PARK RIDGE -- The newly renovated A&P supermarket on Kinderkamack Road incorporates many of the features that were part of earlier makeovers, especially the emphasis on fresh produce and prepared foods.

But the store, identified as the prototype of the A&P of the future, is also a radical departure from the chain's 336 other stores, including two previous prototypes opened within the past five years.

"We keep evolving the business," said Paul Wiseman, A&P's senior vice president for store operations. "The focus is on the foods, but we want to make sure that the store fits the market."

Wiseman declined to say how much the company spent on the total makeover, but it could easily be more than $3 million, said Bill Bishop, a partner in Willard Bishop Consulting, an Illinois-based supermarket consulting company.

A&P introduced its "fresh" campaign with its Denville prototype in 2004 and refined the concept in Midland Park 20 months ago. Both featured service departments, including butchers, on-site bakeries and a wide variety of prepared foods.

The third-generation Park Ridge store incorporates the best ideas from the other two, plus ideas senior executives picked up in visits to European supermarkets, Wiseman said. The company plans to renovate other stores along the same lines, seeking to better compete with the more upscale supermarkets as well as traditional stores.

It's all part of the continuing efforts by the Montvale-based A&P to reinvent itself after years of financial struggle. The company is awaiting regulatory approval of its plan to acquire the Pathmark chain.

As with other recently renovated A&P stores, shoppers are greeted by a colorful, brightly lit fresh produce section and a large deli/prepared food department that is the hub of activity for the entire store.

The most obvious change is low-profile shelving and the elimination of overhead signs, aimed at giving shoppers a feeling of more openness than in most supermarkets.

The decor is also different, with food icons on perimeter walls to identify departments, replacing large murals of fresh foods that had been featured in recent makeovers.

The "center store" -- the industry term for packaged goods -- has subdued lighting in the aisles while spotlights focus on the products. This creates an unusual contrast for shoppers and a break from the fluorescent lights often found in stores.

What makes the Park Ridge renovation most significant is the size of the store. Even after reclaiming 7,000 square feet of selling space by moving some food preparation to a previously empty basement, the stores has only 25,000 square feet of selling space.

That's about half the size of many new supermarkets, but similar to many A&Ps. They were once considered too small to renovate.

"We don't have to be Wal-Mart," Wiseman said. "The biggest store is not always the best. We want to focus on being the best food store."

That's a good strategy, Bishop said. "The other choice is to abandon the store. [It] allows them to use the resources or assets they have in a higher and better way."

Early indications are positive. The store, which was jammed all weekend in response to heavy promotions, was crowded again on Monday with younger-than-expected shoppers.

"We're thrilled with the reception," said Charles McCutchan, regional vice president for store operations in A&P's north region.

Among the shoppers was Lois Leeds of Park Ridge, who walked up to Wiseman to rave about the store.

"It's fantastic; I love it," said Leeds, who added she has been in the new store every day since it reopened.

By contrast, prior to the makeover, she did most of her shopping at a nearby Kings and went to her hometown A&P "only when I needed something essential," she said.