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Seven Earth Fare stores sold to Winn-Dixie, Whole Foods, Aldi

Investor group with Earth Fare co-founder Randy Talley closes purchase of three locations

Russell Redman

April 14, 2020

3 Min Read
Earth Fare store-Ocala FL
Earth Fare had 50 stores in 10 states when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February.Earth Fare

A&G Real Estate Partners has wrapped up the sale of 10 Earth Fare store leases to Winn-Dixie, Whole Foods Market, Aldi and an investor group including one of Earth Fare’s founders.

Melville, N.Y.-based A&G said yesterday it also negotiated lease termination agreements for nine other locations of Earth Fare. In early February, the Asheville, N.C.-based natural and organic grocer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and announced plans to close all of its stores and go out of business.

A&G brokered the sale of leases for four Earth Fare stores to Southeastern Grocers’ Winn-Dixie chain (Boynton Beach, Jacksonville, Lakewood Ranch and Viera, Fla.); two stores to Whole Foods (South Asheville, N.C., and Chattanooga, Tenn.); one store to Aldi (Tallahassee, Fla.); and three stores (Athens, Ga., Asheville, N.C., and Roanoke, Va.) to an investor group including one of Earth Fare's founders and several of the chain’s former executives.

The final leasehold sale to winning bidders closed on April 10, with the sites ranging in size from 21,000 square feet to 38,000 square feet, according to A&G. The investor group also acquired Earth Fare’s trade name and other intellectual property.

A&G said it facilitated lease termination agreements with landlords for Earth Fare sites in Gainesville, Ocala and Palm Beach Gardens, Fla; Columbia and Rock Hill, S.C.; Charlotte, N.C.; Williamsburg, Va.; Carmel, Ind.; and Portage, Mich.

Related:Earth Fare enlists firms to market stores, intellectual property

Combined, A&G reported, the court-approved transactions contributed more than $6 million to the estate of Earth Fare, which filed for Chapter 11 on Feb. 4 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.

“We completed this process in less than 60 days amid one of the biggest public health and economic crises in U.S. history,” A&G Senior Managing Director Joseph McKeska, a 28-year veteran of the retail grocery sector, said in a statement. “Leases for the remaining 38 locations we were handling were rejected and returned to the landlords in late March, freeing the estate from having to pay April rents on those sites. Considering all of the obstacles faced during this unusually difficult period, we were pleased with the results of this fast-track sale.”

A&G and New York-based Hilco Streambank announced in February that they were retained by Earth Fare to sell off its stores and leases as well as its intellectual property, with A&G handling the former and Hilco the latter. A&G said it worked under the direction of Earth Fare’s chief restructuring officer, Chuck Goad of FTI Consulting, after being retained days before the bankruptcy filing in February.

Related:Earth Fare files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Bids for the leases were due on March 16, which resulted in a successful sale hearing before the court on March 24, A&G said. All of the lease sales were finalized before the end of March, save for the two sites acquired by Whole Foods that closed last week.

“In an extraordinarily challenging environment for retail real estate, the results of this process were far better than we expected,” Goad stated.

News of the sale of the pending sale of the Earth Fare stores emerged last month, as did reports of the formation of an investor group to acquire and operate some of the chain’s stores on the block. Published reports said the group is led by President Bethany Turon, formerly senior vice president of human resources at Earth Fare, along with Earth Fare co-founder Randy Talley and ex-Earth Fare CEO Mike Cianciarulo.

Besides the Athens, Asheville and Roanoke stores, the investor group reportedly has added or plans to acquire Earth Fare locations in Summerville and Columbia, S.C., and in Boone, N.C.

Upon filing for bankruptcy, Earth Fare had about 3,000 employees and 50 stores in 10 states, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. More than half of the are in Florida (14) and North Carolina (13).

 

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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