photo provided by Summit Memory/ Akron-Summit County Public Library
Akron, circa 1900
A son of a Massillon grocer, Fred W. Albrecht had big dreams for his modest Fred W. Albrecht Grocery Co. store at the corner of Buchtel, Sumner and Center streets in Akron. He bought it in 1891, renamed it Acme and painted the inside and outside yellow after visiting a cash-only Acme in Philadelphia. Despite only making a meager $4.63 on his first day of sales, things picked up. By the end of 1900, Albrecht had three horse-drawn delivery wagons, by 1904, he added a stable, and by the early 1930s, there were 126 stores until the Great Depression and World War II halted growth. Now, with the name Acme Fresh Market, there are 16 stores in Summit, Portage, Stark and Cuyahoga counties, which are run by fifth-generation president Nick Albrecht.