Shoprite Company Buys Fairway Market Flagship, 3 Other Stores

UPPER WEST SIDE, MANHATTAN — Shoprite's parent company will take over Fairway Market's iconic flagship store and three other Manhattan locations of the bankrupt grocery chain, according to reports.

Village Supermarket, which owns Shoprite and Gourmet Garage, bought four Manhattan Fairway Market stores and the company's New Jersey distribution center for $76 million in an auction that wrapped up this week.

The locations include Fairway's historic original store on Broadway and West 74th Street, according to the West Side Rag.

Village did not immediately respond to questions about which other Manhattan stores were included in their winning bid. Fairway has five locations in the borough.

The auction comes months after Fairway declared bankruptcy in January.

Amazon, which was rumored to be bidding on at least one New York City Fairway, walked away from the auction with two New Jersey locations and another company, Seven Seas Georgetowne, had the winning bid for one of the stores in Brooklyn, according to the reports.

Fairway started as a small fruit and veggie stand at the Upper West Side spot and has since grown to have 21 locations across the tri-state area.

Their bankruptcy declaration earlier this year was the company's second Chapter 11 filed in four years. The company dug itself out of Chapter 11 proceedings in 2016 by borrowing money and shifting ownership from Sterling Investment Partners to a consortium led by Blackstone's GSO Capital Partners.

Shoppers at the Upper West Side store in January reacted with mixed feelings to the news that some of the historic grocer's stores might be sold off, with many torn between the iconic symbolism of the flagship store and what they say has been declining quality in recent years as the company's financial strain grew.