Last Day to Buy Beer at Acme is Friday…

The Acme stores in Greenwich at 160 West Putnam Avenue and 1261 E Putnam Ave in Riverside Commons will soon stop selling beer. Signs on the doors to say that effective Saturday, Jan 23 they will no longer sell beer in their Connecticut store locations.

The last day to purchase beer will be Friday Jan 22.

In the stores, beer is on clearance.

Beyond that the stores have marked down the majority of items.

It was back in 2015 that Acme arrived in Greenwich after A&P filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in three years and ceased operations after 156 years. On Oct 19th, shoppers at the two A&P stores in Greenwich were stunned to find both locations closed for business as workers could be seen through the windows re-tagging items.

This week, an employee at the West Putnam Ave Acme store said the decision to stop selling beer had to to with an agreement with Kings and Balducci’s.

Despite a boost in grocery sales due to the pandemic, KB US Holdings, the owner of Kings and Balducci’s, filed for bankruptcy.

Acme Markets, a unit of Albertsons Companies, acquired 27 Kings Food Markets and Balducci’s Food Lover’s Markets for $96.4 million in cash under a bankruptcy auction, according to a release last October.

The release said the plans called for the Kings and Balducci’s stores to retain their banners and become part of Albertsons Companies.

“We look forward to welcoming Kings Food Markets and Balducci’s Food Lover’s Markets and the gourmet expertise they are known for into our family,” said Jim Perkins, Albertsons Mid-Atlantic division president in the release. “Our company has a history of managing small, differentiated chains that offer an elevated experience, like Andronicos and Haggens in the western US. When we leverage their team’s expertise and continue to deliver what their customers want, these stores can thrive. We are excited to add these two premium, gourmet banners to our east coast operations, and plan to continue to operate the stores as Kings Food Market and Balducci’s Food Lover’s Market, respectively.” 

Acme stores will stop selling beer on Jan 23, 2021 Contributed photo