Tops prepares to take over P&C Foods locations
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Ithaca, 28 January 10 -- Following the approval on Monday of the Tops Friendly Markets bid to acquire Penn Traffic's assets, Tops says they expect to close on the acquisition by the end of this week. Managers in the three Ithaca-area P&C supermarkets and throughout the chain were reportedly told to make Wednesday deposits as "final P&C deposits," and Thursday deposits as "first Tops deposits."
Asked if all three Ithaca stores are likely to remain open, a Tops spokesperson said, "It is Tops's intention to run as many stores and retain as many jobs as possible. Over the next month, Tops will be diligently evaluating all 79 locations, including the stores' economic viability, to determine which stores Tops will continue to operate, sell to other retailers, or close."
Of Ithaca's three P&C Foods stores, the one least likely to remain open would seem to be the store in the Cayuga Mall in the Village of Lansing. That store is directly across the street from the Ithaca area's second Tops supermarket, which opened about nine years ago.
Penn Traffic's 79 stores are mostly in New York and Pennsylvania, but stretch into Vermont and New Hampshire, as well. The company's third Chapter 11 filing, in November, carried the potential loss of 4,142 jobs in New York State. Since then, the chain has also received offers on some stores from competitor Price Chopper and from a liquidator who would have sold off the stores' contents. Competitors or liquidators may have the opportunity to purchase any stores Tops decides not to continue operating.
The Tops spokesperson added that whether or not to rename the stores with the Tops brand has yet to be determined.