A+P-110 Washington St., Morristown, NJ

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TW-Upstate NY
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A+P-110 Washington St., Morristown, NJ

Post by TW-Upstate NY »

As you probably recall from the A+P "Centennial" thread, this store and a picture of it was mentioned. I was in that area yesterday and decided to do some exploring and YES this store STILL EXISTS as depicted in the picture. Some particulars about the interior: the entire store consists of only 5 checkouts and 8 aisles. I'm not very good at estimating size but I would doubt it's 20000 SF-very likely less than that. There are only two service departments-a deli in the rear left corner and an in-store bakery in the front right corner. It also has an old style office which consists of nothing of more than a booth in the front of the store. I found the merchandising of the store to be very unsusal in some respects which obviously reflects the size. For example, the health and beauty aids section was in the same aisle with the beer and wine. I can't ever recall seeing that kind of combination before. As far as the interior, it's modern enough I guess but the wall graphics didn't match any recent A+P decor package in larger stores. I also noticed the roof appeared to need repair as there were several discolored ceiling tiles through out the store. I remember David asking if there was anything vaguely original in the store and I'll offer this: at two of the checkouts, I noticed the classic red A+P coffee grinders and judging from some of the attributes of the machines, they've likley been around a very long time. And they appeared to still be in use. I must have stared at those things forever. And I'd say the store probably does well because the place was busy on a Saturday evening with 3 of 5 of the checkouts open. Adjourning to the parking lot, I noticed one of those old 1 Hour Parking signs affixed to the side of the building. You don't see those at their more modern stores that's for sure. It was in good shape but you could tell it had been there a long while. I took a picture-hope it comes out. (Sorry-no interior shots-don't have the nerve for that yet) One oddball thing I noticed was that they were using Sav-A-Center shopping carts. There wasn't an A+P cart to be had. Something else interesting and it's just a theory I came up with after giving a good look to the outside of the building-I don't think this store began life as a Colonial or Centennial. It appeared about halfway back or so from the front, that there was what I like to call a "barrel" or rounded roof and it was flat from that point on to the front. That leads me to believe that this store was retrofitted in the colonial style albeit when they were building them that way in the 50's and 60's. Is that a possibility? All in all, it was an interesting trip through history because the store could be called somewhat of a "period piece." I'm simply amazed it survived the worst of the worst rounds of closings in the '70's and it's still there. Certainly worth a look if you're ever in that area.
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Groceteria
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Re: A+P-110 Washington St., Morristown, NJ

Post by Groceteria »

TW-Upstate NY wrote:That leads me to believe that this store was retrofitted in the colonial style albeit when they were building them that way in the 50's and 60's. Is that a possibility?
I've actually seen several that seem to have been retrofitted that way. I'm guessing that most of them were late 1940s and early 1950s stores that were "modernized" and maybe expanded in the 1960s.

Sounds like a great store. Thanks for the report.
rich
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Post by rich »

The updated stores I've seen usually had cosmetic touches on the front--a fake peak roof, sometimes white fencing. Usually not much investment and often they were in shopping centers. The freestanding pre-Centennial stores tended toward yellowish brick (probably to highlight the red A&P logo). Some of the pre-Centennial stores were actually larger than the ones built in the Centennial era, although you can occasionally find Centennials that were larger than the 13-19K sf range they usually favored. Unless the Centennial facade was added late in the Centennial era, there would not have been any service departments. The late Centennials often had tiny delis that sold rotisserie chicken and a few other things. One possibility is that A&P bought the store from someone else and remodeled it.
Duane Boda

A&P Store Layout...

Post by Duane Boda »

This store layout - design sounds 100% original to me. The office you spoke of is exactly the way the one was in the store in Petoskey Michigan.
I just wish I could draw or somehow submit a raw drawing of the store as it was before it closed in June of 1975. I remember quite a bit but I'm also forgetting it....I was only 12 when it closed. Can anyone help in this area?
Thanks....and Have a nice weekend!
Max
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Post by Max »

I actually live in Morristown and consider myself to be very blessed that I live so close to one of the few Centennials still operating as an A&P. I truly love this store, and I shop there as much as I can.

There was once a very nice lady who worked there, and back in 1999 I asked her if she knew when this store opened. In response, she told me that it opened in 1969. If true, this would obviously mean that the store originally opened as a Centennial, rather than having been retro-fitted into the design.

I also found out that Morristown once had another A&P. This particular store, of which I have no recollection, is currently occupied by Burger King and a small health foods store. Since I believe that this location closed in the late-70's, Morristown therefore once had two A&Ps open at the same time.
TW-Upstate NY
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Post by TW-Upstate NY »

If indeed that lady was correct and the store opened as an A+P in 1969, is it possible it could've been another chain prior to that? Any Centennial new builds I've seen never had that kind of a roof design being rounded toward the rear and flat in the front. I'm thinking it could've been an Acme previously because they did have a roof design similar to that. The only other type of building I can think of where that kind of roof is/was common is a bowling alley. Is that a possibility? I don't doubt the lady's info. in the least but after seeing the building for myself it just doesn't seem like a built from the ground up centennial. I still say it must've been something else originally.
Pauldell71

Re: A+P-110 Washington St., Morristown, NJ

Post by Pauldell71 »

The A&P (#687) in Morristown NJ was formerly a Car dealership. A&P bought it and converted it to the store, adding the centennial facade in the front. The store has less aisles than normal but they are twice as long as regular centinnal store format. The reason why the Liqour and HBA are in the same aisle is because they would lock the isle up back when the store used to be open later then it is now (I think it was 24 hours). Although it hasn't been remodeled in some time the courtesy counter/office area was put in new back in the late 80's or early 90's and they did get a decor package face lift then as well.
Max
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Re: A+P-110 Washington St., Morristown, NJ

Post by Max »

The AcmeStyle webmaster has now posted an excellent article (with interior and exterior photos) on the Morristown A&P at the following link: http://acmestyleblog.blogspot.com/2010/ ... l#comments .

Also, there are a few more things that I want to add as well: First, this store's cupola & weathervane have been missing for a quite some time. (I'm not exactly sure when they were taken off, but I know they've been missing since at least the late 90's.) Secondly, I do recall the Morristown location getting some sort of Sav-a-Center remodel in the late-80's. Here, it is important to note that the store itself was still branded as A&P (and not Sav-a-Center), though the A&P sign was completly in green. (It would not convert back to its "proper" colors until sometime in the early- or mid-90's.) Finally, it has been alluded to earlier that this is a popular store. A big reason why the Morristown A&P is so successful is because the only other supermarket in Morristown is an upscale food store named King's. The A&P is further helped because it is practically in walking distance to both Alexander Hamilton Elementary School and Morristown High School (two schools which I both attended).
acmestyle

Re: A+P-110 Washington St., Morristown, NJ

Post by acmestyle »

Thanks Max for posting a link here to my blog and for comments you left after my entry on the Morristown A&P. You left lots of good information. And thank you too for the compliments! I really appreciate the nice things you said. Glad you are enjoying Acme Style. As an A&P fan, you'll be happy to know that several more A&P's will be featured Bonus Stores in the future.
sgg
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Re: A+P-110 Washington St., Morristown, NJ

Post by sgg »

Just came across an ad in a 1968 Morris Daily Record in the local library, I believe November 1968 for the Grand Opening of this location A&P store
Max
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Re: A+P-110 Washington St., Morristown, NJ

Post by Max »

This is devastating news, but I have just found out that the Morristown A&P will close by the end of 2013 and be replaced by Whole Foods in 2014 or 2015:

http://morristown.patch.com/articles/wh ... morristown

Given how old the Morristown store is, I knew its days were numbered, but this doesn't make it any easier.

I wonder if A&P is planning a new store in Morristown? (The article did not mention anything about it.) Morristown seems to be a good town for them, since the only competition is Kings. If there is no replacement store coming, then I wonder if A&P just decided to close the store in anticipation of being unable to compete with the new gigantic ShopRite that will soon open off of Ridgedale Avenue.
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