The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc, which owns and operates the Superfresh food store chain, is seeking court approval to sell twenty-five stores, including the Chestertown store in Washington Square, to implement its financial and operational restructuring as part of the company’s Chapter 11 filing. In a press release issued today, A&P gave notice that 25 stores in total, include 22 in Maryland, two in Delaware and one in the District of Columbia.
Read the offical press release here.
Chestertownie says
Cynthia McGinnes warned that the Chestertown plastic bag ban would weigh against us in A&P’s decision whether to keep the SuperFresh store in Chestertown. We now learn that it is one of 25 stores targeted for ‘sale’. I wonder whether the bag ban actually played a role in putting our store on the list. And, I wonder if ‘sale’ is not a precursor to ‘closing’.
Steve Payne says
Small stores like this are Food Lions thing and they’re already in the area.
MBTroup says
I’m going to spare everyone the trouble of posting what they’re about to post. It’s correlation without causation.
Daniel Menefee says
Yeah, I heard the NPR story also, maybe this is a wonderful opportunity to bring in a new, smaller chain. Fresh Market in Annapolis, Not Whole Foods, is a small chain with only 14 stores on the east coast and they’re looking to expand, they also promote re-usable bags. It’s time for the Kent County Chamber to look for a replacement. Just an idea.
And we should have learned here that responding to idle threats is no way to guide our future. The space will be filled and folks will work in that space again.
let’s look at this as an opportunity.
John Murray says
Well a Trader Joe’s or a Wegmann’s would be a wonderful alternative.
Cynthia McGinnes says
There is no question that the Superfresh store in Chestertown was in jeopardy before the bag ban was passed. However,there is also no question that the bag ban makes it a less desirable property for anyone to buy to open a new store. Chestertown is a small, relatively rural area and would not attract a high end store like Whole Foods. Did the passage of the bag ban cause our store to be offered for sale…maybe not. Does it make the store less attractive to potential buyers? Absolutely. Dont hold your breath..those jobs are gone, say goodbye. I am so sorry for those who will be unemployed…I tried to simply ask the Council to delay the passage of the bag ban until the Superfresh situation was resolved. If the store closes, rather than gets sold, I firmly believe that Mayor Bailey is partly responsible. As I said before, our Town Council cares more for pelicans than people.
Larry G. says
With the attitude that flashed thru Chestertown when Walmart wanted to set up shop in town, forget the idea that any of the BIG guys will want to put up their tent there. Remember, the town wants to keep its historic charm and pace while the people who live within will have to drive outside the place to a grocery store. Acme is on its weak knees–no update or changes seen in there for ages.
Drive on over to Centreville–take your choice! There is a lovely newish Acme plus on the south side of town, Food Lion! You will be welcomed–and bring your own bags along or take your pick of plastic or paper?
jenifer says
I don’t think it’s fair to say the Town Council cares more for pelicans than for people. It isn’t true, for one thing. And it’s too glib to dismiss the Mayor’s hard work at trying to promote an environmental agenda. Ultimately, being good stewards for the environment is good for business and good for everyone. I don’t even think Kent County could have supported a Walmart. Moreover, if Walmart had been here, there would be nothing left of downtown or even Kent Plaza. Walmart would’ve usurped everything.
stellaL says
I agree Jenifer! I am sorry that we may lose Super Fresh. I only buy produce at Acme, never meats(low
grade quality) and Super Fresh sells eco-friendly cleaners which one cannot find at Acme. As for
Walmart, it is about time they start opening in existing buildings in Urban areas. Let them compete
in such a market .
MD Eastern Shore says
So let’s see: on the one hand we want the town to buy the waterfront to make the area more of a tourist destination, and on the other hand we want people to bring their own bags to the grocery store. Can you imagine packing for a day or overnight trip to Chestertown, and having to say “Honey, don’t forget to pack the reusable grocery bags in case we need a few things from the store!” The mind boggles.
Our late President Ronald Wilson Reagan once said, “If you want more of something subsidize it; if you want less of something tax it; and if you want to kill something, regulate it.” Chestertown is slowly but surely killing its businesses, big and small, through regulation and an onerous business climate.
Wegmans? They’re enormous! They’re two stories (gasp!). They’re full of people who smile and give good customer service. They’re certainly not going to hire the people who work in the SuperFresh.
Warrior Bob Kramer says
OK – I’m joining Monsieur Troup’er here, but will say that if you’re interested google A&P Chapter 11 and you’ll see the facts and comments about the filing on 12/12/10. IF you wanted to ruin a company, especially one in the grocery business, this is how you’d do it.
The problems shoppers may have with our local SF pale in comparison to the poor management decisions made in Montvale, NJ (and in Germany) over the last couple of decades..
BTW, I couldn’t find any mention of plastic bags in the filing or in the strategy of A&P’s ‘right sizing’ efforts that were announced on 12/13/10.
kevin walsh says
This is our only way to have any food stores in Chestertown. I spoke with the Acme Architects in December when they were here. On August 2011, the Acme was is to renovated the inside and with a repaired roof. That was cancelled in March.
If Acme takes over Superfresh’s contract, totally renovates the building, like it did in Centreville, then closes the old Acme. We will have one food store. If they do not take Superfresh’s building project, then both buildings will be closed and empty !!!
And the Mayor does not have to worry about all food stores have been closed. I will win my Lawsuit when she had me arrested and she will get 3 jail meals every day.
Ford says
Super Fresh would have saved money if our nice community brought there own shopping bags, which was one of the major reasons to impose the bag ban. Chestertown wasn’t allowed to impose a fee on plastic and paper bags because our state considers it a tax. All the businesses could charged for their bags up front and all the stores would have saved money, but the businesses who complained offered no such sensible solution, so Chestertown was forced to use an less precise ban to address this wasting issue. I’m sure there are.
more responsible, sensitive stores out there and I hope there see the opportunity to serve this deserving community.
Joseph Mitchell says
The point that the supporters of the plastic bag ban are missing is that the Mayor and Council should be spending their time trying to save businesses in Chestertown instead of making “save the pelican” points. For God’s sake, spend at least half the time lobbying these businesses like Super Fresh to stay open. Try at least. This is a sad example of what happens when the focus of local government goes askew. When are they going to get the message that this town is in trouble? We really need to start holding this crew responsible for the mess we are all in…and trust me, it will get worse. Vacant stores and shopping centers, the new image for Chestertown, the Jewel of the Eastern Shore! What a mess.
Cynthia McGinnes says
Responsible and sensitive are not words that mean anything in the bottom line of a business that is in bankruptcy! The biggest problem for the stores with the plastic bag ban is not the cost of the bags but the extra cost of the labor that comes with the slower packing of the reusable and paper bags!
It boggles my mind to read the comments posted here and realize how lacking in basic economic reality the liberal greenies are. Stores will only come to Chestertown if they can operate AT A PROFIT. There is no consideration for touch-feely emotions in capitalism. It is one of the few things in life that is actually black and white…all decisions are made on whether you are making money or losing it!
Sophie Jinx says
You know, the SuperFresh situation is definitely a bummer (I frankly avoid the Acme at most costs and if I’m in Annapolis or Baltimore I’ll make an effort to do shopping there, at stores like Whole Foods or Giant) but here’s a question. What if the departure of SuperFresh is looked at as an opportunity to bring a grocer to Chestertown who can surpass the quality we have? I’m not talking crazy-expensive, but would love to see an Eddie’s (you’ll know this small chain if you’re from Baltimore) or something along those lines.
willblake2008 says
I didn’t realize that Ms. McGinnes was on some sort of celestial economic advisory board with connections throughout the business world. How else would she know that a plastic bag ordinance would not make the Super Fresh location a desirable location for another business? But then, she believes the Chestertown Tea Party actually happened. Don’t get me wrong: I love the annual festival. Everyone should embrace a rural legend.
Cynthia McGinnes says
I didn’t have to do anything but take a course in Economics 101 at a decent college (I happened to be lucky enough to go to a very good one ,Smith College, and was fortunate enough to have the President of the College, who held a Doctorate in Economics, teach my freshman class course) to know that anything that will increase labor costs (ie the bag ban) will make a property less desirable to a buyer who is looking to operate a store at a profit.
I also graduated with a major in History, and I am quite sure that the American Revolution was fought by those colonials who felt that Americans were Taxed Enough Already….please don’t miss the point by slinging personal insults at me. Operating a business is quite simple….you have to make enough money to pay for your product,labor, and operating costs, plus taxes, and still have enough profit left over for you to live on. Otherwise, the business will close. Superfresh is trying to sell a store that is already not making any money…why would anyone buy it with a regulation like the bag ban attached to it that will bring higher labor and material costs that it already has now?
Warrior Bob Kramer says
Ms Maginnes says: “Superfresh is trying to sell a store that is already not making any money…why would anyone buy it with a regulation like the bag ban attached to it that will bring higher labor and material costs that it already has now?”
Note to Ms. Maginnes: since you like to cite unnamed sources, I’ll do the same. A management person at the 48th Street store in NW DC told me off the record that their store was the most profitable of the 25 stores being scheduled for closing… and that the DC bag ban saved them some operating expenses because they were supplying a lot fewer bags… and that, after a few initial snags, their checkout lines run smoother than before.
So… why isn’t the C’town store making money? 1) Low population in its marketing area… #25 out of 25… which translates into low sales per sq ft. 2) High distribution costs… look at the map… it’s right in the middle of the hole in the donut of its 25 stores. 3) The 4th highest property tax expense (by my calcs) behind DC and the DE stores. Note: it’s at $1.504 per vs $$.873 in QAC… for comparison. 4) High labor costs compared to other grocery chains. 5) High overhead/fixed expenses.
Ms Maginnes is right about the desirability of this spot for a grocery store… but for the reasons above… not because of a bag bill that may or may not cost a store additional money… but either way, it’s not a determining factor. (Econ 403). I think Kevin Walsh has the solution… a single super store combining the SF and Eckards space… and closing the current ACME space. But… our officials have to sell the concept… to a willing buyer.
Cynthia McGinnes says
To answer Warrior Bob, why does everything have to be personal attacks?
I have used my own name (even if you have misspelled it..perhaps deliberately?) throughout..I have identified myself as a member of the Hartford family that founded the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company in 1859, and I did identify my source as a cousin who still works for the Tea Company in Montvale,[and it probably wouldn’t be too hard for him to be identified, as there aren’t too many members of the Hartford family still working there].
Your source for the DC store only claims that it is the “most profitable of the 25 being closed”, which doesn’t say that ANY of the 25 are profitable. I am not the only person saying that the bag bans cost grocery stores money in higher labor costs..please google the article in the Wall Street Journal about Supervalu,Inc,the parent company of Acme,among others, on this very subject.
However, all the personal attacks against me aren’t going to change the facts. The bag ban may not be not the reason that the Superfresh store was offered for sale, but it may make it harder to sell it. It would not have made a significant difference if the bag ban had been delayed until the Superfresh situation had been resolved. If there was even a 1% chance that the bag ban made the store more difficult to sell, the Town Council should have waited. THey didn’t even care enough for that. With small population, high property taxes and an unfriendly business climate, why would any business wish to relocate to Kent County anyway. Lets try to keep the ones we have.
Larry G. says
Please . . . the only reason any business can succeed is PROFIT. Hear me, PROFIT.
Why do you think ALL the Chestertown businesses are on thin, troubled ice? PROFIT lacking!
Not the darned plastic bags. Has nothing to do with it. It costs lots of $$$$$ to operate a business in Chestertown, or any place, today–then there is the hope of a profit, thereafter.
Driving out of Town to shop does not support our merchants. Having a business today is not a lark, hobby or delight of their owners . . .
MBTroup says
(MBTroup checks his comment from 4/14)
(Shakes his head)
Methinks bags are expensed, and do not appear on the balance sheet, hence would not be calculated in the sale of a store’s assets. Since we’re comparing transcripts: BMGT110
Daniel Menefee says
Oh, blaaaaabbity, blah, blah, blah on the bag ban.
Is this all we have left to ponder, whether the bag ban would have been the tipping point in an already ailing company? Is the plastic bag soooooo sacrosanct in our society that it can make or kill a large corporation and destroy a community? Give me an *effing break.
I only wish folks in our community weighed in this heavily on the issues that really mattered.
I see less community outrage over our under performing school system, and that’s about preparing the next generation to survive in the world.
Stay tuned for another episode of the “Plastic Bag Chronicles…………………………”
Sheeeeeeesh!
johda says
While visiting with one of our long established local merchants in Chestertown she gave me an earful about the bag bill and asked if I would sign a petition to repeal it. When I sympathized with the merchants but declined to sign the bill, she smiled sweetly and then said: “It looks like rain. Would you like something to put over your head, like a plastic bag?”
rcg says
‘correlation without causation.’ Thank You Troup
my Acme source sez (and I really have one): Acme is ready to start hiring unemployed SF folks to staff Acme as they will be slammed once SF closes – they will need more people – and people w grocery store experience…
it would be wonderful if a really caring Shopping Mall Mogul would buy both centers and bring lots of successful businesses to CTown…I didn’t say it would happen – just that it would be wonderful…
move Acme to SF/RA space and open a Roller Rink in the Acme space – but then we would all have to drive to Walmart to buy skates…Damn – never mind…
Linda K. says
My granddaughter & I play “I Spy” and here’s a good one. I Spied the elder of the 2 Councilmen who voted FOR the Plastic Bag Reduction Ordinance fleeing the SF like he’d been shot out of a cannon with plastic bags in hand and not the 99 cent Elizabeth Haub Foundation 100% post-consumer recycled bags that you get a 2 cent credit for using. Guess this is a case of “Do as I say, not as I do.”
gerry maynes says
Hi, What a joke for years the town council chased the Cable company around untill they were told that the company owned all of the equiptment wires etc and would not sell them. The town council then agreed to the cable companies plans for a rebuild.
Acme was haunted by town officials for years and almost left town because of them. The company renovatee the store adding a new Deli and Seafood department only five years ago. The town simply hasn!t suppoted the store and you can find half of Chestertown at the Walmart in Middletown any day of the week ( most be those imported plastic Bags that keeps them coming) As Pogo has said We have met the enemy and it is us!
Perhaps to supplement my Acme pension, I will sell plastic bags from the trunk of my car several feet from the town limits or perhaps from under my rain coat.
If you want Acme to move into the Super Fresh give them a reason to do it ! Economic money to open not the same old complaints from the same old busy bodies and experts who drive business people nuts
StellaL says
Daniel: I agree! Now we have colleges and ancesters brought into the argument. Enough already!