NORWICH – The fate of the Norwich P&C remains a mystery as Penn Traffic’s bankruptcy hearing ended Friday with no decision. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court, in Wilmington, Del., will resume the hearing today.
On Friday, Tops Markets submitted an $85 million bid to acquire all 79 Penn Traffic stores, 53 of which are located in New York.
“The court proceeding went as expected, and our goal to see a bid chosen that will save the greatest number of jobs is on track,” said U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer. “Nothing will be final until the bankruptcy hearing is finished and a deal closes, but it looks like over 4,000 New Yorkers are on the way to keeping their jobs. It’s a good day for Upstate New York.”
Katie McKenna, communications and public relations manager for Tops Markets, echoed the senator’s statements.
“We plan to keep as many stores open as possible,” said McKenna. “Retaining a large number of union jobs is our first priority as we wait for the bid to be approved. The majority of the stores will remain open.”
McKenna said she believes the bid will go through early this week, and could be approved as early as today. It is still unknown how the acquisition will affect the Norwich store.
Originally replacing Tops in April of 2006, the Norwich P&C employs 64 union and 2 non-union workers. Area residents have voiced concerns regarding the possible closure of the downtown grocery, as many do not have the means to travel to other stores, outside of the city.
“We would certainly welcome Tops back into the community,” stated Mayor Joe Maiurano. “If for some reason we get to a point where we have to look at other possibilities, we’ll do so.”
Maiurano also expressed his gratitude for the efforts of Senator Schumer.
“I think he does a tremendous job,” said the mayor. “Senator Schumer, Congressman Arcuri and Senator Libous have always been committed to our area. I think they’re very responsible and we know they’re concerned with our welfare.”
Penn Traffic filed for bankruptcy in November and moved to sell most or all of its assets. It operates 79 P&C, Quality Markets and BiLo stores in New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont and New Hampshire and employs nearly 5,800 people.
Tops employs more than 10,000 people. It operates 67 company-owned supermarkets and five franchise outlets in western and central New York, plus four supermarkets in Erie, Sayre and Bradford in northwestern Pennsylvania.
Some Penn Traffic stores could fold because “it’s not financially prudent to keep them open,” Tops’ chief executive, Frank Curci, said in an interview with The Associated Press. “There may be some that are too far away for us. But the majority will stay open.”
He added the company expects to keep “the majority, if not all,” of Penn Traffic’s workers.
“Our footprints are very similar actually,” said Curci, Tops’ CEO and president. “We sit in contiguous markets, we understand their stores, we think we know their customer base and their needs pretty well. But this does jump start our growth.
“Our objective is not to be the biggest, it’s to be the best. And we think this allows us to go a long way toward that goal. We’ll have a bigger company, better leverage ... a flexible format that can fit in any size market.”
Penn Traffic has struggled financially for more than a decade. It emerged from a nearly two-year bankruptcy reorganization in April 2005, but continued to lose money. It lost $17.6 million in 2008 and nearly $42 million in 2007. It also went through bankruptcy reorganization in 1999.
Tops has been owned by Morgan Stanley Private Equity since 2007. Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley are acting as its financial advisers.
Price Chopper, a Schenectady-based company with 119 stores in six Northeastern states, had offered $54 million in December for 22 of the 46 P&C stores being auctioned. It is objecting to the proposed sale to Tops.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.