Look Inside: Village IGA - Ridgefield Park, NJ

Village Market

Owner: James Capirossi

Opened: unknown

Cooperative: IGA

Location: 201 Main St, Ridgefield Park, NJ

Photographed: January 2020

It's time for our final leg of the Bergen - Passaic group. We're crossing the Hackensack River to the far eastern part of the county. And we've got a real treat today for fans of supermarket history! This 1940s-era ACME is still going strong today as the independent Village IGA, and there's a surprise as we step inside this 9600 square foot store.

That's right, the 1970s ACME decor is still on the walls! Check out more of this decor over at Acme Style. What's even more interesting is that the colors (compared to this image) look to be almost exactly the same, except for the shade of green on the word Produce. So it looks like the decor has been painted, but not replaced. It stands to reason, then, that the moulding, ceiling, and spot lighting also remain from ACME.

The sign for dairy, which is at the back of the first aisle, has seen better days. But those dairy cases look brand new!

This corner, at the back of the first aisle, displays beer and soda in what was probably part of ACME's backroom. The wood paneling suggests it might even be a former breakroom.

Meats on the back wall, in cases that may well be left over from ACME as well.

For whatever reason, the grocery aisles do not have an ACME feel to them. I don't know whether they've been significantly altered over the years, but I've also never seen this gray tile in any other former ACME.

Frozen foods in more new cases along the last aisle. There's also a deli/bakery counter with new decor in the front corner of the store opposite the entrance, which may or may not have been installed by Village IGA. My pictures here are not as complete as I might have liked, but I was in a rush that day so maybe I will go back someday. This store is a must-see for fans of small-town independent stores or ACME fans! Our next stop tomorrow on The Market Report is the ShopRite just across Overpeck Creek, the area's big chain supermarket, a mile east as the crow flies.