By Madina Toure
Key Food and Stop & Shop are acquiring 11 Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company grocery stores in Queens after A&P filed for bankruptcy.
On Monday, A&P announced it had agreed to sell 120 stores for about $600 million. The company said it secured financing of $100 million and voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
“The vast majority of our stores are operating normally and will be fully stocked during this process,” A&P said in a statement. “While some stores will close in the near term, the vast majority will continue providing customers with the same high-quality products and exceptional customer service. We will also continue to honor all existing customer promotional and loyalty programs.”
A&P owns Pathmark and Waldbaum’s.
Ahold’s Stop & Shop Supermarket Co., which is taking over 25 A&P stores for $146 million, is acquiring the Pathmark stores at 134-40 Springfield Blvd. in Jamaica, 92-10 Atlantic Ave. in Ozone Park and 31-06 Farrington St. in Whitestone.
Stop & Shop is also acquiring the Waldbaum’s stores at 156-01 Cross Bay Blvd. in Howard Beach, 112-15 Beach Channel Drive in Belle Harbor and 213-15 26th Ave. in Bay Terrace.
Once the transaction is completed, Stop & Shop plans to convert the stores into Stop & Shop stores. The sale is expected to close within the second half of 2015.
“We are happy to have the opportunity to expand our presence in greater New York and serve new customers,” Don Sussman, president of Stop & Shop’s New York metro division, said.
Arlene Putterman, Stop & Shop’s manager of public and community relations, said Stop & Shop has entered into an agreement with A&P, but the execution of the agreement is pending approval from the Federal Trade Commission and the bankruptcy court. She said the agreement will allow the company to have a greater presence in Queens and that it is also a way to protect the stores’ associates.
“We are protecting 25 of their total stores and therefore we are protecting associates that work in those stores,” Putterman said.
Key Food Stores Cooperative is acquiring the Waldbaum’s stores at 196-35 Horace Harding Expressway in Flushing, 35-09 Francis Lewis Blvd. in Bayside, 82-35 153rd Ave. in Howard Beach, 75-55 31st Ave. in Jackson Heights and 259-01 Union Turnpike in Glen Oaks.
Sharon Konzelman, vice president of finance for Key Food, confirmed that the company is acquiring stores from A&P in the tri-state area but that the company’s attorneys advised them not to provide any specific details on the contract.
“We have contracted to purchase stores from A&P,” Konzelman said.
ACME Markets also announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire 76 A&P stores in New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania under the A&P, Superfresh and Pathmark banners.
Reach reporter Madina Toure by e-mail at mtour
