I really can’t stand them anymore, with two of them within 5 miles of my home they are the store of convenience but dear God do they suck. They cannot build the World Class Shoprite in Shrewsbury fast enough.
Every single aspect of Acme ranks the lowest to me, produce, deli, meat and seafood and their packaged chicken BOGO’s. If I want a pack of chicken I should be able to buy one for a reasonable price, say $3.99 or below. Not have to buy 2 BOGO At $7.99 lbs. NO! Stop it!
Look at this, when did little neck clam prices surpass the price of lobster? $5.95 each??? Would you like a $100. Bowl of linguine in clam sauce?
If you were in the Lincroft Acme yesterday around 2:15 you would have seen a big fat guy walking away from the deli in disgust as they had no Land O’Lakes American Cheese which is the only cheese my 2 kids really like. I swear every time I go there they are missing a basic item I need. I said to no one in particular as I was walking past the bakery area I can’t wait until the new ShopRite in Shrewsbury is built.
Just a big yes to this whole thread. Can’t wait for ShopRite. You would have though let with a and p leaving acme would have tried to step up thier game to gain some market share but literally every acme in my area, all 4 of them, suck A$$
They really do suck. I shake my head every time I look at their flyer and see Buy 1 get 2 free deals on meat. How the hell is that supposed to mean anything to anyone? The price could be anything, and I’m not gonna go in your store to find out! I actually just left a message for them on Facebook today about it.
Those clam prices are just hysterical.
Occasionally they do have some bangin deals though. I bought a ham for something like 70c/lb a couple weeks ago, and this week they had strip steaks for 5 bucks.
The one near me is pretty awful too with one caveat - they have good (usually) rotisserie chickens. Oh, and you haven’t lived until you taste their store made turkey breast from the deli (really disgusting). I don’t know how they make it but its not roasted. It has the weirdest taste. And they are crowded because mine is the only market within 15 minutes or so, we we are kind of stuck there if we have to get one or two items. Otherwise, I drive to the Stop and Shop (which I’m not crazy about either).
Completely agree. We used to live within walking distance of the one that has since closed because it was so shitty and terrible in Matawan. It was always a horrible experience from the people asking for spare change outside to the pathetic and extremely expensive produce. Good riddance!
hcentro, since you obviously live close to me, if you frequently purchase cold cuts, I strongly suggest getting a membership at BJ’s Wholesale Club. They have Dietz and Watson (my personal favorite brand of cold cuts) for $5-$6 per lbs for most meats. Their house brands are $3-$5lbs, hell they have prosciutto at the deli for $6.99 lbs!! How can you beat that?
BJ’s deli section is the only thing I find superior to Costco, I have memberships at each and I generally prefer Costco overall but because Bj’s is closer I go there more often than Costco.
@winecountrygirl
“hey have good (usually) rotisserie chickens”
I don’t know if you have a BJ’s Wholesale near you, but they have awesome rotisserie chickens I believe for $1.00 less than Acme and about twice the size. (rotisserie chicken is the staple of my dogs diet so we purchase them weekly, a Bj’s will last us about a week, an Acme 3 days at best)
Well Acme is owned by Albertsons, which is the second largest chain in the country (Kroger’s is no. 1).
You’d be surprised at the other stores Albertsons own and operate, like Vons & Safeway in California, and Jewel-Osco in the Chicago area. There’s been a lot of consolidation nationally in the last 20 years.
Albertsons is based in Idaho, and I’ve always felt the West Coast stores are managed better than the East Coast.
In NY & NJ we are kind of lucky in that the really big chains have not made many inroads here. Saker Shoprite and Scaduto Azzolinas Foodtown are still family owned, which is getting rarer and rarer.
The margins and the outlook for Shoprite and Foodtown are not good, especially as more box stores like Walmart and Target add groceries, more discount chains like Aldi & Lidl move in, and other chains targeting the top end like Wegmans, Fairway make inroads. Finally Amazon/Whole Foods has everybody worried. With unionized work forces, our local stores are at a disadvantage.
So if you like the selection and quality that Foodtown and Shop Rite offer I would encourage everyone in Jersey to patronize them.
The alternative is that we will have more empty stores like A&P, and/or that more Albertsons/Acmes, not to mention Kroger Klones, will move in.
In the Ocean area, you can tell Foodtown’s days are numbered. Ever since Wegmans came to town they are perpetually empty. It doesn’t help that they rarely if ever beat Shoprite’s prices. I think it’s going to come down to Shoprite vs Wegmans and whoever else comes in to compete.
I don’t think Aldi is making a significant dent in the market, they are clearly small fry in scale compared to any of the other markets, but Trader Joe’s seems to be perpetually packed.
That’s per dozen I bet. Someone probably had no clue and did what they thought was best. They most likely cut the bags open and dumped all of the clams on ice.
I had made a sarcastic comment about when did the price of clams exceed that of gold, he nodded but since i was ordering the clams he never actually double checked the price. He didn’t correct me nor did he confirm.
Foodtown in Red Bank is my favorite Supermarket. However, location, location, location that is a bitch to get in and out of especially during prime rush hour traffic. Also bargains are hard to find, especially with the meat department exceeding Monmouth Meats on most if not all cuts. While I do enjoy the meats/steaks from Foodtown you can get Prime at Monmouth for less than the CAB prices at Foodtown. They have been charging $ 35lb for Filet Mignon for 5+ years.
For my money here are my "local supermarket favorites:
Foodtown Red Bank
Shop Rite Neptune / Long Branch
Wegmans a near tie with Shop Rite, only for the fact Wegmans is very narrow on selection however stronger on meats. Seafood I’ll put each on even par for selection.
Walmart while not a great supermarket, you can’t deny their prices and they carry most products. My “local” in Old Bridge by my office actually carry lobster, crab legs, mussels and clams. (all frozen)
Stop and Shop Matawan is closest so I rarely if ever go there
Acme as stated is my closest and thus default regardless of how much I hate it
Trader Joes is more or less an honorable mention since I really don’t consider it on the level as a supermarket
@joonjoon
The Foodtown on Deal Rd and 35 has been in desperate need of a facelift /update since they announced Wegmans was coming to town. I agree I think the writing is on the wall there, a Whole Foods might do good given the area.
I wouldn’t say Wegmans is better on meats than Shoprite. Shoprite has a far far bigger selection of different cuts than Wegmans. Wegmans has some cool premium stuff but in terms of selection it’s shoprite no contest.
Walmart really doesn’t sell anything (at least in terms of fresh food anyway, I generally don’t buy prepackaged food) that’s much cheaper than what you’d find at Shoprite. Their meat prices are pretty terrible except the whole brisket.
There was an Acme on Norwood Ave. in Deal. It was convenient so I used it for occasional needed items. The thing was the employees were the nastiest people you could ever imagine. Our family had a running joke about it.
I like Shoprite a lot, but Wegmans is very near me, so I go there for most of my shopping. My “love/hate” relationship with them has mellowed. But, I still don’t like that it is hard to find basic items that are not Wegman brands.
For the most part my local Acme is terrible, with meat prices bordering on obscene, there are exceptions though. Their sales are serious (not the 2 for 1’s) and if there is something I want that they don’t carry, they make every effort to get it in … also califia farms unsweetened almond milk, something I regularly buy is priced there at $2.99 a lot less than anywhere else.
Acme was smart by buying up all of the smaller local stores, the ones that are convenient to many people who would otherwise have to travel some distance to have access to a supermarket. When it’s late and cold and dark I stop at the local store.
Fortunately I live closer to Warwick, NY than I do most of NJ and the Shoprite in Warwick was just remodeled, there is a price chopper almost directly across the street that has super wide isles and great lighting, they carry some unusual products. The other closest supermarkets to me in NJ are almost 11 miles away Weiss and Walmart and another Shoprite all within walking distance of each other. I do not shop at Walmart, Weiss’s prices are insane and the Shoprite in Warwick is a lot closer and nicer a store. Still make fairly regular stops and Coscto and BJ’s and local farms/ farm stores.
Could not agree more about Wacme. I’ve been experimenting with Instacart because it’s pretty cool to get inspired to cook and get your delivery within an hour or two. Tried Acme twice. Both times, one-third of the items were out of stock. Common stuff. I didn’t even buy half the stuff on my grocery list because of the exorbidant prices. Green Mountain salsa is a staple in our house (yes, of course, homemade is better, yada yada yada). They were charging $6.59! I can find it elsewhere, even at specialty stores, for far less. I usually pay about $3.99-$4.79 for a jar. The Instacart shopper/delivery person even said that Acme sucks, particularly the Little Silver location. I use LS Family Pharmacy and go to Ferrucci’s frequently so I end up in Acme too often. Cannot wait for the new Stoprite.
Agree about preferring Foodtown but location and meat prices keep me from going there also.
Fully agreed about the crappy quality of acme meat, I would never buy any meat there. I go to acme at least once a week, but it’s always for the same few things. On a rotating basis, they have really good sales on the basics as well as entenmens baked goods, cookies, and peanut butter.
Also, they are the only store open at 6 am on my route to work besides walmart, which I also go to.
