Acme to close stores in Westtown and Exton

Acme supermarkets on Wilmington Pike in Westtown and Lincoln Highway in Exton will close by mid-February after their leases expire, though there are no plans to close additional stores in the near future and the chain's new owners plan to renovate several others this year, a spokeswoman said Thursday.

The two supermarkets, among the Acme division bought last year from Supervalu Inc. by real estate investor and private equity consortium AB Acquisition L.L.C., employ 120 unionized workers who "will have the opportunity to transfer to open positions at stores nearby," said Angela Perez, an Acme spokeswoman in Malvern.

"We have no immediate plans to close any other locations," Perez said. Employees were notified about the impending closures on Jan. 10.

The stores were closed after a quarterly review that is standard across the division, Perez said, adding that Acme was "committed to running as many profitable stores as possible in the Philadelphia area."

The two are the only stores to be shuttered since the chain changed hands last year, Perez said.

Nine Acme supermarkets will be remodeled during the coming fiscal year, which begins Feb. 21. The chain consists of 122 supermarkets in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, including the two stores slated for closure.