The P&C Foods grocery stores will continue to operate its stores as the parent company works to sell the chain, according to a Wednesday statement from P&C’s parent company, the Penn Traffic Company.

Penn Traffic filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Nov. 18. But as of Dec. 2, Penn Traffic had not sold the chain. No timetable is set, and the entire process is contingent on the bankruptcy court, according to the statement.

P&C has 28 stores in the Central New York area, including one on Nottingham Road near Syracuse University’s South Campus.

P&C employees received a letter from Penn Traffic around Nov. 18, informing them of the company’s poor financial situation.

‘Over the past few weeks, Penn Traffic has experienced a combination of declining sales, loss of market share, tight credit markets, upcoming expiration of its current credit arrangements, and liquidity-restricting actions by its lenders that make the Company’s future uncertain,’ said Christine McMahon, Penn Traffic’s senior vice president of human resources.

The letters also informed employees that they will likely be terminated when the company is successfully sold.

In case the stores cannot be sold, Penn Traffic will be forced to close stores and warehouses, and that will result in termination of some employees, according to the letters.

The employees were told to seek additional information from the New York State Department of Labor.

Travis Hance, general manager of the Syracuse Real Food Co-op, said buyers of the company’s assets would probably break up the chain into smaller parts instead of buying the chain in one piece, according to the Real Food Web site.

Supermarket News, a trade publication, suggests potential buyers include Tops Friendly Markets and Hannaford Bros. Co. Hance said on the Web site that Tops, a Williamsville, N.Y.-based company, has been known to operate similarly to P&C. Hannaford, which operates out of Maine, is experienced in dealing with natural foods, Hance said.

 

Published on December 6, 2009 at 12:00 pm