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No bidders emerge for Ultra stores

Strack & Van Til, warehouse auction this week

Jon Springer, Executive Editor

July 5, 2017

1 Min Read
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Aquir/iStock/Thinkstock

No successful bidders emerged in a bankruptcy auction late last week for 11 Ultra Foods stores, owner Central Grocers said.

The cooperative distributor said the auction for those properties was adjourned to an unspecified date.

The 11 stores in the auction were previously closed by Central, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May, two days after its suppliers sought to force it into a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Those cases were subsequently merged as a Chapter 11 case commencing on the earlier date.

Central had been searching for a buyer since December.

The auction last week was for Ultra stores in Highland, Gary, and Merrillville, Ind.; and in Kankakee, Downers Groce, Chicago Heights, Calumet Park, Joliet, Crestwod, Landing and Forest Park, Ill. Those stores were previously operated by Strack & Van Til, the retailer 80% owned by Central.

A separate auction set for Thursday will include the 19 Strack & Van Til and Town & Country Market stores bid for by Albertsons’ Jewel Food chain, as well as Central’s Joliet, Ill., warehouse, an Ultra Foods store in Merrillville, Ind., a commissary in Valparaiso, Ind., and Strack’s Highland, Ind., headquarters.

About the Author

Jon Springer

Executive Editor

Jon Springer is executive editor of Winsight Grocery Business with responsibility for leading its digital news team. Jon has more than 20 years of experience covering consumer business and retail in New York, including more than 14 years at the Retail/Financial desk at Supermarket News. His previous experience includes covering consumer markets for KPMG’s Insiders; the U.S. beverage industry for Beverage Spectrum; and he was a Senior Editor covering commercial real estate and retail for the International Council of Shopping Centers. Jon began his career as a sports reporter and features editor for the Cecil Whig, a daily newspaper in Elkton, Md. Jon is also the author of two books on baseball. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English-Journalism from the University of Delaware. He lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. with his family.

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