Outlet (good stuff cheap!) taking the right half and a gym taking the left half. There's still a supermarket at Independence Plaza, though, as a Save-A-Lot has opened up in the front part of the mall closest to Broa...

Original Tenant: A&P Address: 2130 S Broad St, Hamilton, NJ Opened:  1960s Closed:  1970s Later Tenants:  Jewel T Supermarket > Strauss Auto > Dollar General Photographed:  January 2021 Our first store south of Trenton is very close -- just about a mile and a half southeast -- of our southernmost Trenton stop at the Supreme Food Market . We're on South Broad Street to the southeast of downtown Trenton in Hamilton, what might be considered a downtown of the sprawling township with multiple smaller business districts such as Hamilton Square and Mercerville . This 11,000 square foot store was built as a 1960s simple centennial A&P, and it's just up the street from a former SuperFresh . So this was converted to SuperFresh in 1983 and then moved later, right? Nope. This store actually closed by the late 1970s while the later SuperFresh was originally a department store, then became Foodtown from 1989-1999 when it switched to SuperFresh. Also in that mall...

Original Tenant: Risoldi's Thriftway Address: 3100 Quakerbridge Rd, Hamilton, NJ Opened:  1970s Closed:  2019 Later Tenants:  none Photographed:  January 2021 The roughly 40,000 square foot Risoldi's Market (a Great Valu store, previously Risoldi's Thriftway and before that, in a different location in town, the Liberty Thriftway) opened in the 1970s and closed in 2019 . So I was just about a year and a half too late to photograph it in business, but we do get to see inside. My interior pictures were a little limited because work was going on at the time and I was getting some strange looks from the construction workers. While I haven't heard anything about what might be going into the majority of the supermarket space, a ShopRite liquor store is taking about 10-20,000 square feet of the store. It was a good-looking exterior, but I've never seen an interior picture of the supermarket in business, and it's really hard to tell what the interior would've look...

Original Tenant: ACME Markets Address: 318 NJ-33, Mercerville, Hamilton, NJ Opened:  early 1960s Closed:  1993 Later Tenants:  Smith's Ace Hardware / Party Fair Photographed:  January 2021 The ACME of Mercerville, at NJ-33 and Quakerbridge Rd, opened in the late 1950s or early 1960s and closed in 1993 when the replacement store opened just east on NJ-33. I was not aware, by the way, when I visited, that the ACME was actually both  the Ace Hardware space and the neighboring Party Fair for a combined total of 25,000 square feet. It used to be more obvious before the facade renovation. It also looks like that facade renovation included an expansion of the Ace Hardware out to the left side, making me think that whole space was previously the ACME. I didn't go into the hardware store nor the Party Fair, but I doubt there are any ACME remnants inside either. At the east end of the strip mall was an A&P, later SuperFresh , which was constructed separately and t...

Original Tenant: Grand Union Address: 1750 Whitehorse Mercerville Rd, Hamilton, NJ Opened:  1970s Closed:  late 1980s Later Tenants:  Laurenti ShopRite (late 1980s-late 1990s) > Big V ShopRite (late 1990s-2002) Photographed:  January 2021 Well everybody, allow me to introduce one of the coolest abandoned supermarkets I've ever visited. This beauty of an eyesore takes up 33,000 square feet of a 63,000 square foot totally-abandoned strip mall on Whitehorse Mercerville Road in the Hamilton Square part of Hamilton Township. An additional 45,000 square feet next door -- likely previously a department store -- is now a self-storage facility (see before and after here). Google Maps caught the abandoned strip  after all the tenants closed but before the property was blocked off . I was able to wander in to this mall, which is all still supposed to be available retail space, for some very cool exclusive interior photos. (To my knowledge, no one else has gotten int...