On a weekday afternoon, the Edgewater Commons parking lot has a distinct rhythm: the elderly customers cutting across with reusable bags from the Acme on the corner, the kids spilling out of Target, and the slow loop of SUVs searching for spots. That final phase ends on August 15. Layoff notices have already been sent to all 115 employees of the Acme at 481 River Road, which is closing permanently.
A representative for parent company Albertsons stated that the official explanation is simple. The lease came to an end. On paper, that kind of explanation sounds neat, but in practice, it feels much messier. Relocating as many employees as possible is Acme’s top priority, according to the company, which has 67 other locations throughout New Jersey. According to state law and union agreements, those who are unable to find another position will receive severance. It’s the typical language used in these announcements, which is polished but a little lifeless.
Target, T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, and Five Below are all part of the waterfront retail strip where the Edgewater store is located. This type of shopping plaza can be found in many New Jersey towns and is both convenient and unmemorable. However, this particular store was more important to the residents of Edgewater than one might think.
The response to the news on the local Reddit thread wasn’t particularly focused on Acme as a brand. “I’ve lived in Edgewater for 10 years,” one commenter wrote, discussing what a full-service supermarket means in a town that has gradually transformed into a corridor of upscale condos, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe’s. “It makes absolutely no sense that this place is closing.” Goya, Sazón, Café Bustelo, and Fabuloso are examples of basics that the trendier grocers don’t bother stocking, and another defended the store as the only place to find them.
If you scroll too quickly, it’s easy to miss the class undertone in that conversation. It’s not just about where people will shop when a typical supermarket closes in a community like Edgewater. For now, that’s who the neighborhood truly is.
The larger context is not very helpful. Founded in Philadelphia in 1891 and merged into Albertsons in 1998, Acme Markets has spent years negotiating the harsh realities of local grocery stores. The landlord, Kimco Realty, has not yet disclosed the space’s future plans, margins are narrow, and real estate expenses along the Hudson are not. This type of silence typically indicates that negotiations are taking place or that something more lucrative than groceries is being planned. a larger box store. More shops. One Reddit user pointed out, quite rightly, that the waterfront real estate is probably better suited for housing than a flat sea of parking. Perhaps the plaza will eventually be completely redesigned.
A week full of similar notices from all over the state preceded the layoff filing. At its Whippany facility, Barclays is laying off 64 employees. WARN notices representing hundreds of jobs were filed earlier this month by Fulton Bank, Spirit Airlines, Embassy Suites, JPMorgan Chase, Amicus Therapeutics, and Accupac. In April alone, layoff filings threatened about 2,300 jobs in New Jersey. Among these, the Acme closure isn’t the biggest. Everyone who has driven down River Road in the past ten years has at some point passed through those doors, making it one of the more noticeable.
It’s difficult to ignore the cashiers and stockers themselves, who were aware of which aisles needed to be restocked on Sunday mornings and who could identify regular customers based on the items in their carts. Some will arrive ten minutes south at the West New York Acme. Some won’t. By mid-August, the store will be quiet before likely becoming louder once more with something new. It’s still unclear if that item benefits or replaces the customers who shop at this Acme.
