Several Aldi stores opening soon in Southeastern PA

The Mercury reported recently that Aldi plans to open stores in Pottstown and Malvern, with the Pottstown store slated to open at the end of this month, and the Malvern store coming in the fall. And last week The Delaware County Times reported that Aldi would open on June 14 in the former Giant supermarket space in Brookhaven.

In addition, Aldi will begin construction in Lansdale once the former Super Fresh space is knocked down.

Aldi currently has more than 1,750 stores in 35 states, and has been aggressively opening new stores and renovating existing stores. The company plans to open about 750 new stores in the U.S. by the end of 2022.

Overall, Aldi has over 10,000 stores in 20 countries.

Acme to bid on bankrupt A&P stores; several Pathmarks and Superfresh stores to close immediately

One day after A&P filed for bankruptcy for the second time in five years, Acme announced today that it will bid to acquire 76 A&P, Superfresh and Pathmark stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.

In a statement by A&P earlier today, the company said it plans to sell 120 stores in total for about $600 million. The food retailer has 296 stores overall, and in its bankruptcy filing it lists assets and liabilities of more than $1 billion each.

Analysts have speculated that Ahold (Giant, Stop & Shop) may bid on certain A&P locations as well.

A report this afternoon by Natalie Kostelni on the Philadelphia Business Journal's website said that A&P has asked a bankruptcy judge "to let it quickly close 25 underperforming stores that have sustained 'significant operating losses.'" A list of stores slated for closure is below.

A story on PhillyVoice.com pointed out that A&P operated more than 15,000 stores early in the 20th century. By 2010, the company was a fraction of its former self and filed for bankruptcy. A couple years later it emerged as a private company after obtaining financing from investors.

Acme is a subsidiary of Albertsons, which acquired Acme in 2013, and the Malvern, PA-based company operates 107 stores.

Stores slated for quick closure:

A&P (2101 Route 35, Holmdel, NJ)
A&P (325 Highway 35 South, Cliffwood, NJ)
Pathmark (1764 Grand Avenue, Baldwin, NY)
Pathmark (115 Belmont Avenue, Belleville, NJ)
Pathmark (450 West Swedesford Road, Berwyn, PA)
Pathmark (2150 Middle Country Road, Centereach, NY)
Pathmark (85 Ackerman Avenue, Clifton, NJ)
Pathmark (895 Paulison Avenue, Clifton, NJ)
Pathmark (50 Racetrack Road & Route 18, East Brunswick, NJ)
Pathmark (561 Route 1, Edison, NJ)
Pathmark (420 McDade Boulevard, Folsom, PA)
Pathmark (651 North Stiles Street, Linden, NJ)
Pathmark (1043 Route 9 North, Old Bridge, NJ)
Pathmark (840 Cottman Avenue, Philadelphia, PA)
Pathmark (85 Franklin Mills Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA)
Pathmark (1256 Indian Head Road, Toms River, NJ)
Pathmark (300 South Best Avenue, Walnutport, PA)
Pathmark (3901 Lancaster Avenue, Wilmington, DE)
Superfresh (1301 Skippack Pike, Center Square, PA)
Superfresh (2105 Philadelphia Pike, Claymont, DE)
Superfresh (863 East Baltimore Pike, Kennett Square, PA)
Superfresh (1851 South Columbus Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA)
Waldbaums (2 Westbury Avenue, Carle Place, NY)
Waldbaums (3620 Long Beach Road, Oceanside, NY)
Waldbaums (1510 Old Country Road, Riverhead, NY)

Wegmans updates pubs, lets servers accept tips

Wegmans announced last month that it had reopened two of its restaurants - in Collegeville and Malvern, PA - with "refreshed decor and an updated menu." The restaurants, each known as The Pub at Wegmans, will also now let servers accept tips. Overall, Wegmans operates five pubs and tips had been allowed at the others, which include King of Prussia and Montgomeryville.

Not sure this is really news, and if you read this, that's about 30 seconds that you won't get back. Other blog posts are a bit more informative, I promise.

Acme making changes, seeing results under new president

Acme Markets, the long-time Philadelphia market leader that has fallen behind ShopRite and Giant in recent years, is investing profits back into stores and making a bit of a comeback.

The turnaround started shortly after Supervalu sold Acme and four other supermarket chains to a group led by Cerberus Capital Management. After the sale Jim Perkins was named Acme president, and his presence in Malvern, PA - not Supervalu headquarters in Minneapolis, MN - has meant that change is taking place more quickly.

"There's no red tape," said Perkins recently. "Everything we do is local. We all work here and live here."

Acme's current priorities are to offer more competitive pricing, better customer service, higher quality products and cleaner stores. Labor contracts are also a priority, and all but one has been renewed so far.

Television commercials recently started running with the company's new theme: "Acme, We're back!" 

Zagat looking for feedback on The Pub at Wegmans

Last week Zagat, the self-proclaimed world leader in providing survey-based information for restaurants, blogged about The Pub at Wegmans, which is now open in Malvern, King of Prussia and Collegeville, PA. The brief blog post described some of the pub's selections, including crabcake sandwiches and Australian lamb chops, and asked for customer comments.

I didn't provide a comment on the blog, but it's obvious to me that Wegmans is on to something with their pub concept. Why else would an increasing number of reasonable adults choose to spend their Friday or Saturday evening eating, drinking and lounging in a supermarket?