Sale of Local Superfresh Stores on the Fast Track

Plans for the sale of two Superfresh grocery stores in Baltimore are on the fast track and could be settled in a matter of days, according to new court documents and other independent sources.

Two Baltimore Superfresh stores—at 41st Street and at Charles Plaza—have been officially up for sale since late last month, when the parent company announced it would auction off a total of 25 of its stores in Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia.

The deadline for potential buyers to submit their bids has been confirmed for May 13, said Eric Andrus, a spokesman for the grocery chain’s corporate parent, The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (A&P).

Bidding for the 41st Street site should be brisk, according to several sources familiar with the local grocery and retail markets.

“It’s almost certain that there will be number of very serious, competitive bids for that particular store,” said Robert Gorland, vice president of Harrisburg, PA-based consultant Matthew P.  Casey & Associates.

“Oh, I agree, this market is very competitive right now,” commented Chris Bell, an executive with the real estate management firm Hekemian & Co., owner of Rotunda shopping mall.

Both Gorland and Bell pointed to Giant Food and Safeway as likely bidders, since these two grocery chains are the market leaders in the greater Baltimore area.

But less prominent grocery retailers, such as Harris-Teeter, Whole Foods or ShopRite, are also in the mix, the men agreed.

Other potential buyers, such as Weis Markets, Food Lion and C&S Wholesale, are also expected to be players in the bidding contest, Gorland said.

According to bankruptcy documents filed by A&P in a White Plains, NY, federal court, there are as many 30 potential bidders for the 25 separate stores up for sale. A&P recruited the potential buyers in mid 2010, when it first tested the waters for such a sale, the company stated as part of the court proceedings.

Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert D. Drain, on April 28, approved a Superfresh sale plan that calls for bids to be submitted in early May, and to be finalized by May 17.  A&P lawyers indicated they expect to submit a formal sale plan to Drain for all 25 stores in mid June.

Hekemian Co. executive Bell told North Baltimore Patch that there are no firm plans for Giant Food to close its Rotunda location and move to the Superfresh site.

The lease between Hekemian and Giant Food has not been altered recently, he said, and any move would likely depend on decisions made in the A&P bankruptcy case.