In Essex County: A and P Company Declares Bankruptcy

You may not see any A&P-owned supermarket stores in South Orange for too much longer.

Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company Inc. (A&P) filed documents for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late Sunday night with the United States bankruptcy court for the Southern District of New York, NorthJersey.com reported.

In addition to its flagship “A&P” stores, the company also operates and owns brands such as Pathmark and Superfresh.

It is the second time the company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

A&P reportedly has three bids for the sale of 120 of its stores for $600 million; about 12,500 employees work at that those locations, USA Today reported.

Stop & Shop announced plans to acquire 25 A&P stores – including the Pathmark location in South Orange – with the intention of converting them to Stop & Shops, reported NorthJersey.com.

If no sale goes through, A&P will have no choice but to liquidate their business and hold a “fire sale,” Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. chief restructuring officer Christopher McGarry said in the filing, USA Today quoted.

The company employs about 28,500 people, many of them New Jersey residents, NorthJersey.com reported.

“For the majority of our customers, we do not expect this to have any impact on your shopping experience,” according to a statement on the company’s website. “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. Serving our customers has been and will continue to be our number-one priority.”

About 25 of its 300 A&P stores will close immediately, the report states.

The company cited about $2.3 billion in debts and listed $1.6 billion in assets, USA Today reported.